1995-2000 Alpha Beta Chapter History

The following history is a portion of the history for Alpha Beta

1995

The summer of 1995 Grand Chapter meeting gave AB the opportunity to really speak out against several issues that we felt were detrimental to the fraternity and the concepts of brotherhood. In conjunction with Tau and Alpha Rho, we spoke out for chapter rights, influenced votes, and created an important precedent for critically thinking about the proposed changes to the nation Constitution. Because AB brothers were pioneers in the road tripping phenomenon, many chapters present already knew us and respected our opinions.

During the Fall of 1995, Adam Feinburg also chair Maryland's Homecoming committee giving Phi Sigma Pi a big boost in exposure on campus. His involvement with so many other campus groups helped place Phi Sigma Pi members in leadership roles all over campus. He was instrumental in setting up the Professional Fraternity Council here at UMD and the first president was an AB brother. He was also awarded the Richard C. Todd and Claudia Pennock Todd Tripod Scholarship at the National convention in Norfolk. He was the third brother to receive this honor, which is the only national ward that a single brother can win for his or her chapter.

Unfortunately, during this period, AB focused too much on the outside and not enough on the inside. Chapter cohesion began to slip and many brothers felt alienated from the fraternity. It was also almost impossible to sustain and many of the leaders graduated in the spring leaving the chapter to rebuild with new leaders. Realizing the leadership gap, AB selected Sharon Lilly for a semester term as President. Having served as Initiation Chair, she then guided her former initiates through the leadership phase as committee chairs. Although she only fulfilled one semester, she was able to help rebuild morale and provide a historical perspective for the brotherhood that lacked after the mass graduation from 1993-1994 years.

AB alumni support has drastically increased over the years. The recent graduates of AB are still active in Phi Sigma Pi in alumni chapters and national committees. Whit AB alumni and active brothers on national committees, AB is one of the most respected chapter nationally. AB Alum Christy Razzano is also one of the first brothers to have served on the National Advisory Board. The Board's purpose is to act as a voice for the chapters to National Council because brothers are often afraid to address National Council directly and Council often feels out of touch with the chapters due to this lack of communications.

1996

Matt Johnston finished Sharon's term as president for the fall 1996 after she graduated. Matt led the fraternity through a reevaluation period, where many amendments were introduced to the bylaws. A new document that Matt had done the groundwork on and was passed a semester later was the Chapter Governance Document (now called the Chapter Operating Procedures). This was created so that many policies and details of bylaws could be laid out that did not necessarily belong in the bylaws. As Initiation Advisor in the Spring of 1997, Brian Smith was able to turn a good program into a great program. He institute an initiate class lock-in where the initiates would learn more about their classmates early on during the program, required the class to make a class paddle to be with an initiate at all times (no matter how hard brothers from AB and other chapters would try to take it) and making a class chant. To use his own catch phrase, he "took it to the next level."

1997

While there were no major setbacks in the Fall 1997 semester, aside from lengthy debates on t-shirts to sell at convention, there was at least on great accomplishment. Renee Wood, as Vice President, not only brought baked goods to the first meeting every month to celebrate brother's birthdays and other occasions, which fostered a sense of closeness, created the Scholarship Committee. Seeing that scholarship is one of the legs of the Tripod, the Scholarship Committee was long overdue. Alleviating some of the workload from the Public Relations Committee the Scholarship committee took on cultural events and educational and entertaining speakers and workshops. In addition to this, brotherhood tutoring programs were conceived along with a test file, although neither of which succeeded. The Scholarship Committee has since been able to expand the horizons of the fraternity and show that scholarship is more than a GPA.

1998

The Spring 1998 semester was a turning point for Alpha Beta. With a drastic turnover of leadership roles, meetings became more efficient and productive. One reason for this was an Executive Board Retreat over winter break, which allowed the new E-board to begin working together and defining goals for the upcoming year. This left more time for the 36 active brothers to socialize with 22 new initiates (Phi Class) and find the "Phire" or meaning in the fraternity. It was during this semester that the first chapter composite was made and will continue to be done in the spring semesters. The Fall 1998 semester proved to be a semester of High spirits for Alpha Beta. At the National Convention, Christy Razzano became the second AB brother to receive a Distinguished Service Key (the first being Mike McQueney in 1992). Alpha Beta was also recognized by Beta Mu (George Washington University) and Alpha Tau (Howard University) for continued support. After over a semester of debate, the chapter created a Brother At Large who would arbitrate conflicts within the chapter and help increase the feeling of brotherhood.

1999

The Spring 1999 semester seemed like a struggle of identity, trying to figure out exactly what we stood for as brothers, and what needed to be revised in the chapter. Open forum discussions on hour requirements and the roots of attendance problems allowed every brother to voice their beliefs. While changes were not instituted until the Fall 1999 semester, that semester was critical point in our chapter's history. A Brother of the Week Paddle was created to showcase brother's whose dedication and strength provided invaluable service to the brotherhood. Keeping up with technology, the chapter web page was revamped and a Rush Video was created by Historian, Heather Bustard, to keep Phi Sigma Pi on the cutting edge.

Fall 1999 began with an officer and chair retreat in Rehoboth Beach, a tradition to plan the semester’s activities. Here goals were established to maintain strong connections with inactive brothers, accomplished during the semester through email and contact by the Attendance Secretary. Another goal was to encourage better committee involvement, a problem that has always plagued Alpha Beta. While some progress was made, more needs to be done. An oath of secrecy was established to be taken before selection and elections to reinforce the importance of subrosa. Alpha Beta worked on diversity awareness, changes our requirements from hours to numbers and overall we had more fun. Also, we started snapping this semester to indicate agreement during meeting. Lastly, this semester Alpha Beta had webmaster and rush chair positions on a trial basis but these positions did not work out and were ultimately decided against. This semested Alex Sarau received the Richard V. Durand Award for his achievements in electrical engineering. The Spring 2000 semester saw a major shift of power. The Executive Board sought to take an active role. Meetings were held twice a month to discuss concerns held by brothers and problems within the chapter. Alpha Beta was finally recognized at National Convention for all of our work. AB was named one of Phi Sigma Pi's Top 10 Chapters for promoting the tripod of scholarship, leadership, and fellowship. Our chapter was also given the Jeffrey L. Johnson National Chapter Fellowship Award. Nominated by another chapter, this award recognizes chapters that promote interchapter relations. The chapter also awarded two chapter service keys to Heather Bustard and Brian Smith for their contribution to the chapter.