BETA-R HO BULLETIN Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity
California State University, Northridge
Volume 46, Issue 1
Winter/Spring 2018
Bustin’
Beta-Rho’s entourage takes an unofficial portrait near the close of the Watermelon Bust on March 29. Front row (holding flag): Rocael Cardona. Second row, from left: Kevin Catalan, Collin Chan, Brandon Serna, Fernando Ortiz, J.C. Martinez, Wade Hawthorne, Robert Aceves, Tommy Noer and Josh Bascou. Third row: Abel Martinez, Rodrigó Valenzuela, Frankie Castanon, Jesse Martinez, Chris Martinez, Eric Planas, Angelo Samson, Andrew Willins, Irving Merino, Danny Rodriguez, Luis Alvarez, Kevin Mojaradi (behind Eddy), Eddy Moya, Jesus “Jay” Villa, Jacob Barron, Alex Dinsmore, Erik Findling, Eric Choi, Randy Liera Martinez, Edward Lopez, Giovanni Castaneda, Bryan Cardona, James Mizuki, Wes Cole and Ozzy Robledo.
Features
On the cover: Among the five specimens entered in the Watermelon Decorating Contest was this panda snacking on a can from AOPi. Back cover: Abel Martinez tries to get out of the way as another watermelon ends up busted at the hands of a Phi Mu ‘s Sally Lee. (Photos: Rick Childs)
Alumni Chronicles: Winter & Spring
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Housing Corporation Annual Meeting
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Alumni Association 2.0
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Chapter Chronicles: Winter & Spring
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Watermelon Bust #7: The Fourpeat
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High Alpha Summit 2018
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One Night with the Chapter: Jan. 28
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The Class of Spring, 2018
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Graduation 2018
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In Memorium: Brian Garfield
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Special thanks. Some of the content for this edition of the Beta-Rho Bulletin would not have been possible without the assistance and cooperation of the following brothers, IHQ staff, spouses and sorority members: Wade Hawthorne, Fernando Ortiz, Alex Dinsmore, J.C. Martinez, Drew Willins, Chris Martinez, Howard Sapper, Drew Singer, Jessie Arciniega, Alfonso Stogden, Frankie Castanon, Skyler Lee, Angel Torres, Nick Dinsmore, Jayme Little, Howard Brightman, Neal Kavalsky, Amanda Press, Xena Peterson, Stephanie Lamb, Karen Acevedo and Rose Merida. 2
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Volume 46, Issue 1 Version 1.9 Editor, reporter, designer & photographer: Rick Childs The Beta-Rho Bulletin is the official publication of BetaRho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha International Fraternity at California State University, Northridge. This alumni publication is not funded by the housing corporation. It is published electronically and hard copy printing expenses are supported by alumni donations. Article ideas, directory revisions, weddings, anniversaries, births and career info should be snail mailed, e-mailed or sent via Facebook or texts to the editor. His mailing address is 38665 11th Street East, Apt. 26, Palmdale, CA; 93550-. Email: eaglerick55@gmail.com. Made on a 2010 Mac Mini with iWork Pages ’09 v. 4.1. Originally published on June 27, 2018. Production dates: May 9 - June 27, 2018. Last edit: July 14, 2018. Editor’s phone number/texts: (661) 313-5319
Alumni Chronicles: Winter & Spring Photos courtesy of Drew Singer, Mike & Amanda Press, Alfonso Stogden, Jessie Arciniega and Howard Sapper.
It’s four newborns and a reunion in Las Vegas (an alumni reunion; the babies were all California born and bred). Clockwise from left, Drew Singer snapped a selfie with his wife Jessica and their black Lab after they took turns holding son Lucas Ryan Singer, their first child. He checked in at 3 a.m. on Feb. 16 at Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center. He weighed in at 6 lbs. 1 oz, and measured 19 3/4 inches long. Mike Press and his wife Amanda have a trio of young children now with the addition of Abigail Catherine (Abby) Press, their first daughter. She was born on March 6 at the same place as her siblings: Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center in Thousand Oaks. Meanwhile, a few valleys over from the Conejo, Alfonso and Janet Stogden greeted their son Adrian Jayden “A.J.” Stogden on April 2 at 8:24 a.m. Birth weight and length: 5 lbs., 9 oz., 19 3/4 inches long (coincidentally). The pillow says it all for Robert Jose “R.J.” Arciniega, Jessie and Raquel Arciniega’s firstborn. Born on Dec. 28, 2017 in Los Angeles at 6:13 p.m, weighing in at 7 lbs., 8 ozs.
Spring 2018 Housing Corporation Board of Directors: President Vice President Director Director Director
Spencer Schmerling Howard Brightman Rick Childs Scott Press Darren Arrieta
Spring 2018 High Zeta: High High High High High High High High High High High High
Alpha Beta Gamma Delta Epsilon Iota Kappa Phi Rho Sigma Tau Theta
Alex Dinsmore Collin Chan Rocael Cardona Eddy Moya Andrew Willins Brandon Serna Jacob Barron Angelo Samson J.C. Martinez Wade Hawthorne Dre Ghotra Fernando Ortiz
And finally, we interrupt this series of birth announcements and cruise north on the 15 to Las Vegas, Nevada where eight alumni reconvened on May 6 at Binion’s just off the northern end of the Strip. For some of them this has become an annual tradition for 20 years. Seated, from left: Jon Gardner, Brian Quint and Mitch Silberman. Standing: Jay Friedman, Mark Swedelson, Howard Sapper, Gary Goodstein and Mark Widawer.
