2010 Delta Chi Chapter History

The following is an overview of 2010 Delta Chi Chapter History.

Rush

       The 2010 Rush year was led by Sydney Lane, who brought some new fresh ideas to the process. Besides the usual PowerPoint presentation and speeches, the Rushes learned what it means to be a Brother through a video created by Initiate Adviser, Marc Rein. It had Brothers speaking about their experiences in Phi Sigma Pi.

The events are themed after the tripod in order to give the Rushes a clearer idea of what our organization is all about. Some of the events that were a big hit are a Turning Point or Teach for America info session to teach about our philanthropies, Team Building which contains a large variety of fun activities, a Field Day, Learn How to Dance and a Learn How to Act event. During the Rush process, there was also Pref interviews where those who made it to Pref week are asked a couple questions about themselves so Brothers can get to know them better.

Sigma & Tau Initiation

        We welcomed 25 Sigmas in the Spring and 13 Taus in the Fall as new Brothers. For the first time since Spring 2006 when Dylan Smith took the Kappa Class to the Poconos, the Initiate retreat was an off campus overnight event for the Sigmas.  Initiate Adviser, Marc Rein, planned a special retreat at Ariel Kule’s aunt’s house in the Poconos.  The Sigmas got to know each other through ice breakers, cooking dinner, and other various activities.  Also for the Sigmas, ritual was moved up in order to allow them to go to Alpha Beta and bond with their new Brothers. Although Initiates were allowed to go, the Brotherhood did not feel comfortable having them attend before the very important Final Vote.  

The Sigma class gift brought the Delta Chi mascot, Nom Nom the crocodile, to life in the form of a giant stuffed crocodile wearing the Sigma class shirt. The Tau class had some great events for their Initiation that they held. They volunteered at Abbe Hall for a Halloween Karaoke Party and for Fellowship they had everyone meet up at the Drinker lounge to watch Aladdin and make delicious caramel apples. The Taus also had a very creative fundraising event. Capitalizing on the Lehigh-Laf fever, they raised about $250 selling bracelets themed for the rivalry.

The Tripod - Stand Out Events!

       Leadership chair, Sami Christal, planned an exciting new service event. Partnering with teacher, Monica Barreto at JFK Elementary School in Portchester, NY, Sami arranged to have the brothers and Ms. Barreto’s first graders exchange pen pal letters. The letters and videos meant so much to the children. They all wanted to be in Phi Sigma Pi; they even made games centered on PSP. At the end of the semester, we signed certificates for the students, honoring them as members in Ms. Barreto’s first grade honor society. 

A few brothers volunteered at the Crayola Factory in shifts. The Brothers worked at different stations assisting the kids make crafts and cleaning up after them. In between shifts, the Brothers also partook in the activities themselves. On September 15th, a few brothers partook in a hiking expedition to learn about nature and survival tips. They scaled mountains, crossed log bridges, and enjoyed being out in the woods. On October 13th, Michelle Spicer held the first Yoga event. Yoga was so popular, it became a regular Wednesday event. Every year the Women’s Center hosts a night to combat domestic violence called Take Back the Night. This year, Delta Chi joined the cause and took the midnight march. Before the walk, the Brothers learned about what they can do to help stop domestic violence and help those inflicted. The annual end of the year BBQ took place on May 1st at Josh Brown and Austin Baker’s house. Along with most of the collegiate chapter in attendance, several alumni joined in on the fun. To celebrate the seniors, the Brothers partook in a “roast” of “remember when” storytelling. The Brothers learned more about the future alumni in that span of time than they probably wanted to know. Along with the senior gift, the seniors were presented with purple and gold chords to be worn at graduation to honor their achievements as Brothers. In between shoving their faces with burgers and hearing embarrassing and memorable stories about the seniors, the Alumni Transition Ceremony was held.

       Delta Chi’s Spring Formal themed a masquerade took place on Friday, April 23 at the Beethoven Waldheim. To prepare for the fiesta, Liz Christensen held a mask making event beforehand and had masks available at the formal as well. There was a great outcome of brothers as well as some very creative masks.

ICR

       The brothers of Delta Chi were psyched to go to Philly Cup once again. Sadly, the date was moved to the same weekend as the big Lehigh-Laf game and none of the brothers wanted to miss that. Hopefully Delta Chi can attend next year.

       This year’s kickball weekend centered on the City of Lights. Ten or so chapters came to play kickball and bond with other chapters. Unfortunately not as many chapters came this year as years previous due to Delaware hosting an ICR event the same weekend. The weekend started out with a Vegas themed dance party at the Goose on October 15th. 

