Ohio (BK)
The Beta Kappa Chapter at Ohio University had a strong quarter grades wise and finished with the second highest overall GPA out of all the other fraternities on campus. This spring we are pairing up with a sorority to do community service at Good Works, where we will be preparing a meal for less fortunate people in the area. We are currently planning a staff cookout at our house for professors, the dean, and other OU staff members. Our second annual golf outing is coming up soon and will hopefully surpass all alumni expectations. We are also proud to say we won all intramural sports for the 4th year in a row and have retired the IFC sports trophy. — Aaron Linder ’12, aaron_linder08@yahoo.com
Ohio State (QD)
As spring quarter gets rolling this year so does the Theta Delta Chapter at The Ohio State University. With the nice weather comes the opportunity for great philanthropy and social events. With the obvious excitement about Greek Week lurking around the corner, we also have made time for a number of philanthropy and charity events. Our usual philanthropy event, Beta Ball (our version of a dodge ball tournament) will be under way in the coming weeks, but we also have plans to help some less fortunate kids of the city of Columbus with tutoring and mentoring while many of us will soon take trips to a local animal shelter with one of the neighboring sororities to help out there as well. There is no doubt that the Theta Delta Chapter has been and will be busy preserving the great name of Beta Theta Pi. — Christopher Pilkington ’12, pilkington.9@buckeyemail.osu.edu
Oklahoma (GF)
Greetings from the Gammi Phi Chapter at the University of Oklahoma! Beta Theta Pi kicked things off in the fall by teaming with the women of Kappa Alpha Theta to take home 1st place in University Sing. November’s Barn Dantz festivities, possibly Beta’s most exciting week and date party, were once again a success. In February, Beta’s newly elected executive officers took office. March was also an eventful time for the Fraternity. Beta Theta Pi took home the Academic Award in the President’s Trophy Competition. The chapter’s annual philanthropy event, the Frensley 5k, benefited the American Heart Association and Second Chance Animal Sanctuary. The chapter is now revving up for a successful summer rush. — Nick Coffey ’13, Nick.M.Coffey-1@ou.edu
Oklahoma State (ΓL)
The Gamma Lambda Chapter has continued to establish itself on campus. The house recently competed in Spring Sing and did very well. Gamma Lambda won best Choreography, best small ensemble, best large ensemble, best female director, and 2nd place overall. The house has also had many of its members become very involved on campus. Several brothers helped serve an integral role in planning, fundraising and hosting a large black-tie-event called Performers on the Rise. The chapter is also very excited about the annual Barn Dance on April 24th as well as summer rush and adding another great pledge class to its ranks. — Ben Chrisman ’12, ben.chrisman@okstate.edu
Oregon (ΒR)
It’s been an exciting year for the Beta Rho chapter as we celebrated our 100th year on the University of Oregon campus. The chapter celebrated in Portland on November 13th where we kicked off the Centennial Campaign to raise $750,000 to buy back our house. The campaign is coming into the home stretch this spring and the chapter is confident the goal will be met. The chapter is also proud to announce that with the addition of the spring pledge class the freshman class now has a total of twenty one young men of outstanding caliber. The chapter now also has four men on the IFC, including President Cody Catherall, Vice President of Accountability Alex Larsson, and Vice President of Programming Michael Ferrari. — Pete Shea ’10, pshea1@uoregon.edu
Penn State (AU)
The Alpha Upsilon colony has had quite a busy semester so far. Our reestablishment class of 59 men initiated on April 17th with an attendance of almost 160 parents, alumni, and university officials. The event was a great success and culminated in a serenade to the parents – a joint effort of new initiates, Alpha Upsilon alumni, and General Fraternity members. Reestablishment director Jeff Rundle has played a critical role in the reestablishment process and has decided to stay on with the colony in the fall. Our chapter house, recently restored by the generous donation of Alpha Upsilon alumnus Don Abbey, will regain life in the fall when 43 brothers move in for the first time. We look forward to next semester and our work towards chapter status. – Kealan Hobelmann ’00, kch5066@psu.edu
Pennsylvania (Φ)
The Phi Chapter has proudly maintained its support for the Ian L. Cali Fund for FibrodysplasiaOssificansProgressiva (FOP) Research, ending the year with its fourth annual downtown concert to raise money for this rare connective tissue disease that affects the sibling of former Phi Chapter President, Jason Cali ’09. This event will not only raise awareness, but also hopefully surpass last year’s donation of $5,000. During the fall term, the Phi Chapter also partnered with TEP in participating in Movember, increasing awareness and raising more than $14,000 for prostate cancer research, as well as hosting a haunted house for underprivileged West Philadelphia students and hosting three teams for Relay for Life. Other accomplishments include hosting the most attended alumni Homecoming event since Phi’s recolonization as well as building an alumni and faculty advisory board this year. — Michael McClung ’12, mmi@wharton.upenn.edu
Puget Sound (DE)
Our chapter is alive with new energy coming off of a reorganization. We are soon to initiate 16 new members, all of whom are leaders. We are also re-establishing our advisory board and re-connecting with our alumni after too long a history of sub-par chapter behavior. A huge thank you goes out to brother Joe Buchanan (District Chief) and Brother Jason Lopez (Chapter Counselor) as well as all of our advisors who have helped us in our efforts. Our membership is strong and we have worked hard to build a foundation that we can now push off from with sights set high. — Fletcher Farrar ’12, fletcherfarrar@gmail.com
Purdue (ΒΜ)
Over the past semester, The Beta Mu Chapter has continued to thrive. Our chapter’s GPA was once again over the all fraternity and all men’s average. We had seven brothers and two pledges on the Dean’s List with another eight brothers earning All-Semester honors. The chapter continued its commitment to philanthropy as new member John Lindstrom participated in Zeta Tau Alpha’s “Big Man on Campus” competition and chapter President, Jordon Gofourth, competed in Alpha Phi’s “Ivy Man.” Beta continued its tradition of athletic dominance as it stands in second place in the semester intramural standings and owns the number one seed in every bracket heading into the softball, soccer, and sand volleyball playoffs. Our spring recruitment remained one of the best on campus, as we had 14 accepted bids out of 16 given. Given the challenges our chapter has faced this semester, Beta’s brotherhood and unity has grown stronger and we are excited to move forward into the 2010-2011 school year. — Michael Pfohl, ’11, mpfohl@ purdue.edu
Saint Louis (ΖΤ)
The Zeta Tau Chapter at Saint Louis University has had a year of rebirth. Our chapter has not only had two of the biggest pledge classes on campus both semesters, but has also gained stature for winning multiple events on campus. These events include winning Delta Gamma’s Anchor Splash and Saint Louis University’s Greek Week. While no one person can be attributed for all of these accomplishments, several of our members have been given awards from the Order of Omega. These include Brian Verbus (Senior) for Chapter Luminary, Robert Samuelson (Senior) Unsung Hero, and Mitchell Garrett (Freshman) as betathetapi.org
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