On the Web: Headquarters & the Cross & Crescent Back Issues Facebook Instagram Twitter
Lambdachi.org Issuu.com/beta-rho_83 CSUN Lambda Chi Alpha General Bulletin Board Lambda Chi Alpha, BP Alumni CSUNLambdaChiAlpha #CSUNLambdaChi
BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY
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Annual Meeting in the round. Mark Widawer kept the discussion going on the housing situation. From left, Scott Press, Tim Pena, Rick Childs, Brother Widawer, Spencer Schmerling, Howard Brightman, Brandon Serna, Wade Hawthorne and J.C. Martinez. (Photo by Tino Diaz) Opposite page: Brothers Schmerling and Brightman go over the post-Annual Meeting agenda. Brother Pena discusses his recent experiences with AA as Alex Dinsmore, Tino Diaz and Scott Press listen. (Photos by Rick Childs)
Back to the Golden Hunan Round tables with Lazy Susans. Chinese food. Change of scenery. The Beta-Rho Housing Corporation ditched the friendly confines of the Lindley House and returned to the Golden Hunan Restaurant in Northridge for its 2017 Annual Meeting on Jan. 30. It was the chapter’s first foray to the restaurant since December of 2012. In another first of sorts, the corp. board skipped the first Tuesday in December (or the Tuesday in the preceding or succeeding week) and delayed the Annual Meeting proceedings by several weeks. And then there was this other first: the Annual Meeting skipped 2017 entirely. Nevertheless, 2018 appeared destined to become the first year when two Annual Meetings would occur. If 13 is your idea of a lucky number, then this was the alumni event for you. Seven alumni and six undergrads were in attendance, the perfect number to fit everyone around one of the eatery’s signature round tables. Before the meeting was called to order, Corp. Board President Spencer Schmerling requested that each brother introduce himself. He prefaced his remarks by discussing the origins and purpose(s) of the housing corporation and credited Howard Brightman (EΣ528), who was seated at his right, for its incorporation in 1969. “About me… Beta-Rho 288,” Brother Schmerling said. “I am in the financial technology business. I am CEO of a company called Cascade Fintech. We are a program manager for prepaid cards: prepaid Mastercards, Visas, things like that. I live in Las Vegas and I have two grown sons, your ages, in colleges. My oldest is graduating this year and my youngest is a sophomore.” Brother Brightman, who is a tax consultant and enrolled agent for the IRS, continued. “…Back in 1968 as [Spencer] mentioned I was on the initiating team at UCLA, which is where I went to school when this new colony at San Fernando Valley State College was being established. And I happened to like the guys who were there. So I said I wanted to stay active and [help with the new colony]. So that put me into about 25 years as house corporation president after creating the board.” “I am Beta-Rho 732,” Brandon Serna said. “My position is High
Iota, risk management. Also, I was appointed standards chair.” Wade Hawthorne (BP 738) followed. “I am a deaf studies major at CSUN, and I am the High Sigma, or academics chair.” “Good evening everyone,” Juan Martinez said. “I’m known by J.C., Beta-Rho 741. I am an art education double major with ethnic studies [and he is the current High Rho].” “I have the honor of being the High Pi for the chapter, my third and final year,” Kevin Mojaradi (BP 462) said. Fernando Ortiz (BP 743): “…I am philanthropy chair, the High Theta... my major is business: marketing.” High Alpha Alex Dinsmore (BP 716) continued. “I’m the president, and I’m a sophomore. I’m a kinesiology major.” “Beta-Rho 733,” Augustin “Tino” Diaz said. “I am a business: management major.” Scott Press spoke next. “Beta-Rho 55. I’m a junior (laughter). I have three sons. Two are Lambda Chis [both former High Alphas at Beta-Rho]…. I fix things around the [Lindley] house sometimes, the front door, this and that. I’m retired, so I’ve got time.” “Beta-Rho 264,” Tim Pena said. “I have four grown kids. Some are way older than you guys. The youngest one is pretty close to your age and two of each flavor. My fraternity claim to fame I guess is being on the international ritual team in 1988 in Memphis and at the 100-year celebration at the headquarters in Indianapolis. That’s always been my favorite part, the ritual.” Fending off the waitress who was starting to serve the main course, Rick Childs continued. “I’m Beta-Rho 83. I joined in 1975. [More waitress interruptions.] …I am your comic relief for the evening. And I am the [board’s] secretary… I keep a lot of ridiculous records on my computer for the chapter, and I do a lot of the alumni stuff…. I have been married for thirty years and I have a daughter named Megan who’s 27.” Mark Widawer concluded the introductions. “I’m Beta-Rho 220. I have a wife and three great kids: a boy, girl and a boy. I have a company called West Hills Web. I do online marketing and web development…. All my best friends are Lambda Chis, 4
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and it’s been the best experience I’ve ever had.” At the conclusion of the creed, diners at the other tables gave a round of applause. Then Brother Schmerling called for the proxy ballots. According to Brother Schmerling, the Lindley House’s loan had been sold to a private investment company about two years ago. During a meeting that he had with them last year, they agreed to extend the forbearance that the corporation had on the property. “We will save $177,000 if we pay off the loan by this time next year,” he said. Progress continued on the lot split project. He said that the chapter had about 18 months left to complete the documentation with the city. Plans were underway to split the Lindley House property into three parcels. This would enable the housing corporation to uphold its financial obligations with its note holders and lower the mortgage cost. Brother Arrieta’s background in civil engineering with his company had become the housing corporation’s biggest asset for completing the lot split paperwork. Keeping the Lindley House fully rented has run into problems during the school year. When Brother Widawer inquired about it, “We are light on live-ins,” Brother Schmerling replied. “We definitely could use some help recruiting live-ins.” In New Business, Brother Brightman brought up a two-part proposal for overseeing the corp. board’s day-to-day operations that would be undertaken by a board member who lives within
BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY
an hour’s drive of the Lindley House. It also addressed creating a separate board to function as an alumni association. He suggested that the corp. board consider establishing a copresidency to handle the day-to-day operations and lot split responsibilities. While the co-presidency idea didn’t make it past the discussion to a vote, a vice presidency was approved that addressed the same goals—and Brother Brightman became the odds-on favorite to fill that position. During the elections, the corp. board continued in its five-man configuration with Brother Schmerling as its president for the next year. Brother Pena stepped down while Brother Brightman took his place as the new vice president. Brothers Arrieta, Childs and Press agreed to serve another year each as directors. “It was fun to be a part of [the corp. board] for the last couple of years,” Brother Pena said after forgoing another term as a director. “I’ve been sober since Dec. 15 of 2015. I’m very active in AA helping other guys. I worked through the steps, and that’s kinda become my passion now. Lambda Chis will always be my brothers. There’s a whole new form of brotherhood in the program.” He was also looking ahead at the resumption of one of the chapter’s marquee alumni events. “Let’s play the damn softball game so that we can beat [the actives] again! For some of us old guys, it really does make us feel young despite not being able to walk for a week afterwards. I do look forward to that happening again. Same with football.”
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Alumni Association 2.0 Emerges “Don’t anybody move.” Beta-Rho Housing Corporation Vice President Howard Brightman kept the attendees of the Feb. 28 meeting at the Lindley House glued to their seats after adjournment. He and three corp. board members met for an informal planning session to begin the formation of an alumni association. The meeting got underway at 8:50 p.m. Darren Arrieta, Scott Press and Rick Childs sat in with Brother Brightman along with one of the actives, Edward Lopez. Contrary to popular belief, Beta-Rho has never had its own independent alumni association. Its existence depended on the efforts of the corp. board and the chapter’s High Rho. In the early 1970s, the chapter also had a parents club that coordinated some alumni activities. Since Headquarters’ General Counsel Lynn Chipperfield requested that all chapters separate their alumni association functions into their own incorporated groups, Beta-Rho took steps to comply with their edict in 2016. At that point, alumni activities like the softball game and other events temporarily became the sole responsibility of the chapter’s High Rho. Despite the efforts of two undergrad alumni event officers, the chapter ran into problems pulling off any activities in this period. Under the guidance of Brother Brightman, the committee began the task of forming an official alumni activities board for the chapter. Its group functions and responsibilities concentrated on six areas: the scholarship fund, alumni dues drives, alumni publications (this publication and the membership directory), alumni activities, general communications and budgeting. The big insurance question from Brother Brightman came up early. “Do we want to incorporate so that we are fully protected?” The committee strongly agreed that the existence of an alumni association would necessitate incorporating and carrying an insurance policy like the one the housing corporation uses. “I will have to check with Headquarters,” Brother Brightman said. “I am meeting with [Director of Alumni Engagement] Jayme Little for dinner… next Tuesday. He was High Pi here for about two years.” He also said that he would begin the process of incorporating the alumni group. “I’ll try to get a tax I.D. number and look into maybe incorporating just to protect us….”
