Summer 2014 Beta-Rho Bulletin

BETA-RHO BULLETIN Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity

California State University, Northridge

Another Softball Game Too Close to Call Despite the actives’ success at reuniting most of its 2014 Intramural Softball championship team from the spring semester, the alumni extended their winning streak on Aug. 24. Final score after seven innings: alumni 16, actives 15.

A couple of the alumni showed up at Petit Park in Granada Hills well before the 10 a.m. game time, and what they found set off some last-minute calls to change venues. Tim Pena and Howard Sapper quickly realized that no playing fields were

available; soccer teams had converged on what had been the outfield of the supposedly reserved baseball diamond.

At about this time, your correspondent’s iPhone pleaded for attention as he cruised up toward the 14’s Escondido Summit in Acton. Spencer Schmerling said something like, “There are some alumni already at the park, but they’re saying that we can’t use any of the fields.” I didn’t have a Plan B to C1ONTINUED ON PAGE 2

Volume 42, Issue 2

Summer 2014

Not so safe. Mike Press pounces on home plate a second after Nick Dinsmore (sliding on the ground) tagged him out. Justyn De Leon narrowly avoided the collision.

Features ! 4 General Assembly 55 6 Summer News: Alumni 7 Summer News: Actives

8 12 13 14

Rethinking Recruitment ELC Justin Reed’s Report Fall Semester AM Installation Christian Anderson Interview

16 Editor’s Journal

Alumni-Active Softball Game 2014 offer, although I mentioned that the High Rho, Vincent Pimentel, had planned the event. Then Brother Schmerling messaged me at 10:10: “The game has been moved to Shadow Ranch Park in West Hills at 11. By the middle of the game, 28 actives and alumni, plus more than a dozen guests were in attendance.

Each team took a few liberties to fill out their rosters. Brother Widawer’s son Brad made some clutch hits for the alumni. Rich Ohlberg’s son Nathan helped out as a pinch runner and ran in for one of the RBIs. Brian Carcerano and Corey Davis were among the alumni who played for the undergrads.

Had the game gone another few innings like last year’s, it’s possible that the actives might’ve finally broken the alumni’s grip on the record. Both teams blasted a string of base hits, and it didn’t appear that anyone actually notched a home run. But the game did have its highlights.

For Brother Sapper, an ace pitcher for the alumni in his own right, it was Brother Schmerling’s one inning of pitching that stood out. “Spencer’s one-two-three inning at the mound... making the actives look old and feeble.”

Umpire Scott Press’ ten-cent assessment of the game recalled the previous year’s extra-inning snafu: “Very, very close.

If we didn’t keep track of outs in that last inning, it would’ve been totally different.”

Brother Davis took the loss in stride. “I think we just finally decided to wake up at the end of the game,” he mused. “We were actually looking at pitches instead of swinging at everything we were seeing. With the group of guys we’ve got, we’ve… gotten used to each other and have actually become a better team.”

In the end, Brother Pimentel also appeared upbeat and ready for a rematch. “I can’t wait until next year,” he said before leaving the diamond. Most of the entourage reconvened at the Lindley House for pizza and ice cold water bottles.

Susan Press

Alumni-Active Softball Teams & fans. Front row, from left: Rick Childs, Nathan Ohlberg, Cesar Ayllon, Rick Trevino, Rob Press, Justyn De Leon, Corey Davis, Vincent Pimentel, Eric Roberts, Chris Burgos. Standing: Brad Widawer, Chris Dyer, Mark Widawer, Scott Press, Spencer Schmerling, Darren Arrieta, Brinton Marsden, Howard Sapper, Rich Ohlberg, Tim Pena, Stevie Robledo, Eric Gonzalez (behind Brother Robledo), Nick Dinsmore, Keshon Robinson, Jeffrey Perez De Leon, Myke Davis, Brian Carcerano, Richard Strobel and Jesse Martinez. Top: Jeffrey Perez de Leon relaxes with Bambi, Myke Davis’ dog; Chris Burgos takes a swing while Chris Dyer catches and umpire Brinton Marsden called the plays.

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All photos by Rick Childs

Game over & reception. After the seventh inning, the brothers called the game and congratulated each other. Rick Trevino greeted Mike Press’ son Jackson who was given an assist from his grandmother, Sue Press. The actives in the bleachers were among those who went on a tear in the seventh inning. Most of the attendees drove back to the Lindley House for pizza and bottled water.

Volume 42, Issue 2

Version 1.9

Editor, reporter, designer & photographer: Rick Childs The Beta-Rho Bulletin is the official publication of Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha, Inc. at California State University, Northridge. Article ideas, directory revisions, weddings, anniversaries, births and career info should be snail mailed, e-mailed or sent via Facebook to the editor. His mailing address is 44044 Engle Way Apt. 65, Lancaster, CA; 93536-6660. Email: rc4x4profit@verizon.net. All other correspondence should be sent to P.O. Box 280311, Northridge, CA 91328.

Made on a Mac Mini with iWork Pages ’09 v.4.1. Originally published on Sept.

8, 2014. Last revised on Feb. 23, 2015.

Editor’s phone number: (661) 948-3260

Summer 2014 House Corporation Board of Directors: President VP, Communications VP, Activities Secretary Treasurer Alumni Director Alumni Director Chapter Adviser High Alpha High Tau High Rho House Manager On the Web: Headquarters Chapter Website Facebook Instagram

Spencer Schmerling Rick Childs John Bonilla Rob Press Steven Shapiro Scott Press Hamid Jahangard Chris Dyer Wesley Lamphere Jorge Reyes Vincent Pimentel Mychal Davis

www.lambdachi.org www.lambdachinorthridge.org CSUN Lambda Chi Alpha CSUNLambdaChiAlpha

Wish you were at the game. Lambda Chi legacy Rob Press and his dad, Scott Press, (top) flex some of the muscles that made the wrecking crew win one for the alumni for the tenth year in a row.