Howard Brightman with Edward Lopez
Then the group looked into coming up with a name for the organization. “Alumni Activities Board of Lambda Chi Alpha?” he asked. Brother Childs commented, “Is there some reason why we can’t use Alumni Association?” And then Brothers Brightman and Childs said in unison, “Beta-Rho Alumni Association.” “We don’t need to say Lambda Chi Alpha [preceding it],” Brother Brightman said. “Okay, so Beta-Rho Alumni Association?” Brother Brightman continued. “Is that okay, without saying Lambda Chi Alpha Inc. or Lambda Chi Alpha?” “Rolls off the tongue,” Brother Arrieta replied. “I will look into what we have to do to become a non-profit, a 501 C7,” Brother Brightman continued. We already have the 501 C3 on campus. So I’ll try to come up with some bylaws or goals. I am not a big fan of mission statements.” One of the topics that took up part of the meeting involved the current status of the chapter’s scholarship fund. Brother Brightman recalled that a scholarship fund had been set up on campus while he had been the corp. board’s president. “I remember when I was [active] in the chapter [2006-10],” Brother Arrieta said. “We kept on talking about it.” He noted that one chapter scholarship had been awarded while he was an undergrad. “I don’t know what’s in there now. Someones’ going to have to check it,” Brother Brightman said. One idea being floated concerned awarding scholarship money to be used towards rent, i.e., room scholarships. Discussion concluded with ideas about alumni events for the spring semester and summer months. Brother Brightman offered his house for a barbecue “sometime after tax season.” Not far from anyone’s mind was the resumption of the alumni-active softball game. “What about a Dodgers game?” Brother Brightman asked. Groups had been bused to Dodger Stadium beginning in 1978 and continued into the late 1980s. However, the ticket prices eventually took its toll on attendance. Brother Press countered with a group outing for a Lancaster Jethawks game like the ones done in the mid-2000s. Those were a lot less pricey. The newly created alumni association hasn’t met since the February session. Since there hasn’t been any mailings or alumni outreach other than a couple of brief social media campaigns, the organization hasn’t raised funds needed for basic expenses like printing and postage. New events are still in discussion stages. The odds-on-favorite to draw the first crowd of alumni will most likely be the alumni-active softball game sometime around the late summer, fingers crossed.
Scott Press with Darren Arrieta 6
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Chapter Chronicles: Winter & Spring Photo credits: The T-shirt pose of Fernando Ortiz shot by J.C. Martinez; the Autism Speaks candid of Eddy Moya is by Dayna Rosenthal. Chris Martinez and Wade Hawthorne/Brandon Serna/Fernando Ortiz and billboard by Rick Childs
BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY
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Watermelon Bust
2018 Edition
AOPi’s Streak: the Fourpeat One of the sororities took on the challenge of attempting a fourth consecutive title as the Watermelon Bust champion on March 31. Were they up to the task for the fourpeat? Under the supervision of External Affairs Vice President (High Theta) Fernando Ortiz, the chapter rolled through another Watermelon Bust, its seventh in the series since 1988. Like its recent predecessors, the chapter collected thousands of cans for Lambda Chi Alpha’s official philanthropy, Feeding America. Canned foods have been procured for Feeding America through the chapter’s annual charity games since 2013. After this year’s donations were weighed, they totaled 2,391 pounds, according to Brother Ortiz. Eventually, the chapter packed up the donations and had them trucked to the L.A. Regional Food Bank. Brother Ortiz noted that the biggest challenges for this year’s event “were agreeing on the Watermelon Bust design and timing.” Graphic artists J.C. Martinez and Gio Castaneda contributed separate logo designs for T-shirts worn by the active members and sorority guests. Sorority participants wore yellow or white custom T-shirts while the actives purchased salmon colored shirts, and both featured distinct logo art on both sides. “I wanted to have multiple designs to differentiate the
Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Pi Sigma
Delta Delta Delta 8
brothers from the supporters,” he texted. “We sold a good amount of both designs which I thought was effective, especially since we sold T-shirts and crop tops to the supporters.” The Watermelon Bust coincided with at least one other CSUN fraternity charity event that weekend. Student Affairs’ guidelines have narrowed the window for conducting Greek organization charities into a few weekends around the spring break. That, along with sisterhood events, have affected the number of Panhellenic sororities that can find time to attend along with the donations. Despite the timing issue, other aspects of the event went smoothly. The coaches that fanned out to represent each sorority team had good experiences, overall. “What went well was that the brothers kept close contact with their sororities,” he noted. They “helped me with the entire event. It was safe and fun.” Once the can donations had leveled off after 11 a.m., around 70 actives and guests converged at the Lindley House backyard for the competitions. Among the alumni in attendance were Josh Bascou, Chris Burgos, Rick Childs, Wes Cole, Jesse Martinez, James Mizuki, Ozzy Robledo, Angel Torres and Rodrigó Valenzuela. Sororities that fielded teams this year were Alpha Omicron Pi, a new chapter of Alpha Pi Sigma, Delta
Delta Zeta
Phi Mu WINTER / SPRING 2018
Fernando Ortiz BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY
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Delta Delta, Delta Zeta and Phi Mu. Due to other obligations, Alpha Xi Delta, Alpha Phi, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi didn’t send teams this year. However, Alpha Xi Delta entered a watermelon for the decorating contest. Two of the games that had become staples in recent years were cut to streamline the games’ schedule. Cut for time were the watermelon roll and tug of war. Beginning with the first of two watermelon toss games on the basketball court, alumni judges who tallied the event points were Kevin Mojaradi, the chapter adviser; along with former Watermelon Bust supervisors Eric Planas and Frankie Castanon. Individual contestants from each team led off with a shot put-style watermelon toss for the longest distance. Once the distances for each throw were tallied, three members from each team took turns tossing watermelons into buckets of water set up like a bowling pin arrangement. Watermelons tossed in the closest bucket received the lowest score while the middle and back rows of two and three buckets tallied higher points. Anyone standing too close to the buckets, like this writer,
was virtually guaranteed to get doused with water. The watermelon smash involved a series of skits that culminated in the untimely demolition of an unsuspecting watermelon. The TriDelts topped the competition followed by DZ in second place. Pi Sigma Alpha placed third. A quick break preceded the dance competition. Brothers served light snacks and water from the kitchen while Collin Chan took video of the backyard from overhead with his drone. Phi Mu picked up third place for the dance-off while Tri-Delta finished in second. AOPi took top honors. A trend was building. Teams’ point scores were based on their game standings and their canned food donations. Brother Ortiz first announced third place: 1,508 points for Delta Zeta. In second place with 1,930 points: Tri-Delta. Then came the crucial award announcement from Brother Ortiz. “And finally, in first place with 2,842 points, the undisputed champions of Watermelon Bust: AOPi!” Between 2011 and 2018, the sorority had won the championship five out of six years and four in a row. The fourpeat was complete.
Frankie Castanon with Zax 10
Collin Chan WINTER / SPRING 2018
Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Pi Sigma
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Zeta
Phi Mu
Beta-Rho Coaches
Sorority Team Coaches
Alpha Xi Delta Alex Dinsmore Luis Alvarez Eddy Moya Alpha Omicron Pi Angelo Samson Bryan Cardona
BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY
Alpha Pi Sigma Rocael Cardona Alpha Phi Tino Diaz-Ordaz Kevin Catalan Dre Ghotra
Delta Delta Delta Jacob Barron Edward Lopez Jesus Villa Delta Zeta Chris Martinez Brandon Serna J.C. Martinez
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Kappa Kappa Gamma Collin Chan Irving Merino Erik Findling Andrew Willins Phi Mu Abel Martinez David Burgos Robert Aceves
Beta-Rho Coaches Front row: Jesus “Jay” Villa, Alex Dinsmore. Second row: Angelo Samson, Juan “J.C.” Martinez, Brandon Serna, Rocael Cardona, Kevin Catalan, Robert Aceves, Luis Alvarez, Collin Chan. Third row: Irving Merino, Edward Lopez, Jacob Barron, Chris Martinez, Eddy Moya, Abel Martinez and Bryan Cardona.
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BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY
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BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY
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Watermelon Bust 2018 Edition
Alpha Omicron Pi: 1st Place Top row, from left: Angelo Samson, Briana Russo, Carole Samson, Erika Hernandez, Mireya Vasquez, Elizabeth Ortiz, Jomira Coyotzi, Valerie Russo, Melissa Garcia and Bryan Cardona. Bottom row: Sophie Hess, Kiana Shwarz, Anna D’Arcy, Jocelyn Muno, Criscel Evangelista, Sofie Reyes and Ashley Duarte.
Delta Delta Delta: 2nd Place
Delta Zeta: 3rd Place
Top row, from left: Jacob Barron, Hayley Vargas, Rebecca Rumph, Jessica Shumate and Edward Lopez. Bottom row: Jaelin Taylor, Lesette Llamas, Cassidy Jimenez, Hannah Delcher and Jesus Villa.
Top row, from left: Brandon Serna, Chris Martinez, Rose Merida, Kayla Medina, Rosie Rodriguez, Margarita Jaco, Sharon Escamilla and J.C. Martinez. Bottom row: Diana Kandela and Melissa Renteria.
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2018 High Alpha Summit Around 180 chapter presidents converged on the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown Hotel for the annual High Alpha Summit on Jan. 4-7. The chapter’s High Alpha, Alex Dinsmore, traveled from LAX to Indianapolis for his first solo trip by plane. He hadn’t experienced anything like the city’s frigid January temperatures before. “It was about 2 degrees that whole time that we were there,” he recalled. “I never saw it snow, but there was snow on the ground. When I walked out of the airport it was really cold. I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew it was going to be cold, but I didn’t know it was going to be that cold.” According to the Cross & Crescent, around100 chapter executives, ELCs and staff worked with the undergrads. A former ELC of Beta-Rho and current Special Assistant to the CEO Brandon Bonds served as one of Brother Dinsmore’s group moderators. “I met Brandon,” he said. “Brandon was one of our staff leaders for our group and our session. They were good about everything. They were fine with people saying whatever they wanted to. They weren’t there to shame people or anything. They were really there for advice.” At the conclusion of the small group sessions, their first night’s dinner keynote speaker was Dick Thornburgh, a global financial services executive. He outlined how he thrived in the corporate world and shared five characteristics of a successful leader. “What better world to try out your leadership skills than a fraternity?” Brother Thornburgh implored the attendees. Brother Dinsmore added, “I met Josh Lodolo [the CEO of the Educational Foundation and Beta-Rho alumnus] on the first night.” He also chatted with Brother Bonds. After the banquet, the High Alphas were given the opportunity to hop on a minibus and tour the International Headquarters north of the city in Carmel. But jet lag hadn’t been kind to Brother Dinsmore. “It was like 10 or 11. I didn’t go because I knew I wasn’t going to get much sleep. “We were mainly in the hotel,” he added. “I saw the Indianapolis
Capitol Building. I didn’t know we would be that close. Other than that, everything [they did] was in the hotel.“ While the hotel was close by Lucas Oil Stadium, his only foray into the city was on the second day when the delegation took some chartered buses for a service trip to Gleaners Food Bank, one of the fraternity’s distribution hubs for its Feeding America philanthropy. “We separated into different groups. What I was doing in the half [assembly line] was to handle the cans in the boxes. They’d bring them over and we would filter through it and throw anything out that was dented. They have guidelines for what can and can’t pass through. We’d put them in little crates and then pass them to the other half. There were staff that were intertwined with us… like ELCs, IHQ.” The C&C noted that the undergrads and staff helped to “sort and load more than 18,000 pounds of food for 15,642 Central Indiana residents in need.” Listening to Headquarters’ Legal Counsel Lynn Chipperfield made a big impression on Brother Dinsmore. “Their official lawyer talked to us. He said never sign anything [with it saying] Lambda Chi Alpha [so that it minimizes the liability trail to the General Fraternity]. If you do sign it, they’re not responsible—we are.” [The point was to keep any agreements limited to the chapter level.] While the summit agenda didn’t funnel undergrads into seminars, the group sessions covered a variety of chapter social issues. “We all went to a diversity workshop,” he said. “We talked about race, LGBTQ, inclusion, discrimination. They intertwined that with hazing.” Brother Dinsmore noted that his roommate was from one of the five Virginia chapters. However, two of the three most memorable High Alphas he met were from California chapters. He also met with the High Alpha from the Kent State chapter, Ethan Wiblan. “There were two from LMU [Loyola-Marymount University] and Chico [Evan Brown and Kris Reddy]. I got to talk to them for a little bit. They were pretty cool. I had dinner together with them a couple of times.” His main takeaways for the next High Alpha who attends the 2019 Summit: never underestimate jet lag from crossing two time zones, and expect to open up about leadership experiences. “The main thing is that in group discussions you have to talk. I may be head of the chapter, but when you are there so is everyone else. It’s nice how it’s like a humbling experience because everyone is stripped of their title once they get there.”
Alex Dinsmore’s photo by Chris Martinez. T-shirt logo and Gleaners Food Bank photos courtesy of Taylor Grayson / Lambda Chi Alpha. Used by permission.
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One Night with the Chapter: Jan. 28 Call to Order: 7:03 p.m., Sierra Hall 182, 24 in attendance. Informal.
High Phi Report (Angelo Samson): Hi guys. So, we’re still missing one ritual book… Audience member: “I have it.” “You have it?” (Laughter until gavel pounds.) False alarm. “…I’m waiting for Jesse [Espinoza, last semester’s ritualist] to give me the list of who he gave it to. [Most of his report was redacted for privacy, and it was also interrupted by the first and second guest appearances.]
Roll Call: High Gamma Rocael Cardona called the roll and took minutes. Present, alumni and chapter in roster order: Kevin Mojaradi, Rick Childs, Robert Aceves, Luis Alvarez, Jacob Barron, David Burgos, Bryan Cardona, Collin Chan, Eric Choi, Augustin “Tino” Diaz, Alex Dinsmore, Adresh “Dre” Ghotra, Wade Hawthorne, Edward Lopez, Abel Martinez, Adrian Martinez, J.C. Martinez, Edwin “Eddy” Moya, Fernando Ortiz, Angelo Samson, Brandon Serna, Jesus “Jay” Villa, Andrew “Drew” Willins.