Alumni Batting Roster Scott Press Rick Childs Mark Widawer Howard Sapper Tim Pena Spencer Schmerling Rich Ohlberg Rick Trevino Cesar Ayllon Mike Press Rob Press Chris Dyer Eric Gonzalez Darren Arrieta Brad Widawer Nathan Ohlberg

BP 55 BP 83 BP 220 BP 257 BP 264 BP 288 BP 356 BP 451 BP 453 BP 455 BP 495 BP 500 BP 528 BP 533

C * 2B P 1B SS, P LF 3B LCF P * C RCF RF * **

Actives Batting Roster

Stevie Robledo Keshon Robinson Brian Carcerano Mychal Davis Nick Dinsmore Eric Roberts Justyn De Leon Chris Burgos Corey Davis Vincent Pimentel Brinton Marsden

BP 663 BP 661 BP 646 BP 633 BP 672 BP 617 BP 602 BP 644 BP 596 BP 676 BP 636

SS RCF LF P 1B LCF 3B 2B C RF U***

In the Bleachers...

Jesse Martinez, BP 675 (scorekeeper) Jeffrey Perez de Leon, BP 660 Richard Strobel, BP 640 * Hitter only ** Designated runner *** Umpire only; did not hit

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

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Summer Alumni News Alumni ventured to some National Geographic-worthy locales and could be found with old friends or celebrities this summer.

First off, Spencer Schmerling (BP 288) married his longtime girlfriend Sarah Zeal (shown above) on the shores of Princeville in northern Kauai on June 13.

Capt. Bill Kane (USAF ret., BP 142, right) sent a snapshot of himself at the Harding Ice Field in Alaska’s Kenai Fjords National Park on July 17. He volunteers as a part-time summer park ranger. Although he lives in Anchorage, he uses a cabin for weekdays in Seward. He wrote that he and his wife Louise like to “hike just before sunset... which is about 11:30 p.m. around here.”

National Park Service Physical Scientist Bob Meadows (BP 158, far right) scaled 14,150 ft. Mt. Sneffels, “the queen of the San Juans,” in the Colorado Rockies on Aug. 24.

During an Echoes of Hope charity event for foster youth with world champion Kings NHL team members on June 22, Chris Dyer (BP 500) had his picture taken with the Stanley Cup. Frequent travelers Mike Sorensen (BP 70) and his wife Gayle visited with Rob Harburg in Newport Oregon on Sept. 1.

Gary Thomas (BP 146) met with ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic backstage at the Hollywood Bowl after a Simpsons concert on Sept. 14.

Eric Gonzalez married Giuliana Zanelli on July 26 at St. Robert Bellarmine Roman Catholic Church in Burbank. The couple honeymooned in Playa Del Carmen at Rivera Maya, Mexico.

Make no mistake, the most pricey gasoline in California is sold to desperate vacationers near the west entrance of Yosemite National Park in El Portal where Rick Childs (BP 83, below) took a selfie with archeologist Paul DePascale (BP 198) on July 13.

Photos courtesy of Spencer Schmerling, Bill Kane, Bob Meadows, Chris Dyer, Gayle Sorensen, Gary Thomas and Irene Hernandez-Liljedahl on behalf of Eric Gonzalez.

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Summer Actives News Things quieted down at the Lindley House after spring finals, and some of the live-ins moved out. While some of the brothers hit the music festival circuit or traveled, many spent the summer doing, what else: work.

And what would the summer be like without at least one trip to one of Southern California’s beaches? More than a dozen brothers and guests made a beeline for Dockweiler Beach (shown at left) just south of Marina Del Rey on Aug. 12 for some sunshine, food and a bonfire.

But a number of actives continued their involvement in student government like Jorge Reyes (BP 618) and New Student Orientation. Among the NSO leaders this summer were Daniel Ramos (BP 608), Jeffrey Perez de Leon (BP 639), Adrian Morales (BP 642), Kyle Shaver (BP 648), Ozzy Robledo (BP 662) and Chris Burgos (BP 644).

Brothers Burgos and Shaver completed a longstanding AM class project for the Delta Delta Delta Sorority and presented them with a set of chalkboard letters on Sept. 5 (left).

High Theta Eric Planas (BP 630) recruited a small group of volunteers to work at a Boys and Girls Club casino night charity event on July 11 at the Warner Center Marriott Hotel in Woodland Hills that Gary Thomas had organized. Brother Planas brought along Brother Perez de Leon and Frankie Castanon (BP 651, far left).

A few of the actives escaped to Las Vegas for the annual Electric Daisy Carnival on the weekend June 20-22. Shown at left with Brother Planas are Brian Carcerano (BP 646) and Eric Roberts (BP 617).

Photos: CSUN Lambda Chi Alpha / Instagram

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

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Beta-Rho Makes Its Mark at the General Assembly Not too many months before the 4-day 55th General Assembly & Stead Leadership Seminar, some of the actives discussed taking a road trip to Phoenix, Ariz. By the time the check-in date of July 24 crept up, only one undergrad ventured to the Biltmore Hotel: Wes Cole (BP 671).

Alumnus Josh Lodolo (BP 459) also made the trip from Austin, Texas. Brother Cole met with him along with Howard Brightman (EΣ 528), Beta-Rho’s former housing corporation president.

Brother Cole’s commute had been planned originally with High Alpha Wesley Lamphere (BP 611). Mechanical issues with Brother Lamphere’s truck scuttled their road trip.

According to Brother Cole, “We were going to both drive to Arizona, and he was going to drive me in his truck.”

At the housing corporation meeting on Sept. 17, Brother Lamphere told the corp. board members how he resolved the dilemma.