Guest Appearance #1: Phi Mu Sorority announced by the chapter president. The brothers stood and applauded as seven of their reps entered the classroom and then introduced themselves: Christina, Lulu, Anna, Kjirsten, Rosa, Zyra and Nikki, the chapter’s president. The sorority suggested that they get together for an exchange. They brought pizzas, which drew a high spirited round of applause. “Wait on the pizza,” Brother Dinsmore warned. That didn’t stop anyone.
High Alpha Report (Alex Dinsmore): The ELC arrives between March 20-30. “First of all, it’s the beginning of the semester. Let’s have some fun. Clearly, I’m not here to take myself too seriously. On that note if anyone takes pictures, please send them to me. I can use them on Twitter… I need some collateral…. He wants the High Zeta to communicate better. Also, he is taking issue with the house being used for any partying. “We still have to lay low because of all the noise we’re making. If you’re going to have something, be smart about it.” There is no meeting scheduled next week. “...So feel free to show up. I will not be here.” He wrote his number on the board. “That’s my number if you need it. Please, I prefer that you text me in the individual GroupMe because 1) I hate the noise and, 2) I’m lonely and getting a text feels so much better.”
Guest Appearance #2: Delta Zeta Sorority sisters appeared during the ‘pizza break’. Rina, the semester’s fraternity coordinator, introduced herself first followed by members of their E board. In order: Ashley, Alexis, Krista, Rose, Kim, Vivian, Kelsey, the chapter’s president. (Applause.) They wanted to extend their appreciation to the chapter for supporting one of their sisters who was seriously ill. [DZ’s Sammy Cassidy passed away weeks later and the chapter attended her memorial service in the Northridge Center on March 25.] Also, they wished the chapter good luck with spring rush. “And DZ Hop is coming up on March 3 and that’s our annual pancake breakfast, so I hope to see you all there,” one of them said. Before they left, they dropped off some cookies. (More applause.)
High Beta Report (Collin Chan): “Welcome back. I feel like we’ll have a good semester. Let’s start it off strong. But let’s be honest: we really need to work on our brotherhood aspects, and we need to work on it a lot. For God’s sake, two of our brothers got shot and how many people showed up to the hospital to visit them to make sure they were alright? There’s a couple ways I that thought about to try and fix that. First, I want to try and do a periodic type of brotherhood event. Not anything major, just like kickbacks at the house every other Friday. ‘Cuz I figured what better way to get us together than through free or cheap food? Unfortunately with my budget, it’s going to be hard to do free food, so if anything just like $5 or $10, depending on how many people come. Hopefully, that gets people showing up more because we need that incentive to getting our brotherhood aspect a little bit stronger. The other thing is I want to rework the Zeta point system because the way that it is right now, it doesn’t really improve our brotherhood. It just kinda incentivizes you to show up to events. I’m working with Kevin [Catalan], the previous Beta, on a system for fundraising. The details that I’ve got so far are that we have applied to have our own space or tent on the Farmer’s Market that CSUN has every Tuesday. What we would do is have some brothers do a cookout there. All the food we sell there, we keep for us, and then we could have that on reserve for sorority philanthropies, buying their T-shirts, just so that we have some sort of money that we can put towards their events. And that would depend on what month it is and whose sorority event is coming up. I’m working on the details for a big brotherhood retreat and a date for that.”
High Phi Report, continued: So, I told you how the ritual system is going to be now on every Sunday so we’re more prepared for initiation. So yeah, bring your house letters [and wear them] at meetings.” High Sigma Report (Wade Hawthorne): Grade report. The GPA from last semester—this was with the people that went alum—I had it calculated without the people that went alum. But it was a 2.4. It should be around 2.7 without the alumni. The study-out system is the same. Good standing 300 minutes, probation 600, suspension 900 minutes. And I’m gonna try to talk to Chris Aston because he said he could try to set up study rooms in the USU so we don’t just have study rooms in the library. You guys have three prizes. You can either get most study hours: it’s a $20 gift card, highest GPA, and then I’ve not decided what this prize will be yet, but if have the most improved GPA (for the whole semester), you can… I haven’t decided the prize on that yet. Alex Dinsmore cuts in: “What I reported was a 2.88. We had a couple of people who withdrew and, instead of just not having them on our roster, they gave them a zero for us. So that’s part of the reason why [the GPA was so low]. And we have people who did really badly. We can’t ignore that. I took out the people who shouldn’t of been there. Either they withdrew or they got shot. [Nervous laughter.] They shouldn’t of been on our roster. It’s not entirely their fault. They didn’t go to school. [Two brothers were hospitalized for gunshot wounds, a senseless late night shooting incident not far off campus.] Actually, it wasn’t too bad. It’s just those outliers that brought us down really badly. But just keep it going. We did much better in spring last year than in fall. Let’s actually get a 2.88.”
High Kappa Report (Jacob Barron): Hi everybody, I’m your new Kappa. I was installed a couple of days before school started, so I don’t have too much of a schedule yet. Angelo and I are still working [on it]. By the next meeting were going to have the semester of [pre-initiation] rituals all planned out and I’ll have my lesson plan figured out. But we’re going to be doing the AM Ceremony a week after Bid Day….” The ceremony is set for Feb. 18. “…And Officer Installment as well.“ “Officer Installment is the 11th,” Brother Dinsmore interjected.