“I wanted to send him there, so I did what I had to do,” Brother Lamphere said. “It was literally three days before [the GA], so it was last minute.” He bought Brother Cole a $535 roundtrip plane ticket to Sky Harbor and stayed home.

As Beta-Rho’s sole delegate, Brother Cole wasted no time describing how impressed he was with the whole affair.

“When I landed, I was walking with bag in hand and I saw some guys with some letters on. They immediately greeted me and told me to meet with some other guys over in the corner.

We got on a big bus and rode over to the Biltmore. That was amazing. The hotel was incredibly nice. [Outside] it was really hot though, good God!” During his stay, Brother Cole shared his room with a brother from the Colorado State-Pueblo chapter.

“My roommate was the High Alpha of the Delta-Omega chapter, Michael Weiner. He gave me a lot of helpful tips on being a leader for a chapter and ways to make the fraternity stronger. He was like a mentor to me while I was on the trip. He introduced me to a website called zaxportal. I brought it up to some of our brothers and hopefully we’re going to start using that. I’m not an officer right now,

Rick Childs

Back from GA 55. Wes Cole (with camera) listens to High Zeta members conduct the opening remarks of the Associate Member Installation Ceremony on Sept. 21. The GA phone app (right). Grand High Alpha-elect M. Fletcher McElreath (below).

so I can’t demand that we use it, but it would be really beneficial to the entire chapter.”

Not long after Brother Cole settled into the legislative session, Brother Lodolo noticed his chapter’s nameplate and introduced himself.

“I served on one of the committees as an alumni delegate that did some good legislative work on cleaning up the Constitution and Statutory Code,” Brother Lodolo said. “We were just doing word reductions and reducing duplications. I think our Constitution is about 60 percent of the original size now. And oddly enough, Wes was in my committee as well. So that was the first chance we had to meet when he introduced himself as a BetaRho.” “He helped me out with figuring out how to get some reimbursements for the travel funds,” Brother Cole added. “He introduced me to Tina [Barnett, General Headquarters’ operations coordinator], which is one of the ladies we’ve been trying to reach for awhile….”

The legislative sessions kept Brothers Cole and Lodolo pretty busy.

“There were 16 bills proposed,” Brother Cole said. “There was one bill that passed in accordance to dues and fees. [It] allowed the Grand High Zeta to increase dues by 5 percent at any given notice. I know that there was some hesitancy on that one from the General Assembly. That was kind of a touchy subject.”

Both he and Brother Cole were glad to take part in seeing the new Grand High Zeta elected, especially the Grand High Alpha, Fletcher McElreath (Mercer).

“He has been a personal friend of mine for a number of years,” Brother Lodolo continued. “As I was on the staff, it was very nice to cast a vote for him. He was on the staff in the Eighties.”

Brother Lodolo’s return to a General Assembly had been long overdue.

Courtesy of Walt Moser

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Rick Childs

“Being a professional staff member for five years, I had a pretty large hand in planning several of these regional and the international functions. When I left the staff in ’09 I intentionally took some time off. So I hadn’t attended a Leadership Seminar or GA since I left the staff.

And I thought five years was enough time for me to get roped back into that kind of big Lambda mix. I volunteer at the UT [University of Texas at Austin] chapter advising the High Delta and work with some other officers. I just wanted to do a little more big picture Lambda Chi stuff. I figured, why not go to the General Assembly in Phoenix?”

When he wasn’t deliberating over Constitution and Bylaws revisions, Brother Cole mentioned that he attended a seminar concerning social media etiquette presented by Daniel Miller, a news anchor for WISH TV based in Indianapolis, Ind. “It was a micro-blogging seminar that was supposed to be focused on social media, using that as a way of promoting your chapter. Basically, the ideas he said were: on Twitter, be careful of the things you tweet. Follow the other companies in your community and team up with your followers. Find ideas from other chapters through social media. And always reply to any comments or tweets towards the chapter…. And then follow businesses in your local area. Show that you support them so that in turn they can support you. That gives you a better appearance to the entire community.”

Brothers at the General Assembly had their own customized social media tool to chronicle some of their experiences.

“There was an app that they made,” Brother Cole said. “It was called 55th GA, and I’m not sure if it’s still in the apps store.

[It’s still there, and it’s free in the iTunes Store.] It was created by the software company Double Dutch. I know that people were posting photos on that, and there was a competition to see who could post the most photos. That had every brother [at GA 55] on that website, and it was pretty cool to see all these people’s experiences.”

During the second day of the General Assembly, few attendees noticed when a massive dust storm, known as a

Courtesy of Walt Moser

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

haboob, descended on the Phoenix metro area.

“We did have to stay indoors for that time,” Brother Cole said.

“I didn’t see the actual dust in the air, but I saw it on the news.

“One thing I wanted to mention is that throughout the whole General Assembly we would have these giant—they were called Keynotes. They would have these incredibly inspirational speakers up there. The first guy was named Kevin Snyder.”

On a lighter note, Brother Cole took part in some of the offhours activities.

“We had a trivia show night. I was teamed up with some brothers. I was with the High Alpha of the chapter in Little Rock, Arkansas. It’s really true: we’re all brothers because we all are the same kind of person.”

Brother Cole also took part in another time-honored tradition that alumni like Brian Garfield (BP 59) and Rick Childs (BP 83) can relate to.

“It was an optional thing to do, but I did join the choir and I sang during the Purple, Green and Gold Banquet. Let’s see… I have the songbook right here. We sang ‘All Hail’, ‘Hip Hip Hooray’, ‘We’re All Good Brothers’. I think it would be cool [for the chapter to sing ‘We’re All Good Brothers’ again] because I am a musician myself.”

The sense of community, seeing first-hand that Beta-Rho is a part of a much bigger bond, didn’t escape Brother Cole’s notice. “…Being in the room where they’re calling off each chapter one by one, and then I got to stand up and say my name and say my chapter. That was an incredible moment where I really felt like I was a part of the fraternity. It’s unifying to see all these brothers with you.”

Returning to the General Assembly also had a big impact on Brother Lodolo.

“I miss Lambda Chi Alpha,” Brother Lodolo said. “Being a founding father of the re-colonization, and being on the staff for five years—and being in professional life for ten—I realize that I have so much of an advantage over most people my age because of the opportunity I was presented with the colony and on the staff. It provided opportunities to lead organizations and programs and motivate people with no financial incentives behind that. And so it taught me a lot.”

Something to sing about and a little too much dust. Somewhere in the back row, Wes Cole took part in the choir’s performance during the Purple, Green & Gold Banquet. (lower left). One of Phoenix’s infamous haboobs blew in on July 25.

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ABC 15 Phoenix

Rethinking Recruitment

All photos by Rick Childs

This fall, it was anything but business as usual before or during rush. Prospective fraternity members underwent a new regimen of educational development before recruitment got underway at CSUN in early September.

Former High Alpha Justyn De Leon (BP 602) began his second semester as recruitment chairmen with new obstacles to overcome.

The university community reacted strongly after a fraternity member’s death made headlines and dominated evening news broadcasts.

In response to the tragedy, University Student Affairs Office staff retooled the rush bid process for all IFC fraternities and introduced an enhanced indoctrination workshop in response to the hazing death of a CSUN Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity pledge.

Armando Villa, 19, along with other pledges, had participated in an 18-mile pre-initiation hike in the Angeles National Forest on July 1 where their cellphones, shoes and water bottles had been confiscated, according to news reports published in the Daily Sundial, Daily News and Los Angeles Times. The pledge died after suffering from dehydration and hyperthermia. It was the CSUN Greek system’s first hazing-related fatality in its 56-year history.

As the alumni-active softball game wound down across town in West Hills on Aug. 24, High Alpha Wesley Lamphere (BP 611) received a text message on his phone from the Student Development & International Programs (SDIP) Office. All brothers who planned to participate in fall recruitment needed to attend one of the “Recruitment & Intake Active Member Education” seminars. The first one was scheduled at 3:30 that afternoon in the University Student Union. Anyone who failed to attend one of the four meetings would be considered ineligible to take part in recruitment activities. Nearly 100 fraternity members and advisers from various chapters showed up for the Aug. 24 workshop at one of the USU’s upper floor meeting rooms to receive guidance on the avoidance of hazing practices and sexual harassment.

Activities Coordinator and Greek Life Adviser Jamison Keller conducted the hour-plus session with an assistant.

SDIP recruitment education workshop. Ozzy Robledo (BP 663) and Kyle Shaver (BP 648) watch Greek Life Adviser Jamison Keller (upper right) who instructed fraternity members on the dangers of hazing. Next to Brother Shaver is Chris Burgos (BP 644). In the row behind them are Jeffrey Perez de Leon (BP 660), Zareh Baboomian (BP 641) and Daniel Bermudez (BP 650). Justyn de Leon (below) goes over the Rush Week event schedule during the Aug. 24 chapter meeting.

“The seminar that he put together was a result of the Pi Kappa Phi incident,” Brother De Leon said. “Everybody—the whole Greek system—had to go through it regardless of being a new initiate or a 4-year veteran or anything.”

In addition to the IFC fraternities and Panhellenic sororities, all of the coed business fraternities attended similar seminars, according to Brother De Leon.

“I think they had three Saturdays of them. I think they put all the fraternities together, all the sororities together.”

The Aug. 24 seminar was attended by a dozen actives, and the rest of the actives in the chapter took part in one of the subsequent workshops.

In a further attempt to identify and abolish potential hazing incidents, at the direction of the SDIP Office, the Greek fraternities and sororities collaborated on a slide presentation that could be accessed online by prospective members.

“One of the stipulations in order to qualify the chapter to recruit new members was to come up with [a guide to introduce prospects to Greek life and what to watch out for],” Brother De Leon said. “I remember going to a couple of the IFC meetings with other Lambda Chis. IFC and Panhellenic officers got together and created a Greek education course. It was pretty much an online 30-minute [PowerPoint] module that every potential new member that was going to our events that day needed to [watch] before attending [any rush] event…. It was called PREP: the Pre-Recruitment Education Program.”

“We had brothers with iPads or different tablets or laptops outside of the rush events making sure that the people who came in had [viewed the PREP] program. After that, we got their name [written] down, [took] other information from them, and then they were admitted into the recruitment event. And none of our potential members seemed to [mind] about this new way to do things.”

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The chapter adapted to the new regimen without missing a beat. Besides offering prospect members basic information about hazing and sexual harassment, PREP also introduced each of the IFC fraternities and gave a little background on the organizations before they started visiting them.

Unlike prior semesters, bids could not be finalized until recruits attended a special event held on campus at the close of Rush Week.

Brother De Leon went over the rush schedule at the Aug. 24 chapter meeting during his report. Members were made aware that a fine of $20 would be enforced for brothers for unexcused absences at rush events. Then he discussed the itinerary for the week’s activities from Sept. 8-12.

“Monday, we’re going to be here at the house watching the Detroit Lions and New York Giants with buffalo wings and house tours. Tuesday, two separate events: Chop athletics at the east field… that’s located to the east of the new soccer stadium that’s north of Redwood Hall [by the P.E. buildings]. Then there’s an info session here at the house. Wednesday: does anybody have any hookahs... tobacco pipes? It’s also suit night. Thursday, Games Room [in the student union]: does anybody have any board games, Bananagrams, Risk, Scattegories, Cards Against Humanity? Friday, we’re just going to have an all-day barbecue here/hangout session. On Saturday, Bid Day [Sept. 13] is not going to be similar to what Panhellenic does. It’s nothing like running to your house after you get bid. It is going to be the official way the MIC (Matador Recruitment Center) can track who got their bids and who completed that PREP program.