High Theta Report (Fernando Ortiz): Hello everyone, welcome back. Just working on Watermelon Bust, got everything down pretty much with materials. The date will be March 31. It will start at 11. I put 5 p.m. as the ending time, but it’s really going to end once all the games are finished. We will need to stay after just to clean up and 18
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Spring ’18 chapter officers and chairmen (1-14). Collin Chan, Jacob Barron, Alex Samson, Alex Dinsmore, Wade Hawthorne, Fernando Ortiz, Eddy Moya, Andrew Willins, JC Martinez, Rocael Cardona, Dre Ghotra, Brandon Serna, Bryan Cardona and Kevin Mojaradi. BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY 19
Jan. 28 Chapter Meeting’s High Theta Report, continued help count the cans. If we can borrow someone’s truck to load it up the next day and get rid of them, that would be really awesome. Supporter Ts: what I’m going to do it is I’m gonna make a poll on GroupMe and whoever votes on the shirt that they want, whoever gets the most votes, that’s going to be the shirt we choose. Volunteering opportunities: I sent out a GroupMe over the break. No one wanted to volunteer, so we’ve gotta really get on that. And I’m gonna contact Frankie [Castanon, the previous High Theta] so that he can give me the number so that we can get the contact information for the San Fernando Valley Rescue Mission. And then the fall philanthropy is in the works.” High Delta Report (Eddy Moya): “This week it’s Meet the Clubs, Tuesday and Wednesday. We’re also going to have an extra day of tabling on Thursday. Basically, it’s gonna be all day. The IFC recruitment chair Jordan, he sets a table up for us at 11 to 2 Thursday at the USU. Right now I need people who are going to get down to help out in the three days. Thursday we’re having another tabling event opportunity in the evening at the basketball game right here by the Redwood Hall. So right now I’m going to need a couple of guys to help me out on that. It’s a competition as well. So within the different fraternities, whoever brings the most brothers wins a prize. I’ve got the shirts now, the rush shirts. It’s coming in this Friday. There are some people that still owe me money, so let me see if you guys are here. Jay… Tino… you’ve got the $15? Choi? …Alright, with the shirts, we’re good. The billboard: I’m working on it tonight. We’re going to have that set up by tomorrow morning. I’m gonna need a truck and one or two brothers to help us out taking it from the house to the campus. Brandon? Alright.” [He needs it there by 6 a.m. because he works at 8.] High Epsilon Report (Drew Willins): “So April 14 is our Phi Mu mixer. I’m telling you like four months in advance so there’s no reason to [miss it]. It’s gonna be at 1:30 p.m. We don’t know the theme yet.” He is having trouble finding other sororities to coordinate mixers because their calendars are already set. Due to financial issues, talk of having a formal didn’t amount to a date. “Personally, I prefer it after this semester,” Brother Dinsmore said. High Rho Report (J.C. Martinez): “There is something coming up on Tuesday [the housing corporation’s Annual Meeting]. I’m for sure going…. I want you guys to go there and meet the alums. AMs: I feel like it would be pretty important for them to meet [alumni]… because you will remember from our ritual that we are here because of them, and we need to continue honoring them and get money from them. We need donations if you guys really want a softball game. Fundraisers: that’s something I want to work with… the softball game ain’t going to be free. And at the end… we might even have a dinner for everyone that goes alum for this academic year. So with that being said, who’s going to be able to attend on Tuesday? I’ll be reaching out to our alumni emailing and calling them tomorrow.” Some discussion ensued about alumni possibly sponsoring actives so they wouldn’t need to pay $20 for their dinners. Brother Childs helped the High Rho pitch the Annual Meeting. Brother Mojaradi: “I want to sponsor five students in good standing [for the dinner Tuesday].” High Gamma Report (Rocael Cardona): “I just want to go over some things for some events that we have set for this semester. We’re also going to have a meeting every single Sunday at 7 p.m., except for next week. Then beginning with February, the 4th through the 9th we have Rush Week. Check the calendar: you have all the dates, times and title of each event for that. Also we have officer installment on the 11th of February, AM ceremony the following week. Watermelon Bust set for the 31st of March. April we have initiation on the 13th
[postponed to the 27th], and then the Phi Mu event’s on the 14th. As of right now that’s pretty much all we have set.” High Tau Report (Dre Ghotra): “…I need to get some promissory notes drafted up, contracts… to actually enforce [dues payments] this semester. Fefer was way too nice to you guys…. We owe a lot of money to Nationals. We still need to pay most of the parlor fee to Spencer. That’s no fun. And we’re not collecting enough dues this semester as of yet. So instead of taking up the whole five minutes, I want everyone to pull up their phones right now and Venmo as much as possible you can for dues. Right now. If I don’t see you on your phones there’s no reason. Alex Dinsmore: “The only reason you shouldn’t be on your phone is because you paid your dues in full. Even if you send seven bucks, $7. Also guys, real quick. The reason [dues] went up was because no one paid last semester…. And it’s not fair to people like me who pays on the first day of the semester every year. It’s not fair to those people who have to pay more.” High Pi Report (Kevin Mojaradi): “Dues: please, please please: you don’t know how important it is for us to pay Nationals, pay parlor fees, and we need it for the operation of the house. I can stand up here every week and tell you the same thing, but you guys don’t listen. This time, just take me up on it and pay 5 bucks, 10 bucks, whatever you have. Just do what you can. Alright, so MY role as High Pi is never to scold you for anything you do wrong. So whatever you do in this house, I’m not going to get mad at you…. From a simple fight to a simple car crash that one of the brothers was involved with because I need to know these things. I don’t want to hear about it two months later and I get panic phone calls. I need to know when it happens…. But I am here as a representative for Nationals. So if Nationals needs to know something, I need to know something. Got it? I’m here for you. I’ll put my cell phone number up so you will have it at all times, and call me anytime. My office, if you don’t know where it is, is the AS office. It’s always open. I’m there mostly until 3 or 4 every [week]day. If you need me after work you can call me. I’ll have Scantrons and Bluebooks ready in the drawer that when you walk in, I’ll leave ‘em all in there for you so don’t even have to come and see me. But it would be nice for you to drop by and say hello. This is going to be a one year of me being a little bit harder on you because I need to be setting it up for the next person who’s coming in [to assume the role of High Pi]…. We want to make sure we are the best we are.” High Iota Report (Brandon Serna): “Safety is very strict this semester. Safety has no vacation. As your High Iota, as Alex has been saying, we have strict rules to abide by. For the next meeting, I am going to be enforcing contracts. Contracts you’re going to be held to, like making sure that you are in charge of the guest that you bring. In charge of everything that’s happening in the house. And you are responsible for your own person. Also, if anyone wants to be a sober steward, please hit me up. I love that. There are incentives for being a sober steward this semester. So please, if you want to find out more information, just hit me up after the meeting and I’ll tell you.” Intramurals Chair/IMs Captain (Bryan Cardona): “We have three sports that are starting next week. We have soccer, dodgeball and basketball. If you guys want to play, you’d better sign up by Wednesday. Get your IMs pass, it’s $7. I think you can buy it online now. And lastly, see me after the meeting if you got a jersey.” InterFraternity Council Chair (Eddy Moya): “Vice president for the IFC is still open, if any of you guys want to apply.... Once again, a 2.7 GPA minimum during Rush Week will be implemented. And once again, every Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. IFC meets.” Brother of the Week: J.C. Martinez Adjourn: 8:26 p.m. 20
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Big Brother Reveal: March 25 Initiation: April 27
Erik Findling Class Level: Freshman Major: Music Composition & Writing Big Brother: Alex Dinsmore Birthday: July 19 BP 749
Rush Chairman/High Delta: Eddy Moya Fraternity Educator/High Kappa: Jacob Barron Ritualist/High Phi: Angelo Samson BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY
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2018 Graduates & Alumni Photos courtesy of Jesse Martinez, Frankie Castanon, Chris Martinez, Rodrigรณ Valenzuela, Jorge Reyes, Skyler Lee and Vincent Pimentel.
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CSUN Commencement Ceremonies for 2018 [I] Mike Curb College of Arts, Media & Communication: May 18 [II] David Navarian College of Business & Economics: May 19 [III] College of Engineering & Computer Science / College of Science & Mathematics: May 19 IV] College of Social & Behavioral Sciences I: May 20
[V] Michael D. Eisner College of Education: May 20 College of Social & Behavioral Sciences II: May 20 [VI] College of Humanities: May 21 College of Health & Human Development I: May 21 (VII) College of Health & Human Development II: May 21
Photos courtesy of Alex Dinsmore, Skyler Lee, James Mizuki, Nick Dinsmore, Kevin Mojaradi and Frankie Castanon.