After Rush Week ended, Brother De Leon explained what happened during Bid Day. “At the end of recruitment, the fraternity members would wait

for the new members to go into the MIC, grab their bids, and then go to the rooms they were assigned [depending on which fraternity they ultimately wanted to join]. It was kind of hard because we would bid people and have hope and faith that they would have still accepted their bid by the time Bid Day came around.”

Despite having several social media accounts (Instagram and the chapter’s Facebook General Bulletin Board Page, among others) plus a website, the chapter doubled down on older techniques and technology to drum up publicity. As in decades past, the actives prospected in classrooms and handed out flyers at their billboard-fronted information table on the Sierra Quad.

Running the information table took place on Sept. 2-3.

“We’re going to tackle this a little bit differently then when we did it last time,” he said during the Aug. 24 meeting. “There will be 5-6 guys there at a time. It’s a little menacing to have everybody there [at once].

“In my opinion, [those who were] tabling [made a big difference]” he said later. “We didn’t really [use a lot of social media]…. We used our Instagram account, but I’m not entirely sure how many people were looking through [it] for events. We had a bunch of flyers this time around. Almost every day, I made sure to give brothers more flyers.”

Before prospects that had expressed an The rush t-shirts have arrived. High Delta Justyn De Leon (left, wearing one of the fall ’14 rush t-shirts) hands out a new shirts to Bryan Martinez (BP 674) in back of the Lindley House on Aug. 31.

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

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Rick Childs (2)

Rush report. Justyn De Leon (above) provides more details about rush during the Aug. 31 chapter meeting. Alumni placed red roses at the foot of the Matador Statue after its dedication ceremony on Sept. 8, 2011. Daniel Bermudez (below) took charge of painting the chapter’s elaborately designed rush billboards.

interest in attending one of the rush events received promotional materials, the brothers made sure that they knew how to contact them.

Brother De Leon emphasized how much he appreciated that General Headquarters had sent over an Educational Leadership Consultant early in the semester. Typically, the consultants have visited the chapter around mid-semester to provide harm reduction workshops and assess how the chapter is performing.

The ELC, along with another staff member, arrived at the Lindley House on Aug. 31 and worked with chapter members on recruitment techniques after their meeting. Since it was his first semester consulting with other chapters, Associate Director of Education Marcus Kelley, a former ELC who had previously visited Beta-Rho during the second week of March in 2011, accompanied the new ELC as an adviser and mentor.

“We built our names list really early on before rush was even happening. We can thank our ELC, Justin Reed, for that. He came in and revamped our tabling program.”

Instead of cluttering the recruitment table with awards and pictures, the chapter kept nearly all of its plaques and trophies at the Lindley House and emphasized handouts. Brand promotion trumped memorabilia and past exploits.

“Mainly, we were putting our flag out there and just talking.”

Even with a greater collective effort in recruitment, the High Delta cited missed opportunities that needed to be addressed.

“We could’ve definitely improved in using media on campus.

That was one of my big goals. As time went by, it got harder to do that. The [MIC] has these things called the Matador Information Network Displays. They’re TVs that are set up around campus.”

Ironically, one of the chapter’s alumni, Kevin Mojaradi, the Associated Students marketing and public relations coordinator,

is in charge of running them.

Once again, several brothers took part in the SDIP Office’s New Student Orientation program this summer. This subtle presence of the chapter’s campus leaders may have added some allure to incoming freshmen, transfer and foreign exchange students; however, Brother De Leon downplayed their significance.

CSUN Lambda Chi Alpha General Bulletin Board / Instagram

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Facebook CSUN Lambda Chi Alpha General Bulletin Board / Instagram (2)

Camp Matador and Beta-Rho’s 2014 NSO leaders. According to Jorge Reyes (wearing a green t-shirt in the middle at left), “I was one of the camp counselors at Camp Matador, and my team was called Purple Crush.” Taken during the last day of New Student Orientation on Aug. 24 (above), the chapter fielded another group of volunteer leaders who were among the first to welcome CSUN’s newest freshmen and transfer students. Standing from left: Adrian Morales, Kyle Shaver, Angel Torres, Zach Payne, Ozzy Robledo, Daniel Ramos, Chris Burgos and Cody Raschella. Seated: Daniel Chukhman and Jeffrey Perez de Leon.

“I’d like to say that a couple [found out about us through our NSO leaders]. Brothers were telling me that some of the ones they brought around were from Orientation. Truthfully, not a lot of them were this time around.”

Working in tandem with the NSO, the Associated Students conducted summer activities for new students. Among them was former senator Jorge Reyes (BP 618), the new A.S. chief of staff.

At least one of the new associate members, Josh Bascou, became involved with the chapter after meeting Brother Reyes during the weekend spent at Camp Matador.

According to Brother Reyes in a Facebook chat, “Camp Matador is a new A.S program that just had its second year at CSUN. Camp Matador takes new incoming first-year students to a camp—usually in Big Bear— where they are put into groups and cabins. They get to experience team bonding, recreational activities as well as learn about resources and services that CSUN has. It differs from the New Student Orientation program because it is three days and the groups are not as big as the NSO ones. [Also] its mission relates to recreation, leisure and team bonding.

“I met Josh at Camp Matador because even though he wasn’t on my camp team he was still in my cabin, so I was his cabin leader. It wasn’t until [Rush Week] when he started to come around and I talked to him more and he was given a bid.

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

That’s how we pretty much became big and little [brothers].”

One of the university’s more recent traditions involves placing red roses at the foot of the Matador Statue for good luck, or the remembrance of a friend or family member.

“I’ve done it twice,” Brother De Leon said. “I was in Camp Matador and New Student Orientation when they first unveiled the statue, so I had been through that ritual once. And then, being in Camp Matador again, we closed off the whole camp with going back to the statue and putting a rose down in remembrance of the event and building new friendships.”

Brother De Leon’s work as the High Delta didn’t follow the typical pattern of using the office as a stepping stone to the position of president.

“Being Delta is something I always wanted to do. I remember Yesai Fstkchyan (BP 598) was my Delta [during the spring of 2011]. After the semester I became a J.I. (chapter parlance for junior initiate, a misnomer that has stuck around for decades), he told me to run for it. I thought about it, but I figured I would do other things in the meantime. Then as I was ending my term as Alpha [last December], I wanted to think of one way I could give back to the chapter. I wanted to do either Rho or Kappa— and I decided to do Delta instead.”

At the close of Rush Week, 30 recruits accepted their bids.

“Overall, I think they’re all great.”

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Fall ELC Assessment

All photos by Rick Childs

Educational Leadership Consultant (ELC) Justin Reed (shown at right) filed this report about the chapter’s strengths and areas that need improvement after his visit on Aug. 31-Sept. 3.

Coming off of school-imposed academic suspension, BetaRho Zeta at California State-Northridge is ready to break out of old habits and learn how to become a highly operating chapter.

They have a long road ahead of them, but they are an inspired and eager group led by some promising leaders.

Beta-Rho Zeta sports strengths that include its academic improvement plan, accountability, and philanthropy. Following former ELC Joel Weyrauch’s advice [the previous school year’s ELC], the chapter stuck to its academic improvement plan. By doing so, Beta-Rho Zeta was able to raise their GPA and get off of university-imposed academic suspension. Now, the chapter hopes to implement this same approach and raise their chapter GPA over 2.75. The chapter has also made it a point to enforce probation and suspension. No longer are brothers allowed to reap the benefits of Lambda Chi Alpha if they are not paying their dues or making grades. Among other things, the men at California State-Northridge pride themselves on philanthropy.

After a successful Watermelon Bash in the spring, the chapter has plans to raise 8,000 cans of food for Feeding America this semester.

However, Beta-Rho Zeta must work on some critical weaknesses. They must first finish digging themselves out of the financial hole they find themselves in. The good news being, they have a plan in place to become financially solvent.

Secondly, the chapter needs to place more focus into their big brother program. Big brothers need to become more than just a title. Big brothers need to attend all Fraternity Education sessions and all experiential learning sessions. Big brothers then need to debrief these sessions with their little brothers. Most importantly, big brothers need to hang out and have an active role in their little brothers’ lives. ELC Reed heard all to often from some of the chapter members that they hardly ever talk to their big brothers.

Finally, involvement in the fraternity has been a huge problem.

Although, there are plans in the works for formal brotherhood events including monthly barbecues and even a brotherhood camping trip. The High Beta (Internal Vice President) also has created a committee system structured around involvement.

According to his outline, every brother is involved in a committee.

If his plan works, the brotherhood will become much stronger as everyone will feel they have a place and designated role in the operations of the fraternity.

The men at California State-Northridge are on the right track.

They have strong leaders in place who are more than capable of doing great things. After a bleak couple of semesters, things are finally looking up and there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the men who have worked so hard to build this chapter back up.

Editor’s note: the chapter’s financial picture has improved dramatically since this report was sent to chapter officers on Sept. 23. Also, the chapter’s been holding monthly barbecues.

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SUMMER 2014

Fall AM Installation The chapter, along with parents and guests, convened at 6 p.m. In room 204 of Sierra Hall for the Associate Member Installation Ceremony on Sept. 21.

As with tradition, the 28 new members as of that date waited patiently outside as a quintet of High Zeta officers conducted the proceedings. Standing before a couple of projections of an American flag, High Alpha Wesley Lamphere introduced the audience to the associate members: Mikkel Steinlien, Espen Tandberg, Niklas Petersen, Justin Maciel, Vince Vergara, Dennis Lopez, Mel Haddad, Josh Bascou, David Burgos, Alessandro HĂśnig, Tyler Fernholz, Cameron Brandt, Mark Razo, Justin Pal, Danny Cervacio, Mark Tadros, Chris Martinez, Cyrus Carillo, Freddy Alamillo, Ryan Clark, Patrick Holmes, Rodrigo Grande, Brian Romero, Manny Fuentes, Freddy Martinez, Michael Magana, Richard Gonzalez and Esteban Marquez.

Other presiding officers were Justyn De Leon, Adrian Morales, Tony Ball and Myke Davis.

After the 11-minute induction, members and guests walked downstairs to the southeast entrance of Sierra Hall for group picture taking and chatting with parents and friends. By 7 o’clock, the chapter reconvened upstairs for its regular meeting and fraternity education session.

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

13

Making Every Day Count

Courtesy of Christian Anderson / Instagram

When Christian Anderson found Lambda Chi Alpha, it was a win-win situation for him and the chapter. He’s a dedicated student, fraternity brother, sales associate and concert event planner. All this, and he’s living with cancer.

Each of Beta-Rho’s brothers encounter the chapter as prospective recruits under a diverse set of circumstances, but their reasons for seeking membership have common threads. In the case of Christian Anderson [BP 649*], it stemmed from his desire to engage in CSUN’s recreational programs. But as brothers have known for decades, Beta-Rho can be more than a place for making lasting friendships; it’s a lifeline.

As fellow members will attest, Brother Anderson excels at building relationships. Conversations might touch on things he’s passionate about: the fraternity, sports, EDM, DJs, planning and participating in concert events in Hollywood or Vegas.