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Beta-Rho’s grads and newest alumni. Except where noted, all are spring 2018 graduates. 1) Jesse Martinez, BS: Business Administration - Management [II]; 2) Frankie Castanon, BA: Broadcast Journalism; [I] 3) Chris Martinez, BA: Cinema & Television Arts - Television Production [I]; 4) Rodrigó Valenzuela, BA: Psychology [V]. 5) Jorge Reyes, MA: Communication Studies [I]. (Honors Convocation attendee, May 13, student speaker for the Mike Curb School of Arts, Media and Communication.) “[May 18] was such a special day,” he wrote on his Facebook wall. “It was an honor to be the Arts, Media and Communication student speaker and share this day with so many amazing people in my life. Thank you CSUN for giving me a chance at higher education and so much more. Once a Matador, always a Matador.” #MastersDegree #ChooseCSU
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6) Skyler Lee, BA: Theatre Arts, minor in Queer Studies [I]; 7) Vincent Pimentel, BA: Kinesiology [VII]; 8) Graduation Ceremony at the Lindley House, May 20. From left: Randy Liera, Chris Martinez and David Burgos. 9) Angel Torres, BA: Cinema & Television Arts Television Production [I]; Osvaldo “Ozzy” Robledo, BA: Cinema & Television Arts Television Production [I]; Skyler Lee; 10) James Mizuki, BA: Communication Studies [I] (graduated in December, 2017); 11) Nick Dinsmore, BS: Recreation & Tourism Management [VII] (graduated in December, 2017); 12) Skyler Lee’s mortarboard; 13) Christopher Aston, Student Development’s assistant director responsible for all graduation commencements at CSUN with Kevin Mojaradi, AS marketing & public relations coordinator; 14) Giovanni Castaneda, BA: Graphic Design [I].
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Remembering Brian Garfield Nearly 100 friends and family filled the TaNaCH Chapel at our tenor section was filled with strong voices. So much so that we Mount Sinai Hollywood Hills on March 12 to celebrate the life of had to transfer them around to other sections. But Brian was very Brian David Garfield (BP 59). Brother Garfield passed away on firm in saying ‘No no no, I’m a tenor, I’m a high tenor! I will be March 6 from pneumonia after a decade of battling thyroid singing high, I will be singing in the front row’… he was actually cancer. He was 63. skilled; he was a fantastic reader. In February he took a two-week cruise to Hawaii with his “Not only [was he skilled in] what he did at temple but also in brother, Gary. During the trip he contracted pneumonia and was his professional life. He reinvented what he wanted to be and transported to a hospital in Chula Vista from Ensenada, Baja how he wanted to be several times during his life. I know when I California on March 4. met him he had his real estate thing going Aside from his brother Gary, he is on and [went back] to school. He survived by his cousins—among them Neal created different aspects of himself and Kavalsky (BP 312), along with Brother illuminated them and lifted them…. I was Kavalsky’s parents, Joe and Linda Kavalsky. very happy when he was in the choir. Among his fraternity chapter’s And I was also happy to become a close representatives were Brother Kavalsky, friend. He is someone I cherished and I Dennis Crain (BP 22) and Rick Childs (BP 83). know he cherished me. We had long Brother Garfield was born in West talks about everything imaginable from Hollywood on April 25, 1954 and grew life to music to religion to his aspirations. up near the Fairfax District on Detroit Street. Brian was never one who was willing to He joined the Beta-Rho chapter of Lambda settle for anything that wasn’t the best, Chi Alpha Fraternity in the fall of 1973 and and I appreciated that. his associate member ceremony took place “A few years ago he was wanting to on Nov. 4. His initiation followed on Jan. work on his own healing process. He 19, 1974 with fellow brother Craig Turnbull worked with many doctors throughout his (BP 60). In 1974 he was elected High illness. He attacked it voraciously. He Delta and recruited two rush classes. For wasn’t going to go down without fighting.” the 36th General Assembly in Roanoke, Va. “We’d take walks in the neighborhood Then and now. At the home of Neal Kavalsky’s parents in and go to the beach. He loved nature in 1976, he served as the chapter’s Woodland Hills, Jan. 6, 2018. Opposite page: In front of delegate and became its first student and he loved being out in the air. And he Halsted 1, August, 1978. advisory committee representative. When loved wearing shorts with socks… and he wasn’t deliberating on SAC legislation, sandals. he could be found singing in the fraternity’s men’s choir for its “He would inevitably talk about his family and brother Gary, closing banquet. For two years between 1993 and 1994 he also his cousins Sheila… and all those people who are here today… volunteered as a director on the housing corporation. and his love of community. Graduating in May of 1977 from CSUN, he served as the “It was no surprise that when he was reinventing himself that he chapter’s first educational leadership consultant and then took on would go into community service. He really loved being a part of various sales positions before transitioning to social services work the community and loved having the community be a part of him. once he completed extensive post-graduate studies. Afterwards, And I think that was one of his greatest joys and his greatest he became a counselor in psychiatric social services in Long Beach. challenges. It’s one of the forces that kept him energized, aware He didn’t limit his singing talents to the fraternity or his temple. and awake, striving always to do better. It’s the thing that I take Debuting on June 3, 1989 at the Plummer Park Fiesta in West with me from him, that tenacity and his learning how to be a better Hollywood, he performed “Hooray for Hollywood” with the person through loving himself and loving those around him. The Hollywood Singers in front of 300 people, a revue comprised of idea of forgiveness and how he was finally able to forgive many popular standards from the 1920s. As part of the show he soloed things in his life. And the way that he reconciled, through Gary, in on Irving Berlin’s “I Love A Piano”. They continued performing into the end, couldn’t be a more beautiful story to end on a note to the fall with an October performance of “Cabaret”. him as well. So I feel he went out, in a way, on the wings of love.” A longtime member of the Temple Kol Ami’s congregation in Then he sang a hymn in tribute to Brother Garfield. West Hollywood, his memorial service was conducted by Rabbi After a reading from his cousin Sheila and a couple other Denise Eger. relatives, Rabbi Eger picked up his story. Temple Kol Ami’s former cantor Mark Saltzman was introduced “One of the things I loved about Brian was that when you by Rabbi Eger after a Psalm reading, music selections and went to give him a hug, or he went to hug you, he’d always say devotional prayers. ‘heart to heart!’ And that’s because his heart was so big, and he “I remember meeting Brian when he first came to Kol Ami, wanted to share it with you. which wasn’t too long after I came there,” Cantor Saltzman said. “It wasn’t always that way. But I met Brian more than a quarter “And he was enthralled… with the musical activities that were there.” of a century ago. He was in a different time in his life. And it’s rare He recalled that Brother Garfield took up a position in their that we get to see people blossom and bloom as they grow older. choir around 2001, and he didn’t mince words about wanting to But this was our Brian. He stepped into himself in a way throughout take a prominent singing role. the last 25 years that was beautiful to behold. It was holy and “He had a beautiful tenor voice and quite strong, actually. And spiritual, and he felt that…. His search for meaning, the meaning BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY
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Remembering Brian Garfield, continued of life, to try and sort through life’s trials and tribulations and relationships was genuine. And he pursued that holy work in his work life, but also in his personal life. “I will never forget his tenacity, his love of life, his sense of justice and fairness, his love of music and laughter. “His 64th birthday would be just next month, but he hung on far longer than I think maybe his doctors ever believed possible. And he used his social work skills not just on behalf of his clients, but also on his own behalf as he tried to manage his health care over these last many years. “Brian was a local boy. He grew up in and around West Hollywood. He would often remind me, ‘You know Rabbi, I only grew up a couple of blocks from here’ whenever he came to temple. He graduated from Fairfax High in 1972 and then went right on to Cal State Northridge…. He got a [Bachelor of Arts] degree in abnormal psychology. But he didn’t do anything with it in those years.” Then she recalled some of the stories Brother Garfield’s sibling Gary told her. “Gary, you reminded me of so many of the stories of your childhood together. Going to movies on the weekend. You lived off of Melrose Avenue and went to the old Gordon Theater right there on La Brea and Melrose. And you would stop at Rudolph’s Drugstore and pick up 15-cent candy. Then you would go to the movies seeing Tom and Jerry Collection cartoons and you’d get a punch card for going to the movies on Saturdays, and after every ten you’d get one admission free. And you’d always have contests to see who could get their card punched first. “And you also recalled that you lived just down the street from the old [KCOP] Channel 13 [just off] La Brea... and they filmed a lot of kids’ shows in that studio. And often Gary and Brian on a Sunday would wander down to the studio and sit in the studio audience. And one show that you remembered was called Kids Only. If you went back on YouTube you might see a few videos of a young Brian and a young Gary in the audience. “Family occasions in Palm Springs were always special. Gary remembered that it was just a dirt road from Palm Canyon Drive where they would go. Gary remembered that one time he and Brian were in the swimming pool at the hotel and it was really, really hot at night. It was so hot that the bats were swooping down into the pool for them to try and cool off. Gary remembered that Brian went screaming and running out of the pool to escape the bats. “He remembered also that Brian and he would hunker down in the back of their [family’s] ’61 Falcon station wagon so that his parents could sneak [them] in to the Gilmore Drive-In, which is now the site of The Grove. “Particularly, one time Gary remembered that his parents took them to Beverly Park, which was a small amusement park that is now the Beverly Center. They were [about to ride] the roller coaster and in walks a nattily dressed Nat King Cole and young nineyear-old Natalie Cole. And she was celebrating a birthday that day [Feb. 6, 1959]. Then Gary and Brian and Natalie went on the roller coaster while Nat King Cole sat on a park bench with their beloved parents, smoking cigarettes and waiting for the kids to get done with their ride. “Brian held many different jobs after college. He sold computer software for awhile, worked for his aunt and uncle in a janitorial maintenance business, as you heard he was in real estate—that’s when I met him. He even went to Chicago for six or eight months transferring there for a job, but he didn’t like that cold weather. “As you heard, Brian was very active in our congregation at Kol Ami…. He was so active with our men in our social group. And just a couple of years ago when, during a window of time when Brian’s cancer went into remission, he traveled with me to
Cuba. We took a small group on a special mission to visit the Jewish community there…. “Brian loved to travel. Hawaii, Palm Springs, cruises, and he loved the adventures that he would have. “And Brian found his true calling, I think, when he decided finally to go back to school. He attended the double Masters program at our seminary, Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion. And he received a double Masters degree both from Hebrew Union College in Jewish Communal Service and a Masters in social work from the University of Southern California [in 2008]. “Brian was really proud of becoming a Jewish professional because he felt his Judaism deep in his heart. It wasn’t easy for him because he came down with his first diagnosis of thyroid cancer during that time. And sometimes USC was not so easy for him to postpone his classes, and yet he was in [USC’s] hospital receiving radiation treatments in isolation in those years. I remember visiting him down there and he said, ‘Rabbi, they are not going to stop me. This cancer’s not going to stop me.’ And sure enough, even though he had to finagle some of his classes, he was determined to finish his degrees. And he did. And that tenacity served him so, so well.” Within hours after Brother Garfield had died, Brother Kavalsky reached out to let his fellow brothers know about it. While he knew of their familial relationship, the fraternal connection didn’t dawn on him until much later. And Brother Kavalsky had joined the chapter in the fall of 1987. “My uncle, that would be my mother’s mother’s brother. So it would be my great-uncle. He passed away and at the funeral, my mom got together with some cousins and decided to have a cousins party. It was five, six years ago. So they had the party and my mom tells me she met a cousin that she had heard of but never met. I don’t remember their exact history, but I didn’t know about him. He was never really involved or part of the family. So she invited him over to dinner one night, and so I went to my parents’ house. We’re sitting there at the table and somehow, something came up about fraternity. And I said that I was in a fraternity and Brian at the other end of the table says to me, ‘What fraternity?’ And I said, ‘Lambda Chi Alpha.’ So he goes, ‘What school?’ And I said, ‘Northridge.’ Then he said, ‘Oh, you mean Beta-Rho?’ And I stopped in my tracks and looked at him twice going, ‘How did you know?’ So he says, ‘Cuz I’m a brother too. So now we’re brothers and cousins.’ And I just thought that was the coolest thing. I didn’t even know when I got in the fraternity that I had a relative [in it]. How I found out was just so ironic. Even more of the irony is that if I may never had said anything about a fraternity, we may never have known we were brothers. “Ever since then, we’ve gotten together a lot and went to plays and movies. Since my fiancé passed last year, we’ve been going to the movies just about every weekend. He and I bonded a lot over superhero movies. I got to hang out with Brian a lot. He didn’t talk a lot—I did most of the talking, but it was nice to connect.” While Brother Garfield’s relationship with his brother Gary had been difficult in recent years, their final weeks together aboard a cruise ship renewed their bond. And it was their mutual love of movies that ultimately drew Gary to Brother Kavalsky. “Gary has told me that he wants to take up the mantle and wants to start seeing movies with me, which is pretty cool because I didn’t have any relationship with him.” “‘I’m not a salesman,’ Brother Garfield once told Mrs. Kavalsky. Beta-Rho alumni would tend to disagree. He may not have enjoyed selling cars, but he was skilled as a recruitment officer. And one of his recruits who sold him on Lambda Chi Alpha wrote this article. 26
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Photos: Rick Childs. Others courtesy of Neal Kavalsky (page 25) and Dikla Tuchman.
Clockwise from top: In August of 1976, Brother Garfield stopped by Valley Forge, Pa., to visit the Conestoga Wagon Train where each state was represented for the Bicentennial. With Tom Lawrence and Sue Press at the Press home’s alumni gathering in Chatsworth on Oct. 24, 2010. Dining with his cousin Dikla Tuchman, Neal Kavalsky (second from right) and one other within the past year. Brian circa 2017 and 2010. Pictured at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades for Executive Vice President Emeritus George Spasyk’s retirement banquet on March 11, 1989. Front row: Mike Ehrlich, Gary Henderson, Dennis Crain, Brother Spasyk, Howard Brightman, Tom Lawrence, David Weiss, unidentified, Rick Childs. Second row: Brother Garfield, Rob Hartung, Scott Seward, Gary Thomas, Terry Lucero and John Harmon. BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY
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