His easygoing personality, attention to detail and positive nature make him a treasured friend to those who know him and a highly accomplished salesperson.

Brother Anderson rushed Lambda Chi Alpha at CSUN in the early fall of 2013 just prior to his 22nd birthday.

“I was looking for a sports club to join. It was my first semester at CSUN. I had transferred from Moorpark [College], and I was looking for something to be active in. I was going through some health problems too. I wanted to try to get out there and make new friends. When you go into a new environment, you want to involve yourself in the school and I didn’t quite know how to do that, so I went around to the club tables. I had never thought about joining a fraternity at all.

“I met some guys [who said], ‘How about joining a fraternity?’

And I said, no, I’m looking for [a club to play] flag football. And then, honestly, Lambda Chi really caught my attention. “...I met Justyn [De Leon], Wesley [Lamphere], and it really sparked me. I get along with these guys…. They mentioned that the chapter had a substantial [Intramural] sports schedule.”

He checked out some other fraternities like Sigma Chi, Pi Kappa Alpha and the TKEs. Some of them, like Sigma Chi and the Pikes, gave Brother Anderson a bid the first time he visited one of their rush events. But he kept coming back to Beta-Rho.

“I felt like this was the place for me to be. I don’t know what it was, but it intrigued me. It was like, that’s it, I’ll take it. And this was the last house to give me a bid. I had to work for this bid.

“It’s what got me to want it more because I couldn’t have it [at first].

“Everyone has their own reason for joining a fraternity. I’m still interested in why people join. I joined for a completely different reason than probably 80 percent of the people here. I was not necessarily looking for friends, I was joining to be a part of an association. I didn’t know what a fraternity was.”

As a past Apple computer and tablet sales associate for the Northridge Best Buy store, he has been paying his way through college. Despite earning Best Buy’s President’s Club Champion status for being one of the top salesmen in the district in March, he left the company in August for Fry’s Electronics in Woodland Hills. He said he could make more money on Fry’s commissions than his former employer’s straight salary.

“I don’t sell Macs [at Fry’s]; I’m a pc specialist,” he said. “I sell pc video cards, routers, and most people there aren’t that knowledgeable. I’m really knowledgeable about the products. I could sell anything there.”

On top of his school and work schedule, Brother Anderson completed a Pratt & Whitney internship this summer as part of his computer engineering practicum. However, he changed his major this fall to economics.

“It went well. I interned there for six months. Due to them not having enough labor right now, there weren’t a lot of projects for me to work on there, so I was always looking for new jobs.

“I wanted to do computer engineering and economics. I wasn’t sure which one [was the one to keep], so I declared both of them when I [enrolled]. When I got sick it was very hard for me to balance computer engineering due to the hectic workload.

So pretty much I’ve just been doing economics so I can get by because I have struggled with my grades with everything that I’ve gone through.”

With a busy work and class schedule, Brother Anderson had difficulty participating in chapter and fraternity education meetings

* Brother Anderson’s initiation number is recognized as BP 649 by the chapter, but he is currently registered as BP 669 with General Headquarters.

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SUMMER 2014

during the fall 2013 semester. On top of that, he had been dealing with some serious health problems that continued to affect him on the night he was initiated.

His initiation had to be completed three weeks later than the rest of his class due to a chronic medical condition and an early call into work the next morning that required him to depart before the proceedings concluded.

“I have an inhaler that I take at night to help me rest. It’s a steroid I was taking at the time because I had just finished chemotherapy about two months [prior to joining]… for lung cancer.”

He had been undergoing chemotherapy at various times over the previous three years, and he keeps track of how long it’s been since his last treatment.

“I was exposed to chemicals [from] a job when I first graduated high school. I didn’t have proper treatment when I worked in there.

It was for a family friend at the time. There were no gas masks or anything else. Nothing was really regimented. It’s still not known what really caused it. I took an experimental form of chemotherapy [for the cancer] in the second lobe of my left lung that became infected. It didn’t spread to any adjacent tissues.

“I had surgery over the summer [of this year] in July. They were originally going to remove about 15 percent [of his lung], but they [took out] about 10 percent.”

His immune system has not not bounced back completely since the medical procedure.

“I was in the hospital for the past two days. I’m still getting over bronchitis. It’s normally not a big deal, but the infection has made me spend the past couple of weeks in the hospital. It’s difficult for my body to fight it off even though [as of Nov. 2] I am 369 days out of chemo, give or take a day.”

When chemo treatments carried over into the fall semester after he joined, Brother Anderson needed to work out academic issues with his teachers; they were sympathetic and he dodged academic probation. However, it still took time to balance his coursework, job schedule and fraternity obligations. All this while he was still recuperating from his chemo.

Over the past year quite a few pictures have been posted online of Brother Anderson’s exploits at various EDM concerts like the Electric Daisy Carnival, but he has also appeared onstage assisting local DJ Patrick Holmes. This fall, the in-demand club DJ also became one of Beta-Rho’s associate members.

“Patrick Holmes is literally my best friend in the whole world.

He’s been there pretty much every day of my life. When I’ve needed to go to the hospital, he was there for me.

“These [concerts] are events that me and my friends organize and have been a part of for awhile. It was something I was interested in before I joined. When I was going through chemo, I found it soothing. You could go to the music festivals where you could just hop on[stage] and enjoy yourself. I didn’t have to worry about my physical problems.”

The Relay For Life cancer charity event has become a pet project that Brother Anderson has recently started participating in.

“I took part in one at UCLA a while ago. I didn’t finish it BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

because it was a long one. It was a 24-hour one that my friend [took me to]. It was emotional for me to be there.”

While he keeps his medical and personal issues private and does not make a point of dwelling on them much except to his closest friends, Brother Anderson does not mince words about how grateful he is to be a part of Lambda Chi Alpha and have the perseverance to pursue his goals. He moved into the Lindley House in August and has enjoyed his time there immensely.

“I’ve always lived on my own. I had a studio [apartment] in Simi Valley. I was an only child raised by my mom. I never had a dad, no family, no siblings. I really like living here; it’s like living in summer camp.

(Laughs.) These have already been some of the best years of my life. I only signed a six-month lease because I wasn’t sure if I could hold up in it. But I love it. Every morning when I wake up… it’s really nice to have breakfast with your friends. And then when no one’s here, it’s quiet. You can do some homework. When I came home from the hospital with a lung infection, I thought, what am I going to do? Then there were people having fun, people smiling, talking, laughing. I completely forgot about all the things that were wrong with me.

“That’s why I’m thankful. I did pick some difficult majors. I am not saying that I have the best grades in the world; I’m a C student. But even here, [the brothers] have worked with me.

Especially Kyle [Shaver, the High Sigma]; he’s helped me out.

He’s one of the greatest and most influential people in this chapter. What he did for my rush class… there’s a lot of people that have changed this chapter. You respect what he says.”

Now that Brother Anderson has changed his major so that he can turn the corner on his academic challenges of the past couple of semesters, he is looking forward to becoming more involved in chapter leadership.

“I want to get my grades checked this week [because] I want to run for a position. That’s something that’s been my goal this semester. I want to give something back.”

Since he works on Sundays, it’s difficult for him to attend chapter meetings. Fortunately, his schedule is somewhat flexible, and he has found that the customers thin out by 6:30, time enough to return to Northridge for the meetings.

Brother Anderson is more interested in accentuating the positive than dwelling on his personal problems or health issues.

“At least pretend to be happy—that’s what my grandma always told me. Eventually, if you keep pretending, practice makes perfect. I’m very appreciative of the family [both his mother and his fraternity brothers] I have around me. My family has helped me through a lot. And just being able to have an opportunity to have a decent job where I can afford to live here, and paying to [attend CSUN]. I never had a college fund, so I’ve paid for all of it up to this point.

“I will get my degree. Last semester I passed all my classes— 300 level classes. I’m proud to say that I’m a B or C student.

“The fraternity has helped me [with keeping his academic performance up]. I knew I had friends in the fraternity that I could count on if I needed something. I owe a lot to the fraternity.”

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BETA-RHO BULLETIN BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA FRATERNITY P.O. BOX 280311 NORTHRIDGE, CA 91328-0311

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Editor’s Journal Imagine what it would be like if you joined the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity 39 years ago. It didn’t cross my mind back in 1975, but now it does.

As one brother recently told me, there are two reasons why one should attend a college. One is to earn a degree. That’s what society wants, right? Or maybe it’s what your parents want, especially if any of their money is paying for your education. Of course you want your degree; otherwise, you would probably never have found yourself reading this message. The other reason for setting foot on a college campus is to have an experience. No counselor, parent or friend can explain quite what that is, but more often than not, it’s the experience that burns brighter in the memory than all those nights spent studying for exams, reading books, working on research papers and stressing out over finals.

Nobody told me that I would be joining a fraternity at CSUN. My parents sure weren’t too thrilled with the idea. My brother got hazed by his fraternity before he was initiated while he was attending Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. That was almost enough to keep me from ever attending a rush event.

But after three semesters of college, it dawned on me that the kinds of friends I wanted probably belonged to one of the fraternities on campus. So I started looking in earnest.

It’s Spring 1975, and I’ve checked out four fraternities. True story: one of the guys at a fraternity house event made an odd comment: “You seem like you would make a good Lambda Chi.” I hadn’t checked them out yet. When I did, I couldn’t figure out the address of the chapter house. Spring rush zipped by and I passed on fraternity life... for the moment. I later found out that

the chapter’s rented house was located on 19243 Cantara Street near Tampa just south of Roscoe in Reseda.

A few weeks into the summer, a brother from Lambda Chi called me. It turned out that we had shared two classes that spring. In those days, there were general ed. courses called cluster groups. Incoming freshmen and transfer students (I was one of the latter) could sign up for these during their first year at CSUN. So we had been in poli sci and psych together. Not only that, we had sat at the same table at the Pizza Cookery in Tarzana and attended some of the group’s social events: performances by the L.A. Philharmonic and Laserium. This time I got the correct address. I got lost trying to find it in the spring; I had knocked on doors along Cantara east of Reseda Boulevard.

Unlike most recruits, I saw firsthand what it was like to be among the brothers over the summer. I went to Zuma Beach one weekend and played volleyball. One of the first things I picked up on was that there was no pledging; new members could vote immediately. As associate members (the first fraternity in the U.S. to embrace the abolishment of pledging practices), hazing would not have anything to do with my initiation.

Then as now, the fraternity sought to instill a lifetime bond, a journey that continues long after the degree arrives in the mail.

To be fair, I found ways to keep myself involved with my longtime volunteerism as a housing corporation member, photographer and newsletter producer.

I know Lambda Chis who are in their 90s, late teens and everywhere in between. I may not like getting older, but I love sharing the journey with my brothers. They have transformed my college experience into a life experience.

The chapter’s first house back in the day and a bit more recently. On the left is a picture of the Cantara House circa 1976, not long after I joined. The front of the house had been recently painted a stylish off-white and light brown. I took this other picture of the house on Sept. 30, 2012 a few hours after the Alumni-Active Softball Game that summer. A lot of remodeling has been done to the house; an addition was built on the back of the garage, and the driveway has been expanded. Most of the neighborhood has been gentrified, and it’s probably safe to say that none of the residents have sheep or roosters in their backyards anymore. (The neighbors are also quite security-conscious.)