After dancing the night away, the brothers met at Sayre Field for Ice Breakers and Kickball. Some brothers came to Lehigh with teams already made, while most chose to join randomized teams to meet brothers from other chapters. After a series of games, a team made up of mainly Gamma Xi brothers, and Carollynn Goldenberg and Alyssa Pasquini from Delta Chi won the tournament. After some relaxation, the brothers reconvened for some roller skating.

Alpha Beta was a bit of a roller coaster this year. Over 50 brothers, including a bunch of Sigmas attended the ICR event on April 9-11th. The Board Games themed party was a success, with most of the Delta Chi chapter going as Guess Who characters. Going along with the theme, the chapter showed their pride during the weekend by sporting DX Taboo styled shirts; it’s the game of unspeakable fun.

       The Stallions took home first place once again. Delta Chi and a few other brothers celebrated in the river for the 4th time, according to Andrew Kump and confirmed by Brian Ade, keeping with tradition. The weekend ended with a highlighter party to top it off.

A Generous Supporter

       David Joseph, executive director of student services, used to donate money to Delta Chi.  Alumni, Suzanne Murano, used to be the go between with Mr. Joseph, but Delta Chi lost contact when she graduated.  Thankfully, David Joseph contacted Delta Chi president, Katelyn Reef, to find out what Delta Chi is about now, and decided to donate once again. David Joseph also supplied food from Lehigh University for Founder’s Day. Delta Chi thanks David Joseph for all his help.

Technological Improvement

       Lehigh University is going in a different direction with class and club web space. Instead of Blackboard, all class information will be posted on Coarsesite and clubs are being move to The Hub.

While the Hub was a good idea, it is confusing and so far unwieldy, making it ever more important to have a strong website. Rather than continuing to try to improve the current website, Tech Chair, Justin Goodrich, has decided to make an entirely new one. With the creation of our new website, http//www.pspdx.org, a lot of things we do are now online. Rushes fill out a form on the website and post a picture rather than using paper. This way, the Brothers can log onto the site and review the rushes at their discretion and paper is saved. Also, the pref. interviews and Brother Initiate interviews are written online as well. All of the attendance, files, brother pages, calendar and links to wiki pages are posted on the site.

That Thing We Do On Fridays

       Since McGrady’s no longer allows people under 21 to eat there during happy hour, aka half price appetizers time, the Brothers At Large have started ‘That thing we Do on Fridays’. Brothers hang out at different BAL’s houses on Fridays and do whatever they want. This includes baking, watching movies, reading Cosmo, building pillow forts, and just hanging out. It’s a great time of brother bonding outside of credits. 

Brothers Kathryn Lieber, Jeremy Tallman, Katie Graul, Diana Thyssen, Seetha Chandrasekhara, and Stefie Kan at the soccer tournament.

Eboard Elections and Final Vote: All in One Night

This semester E-board elections were held on November 12 along with Final Vote for the Initiates. The newly elected members for 2008 include: President Katie Graul, Vice President Stefie Kan, Recording Secretary Julia Mauk, Corresponding Secretary Krystal Kaai, Treasurer Andrew Kump, Parliamentarian Garrett Wadsworth, Historian Ariana Tibaldi, Rush Advisor Therese Quinn and Initiate Advisor Kevin Ford.

Of the 13 Initiates only 12 passed Final Vote. The twelve Initiates were notified as soon as Final Vote was completed to make sure that they received 48 hours notice before Ritual.

Semi Formal and Eboard Transitions

Delta Chi’s Semi Formal took place on Friday, November 30 at the Comfort Suites in South Bethlehem. It was organized wonderfully by Social Committee Chair Krystal Anello and supplied every attendee with tons of fun! The event started off with E-board transitions and was followed by Awards presented by Awards and Scholarship Chair Stefie Kan.

Brothers at Large Expand their Roles and Continue Past Success

This semester has been an exciting one for the Delta Chi Chapter. With so many new members to welcome into the brotherhood the Brothers at Large have initiated several new programs in order to promote brother unity and involvement. A new activity initiated by the Brothers at Large has been to write down the names of two or three Brothers present at each chapter meeting on separate sheets of paper, and pass the sheets around the room during chapter with the instructions to write a few positive comments about that person. The sheets are then given to the appropriate Brothers at the end of the chapter meeting. Overall, the response has been overwhelmingly positive and we feel this activity has really helped to make individual brothers feel welcome and appreciated. It is something we hope to continue in future semesters. Also at every chapter meeting, just as was done last year, the Brothers at Large provide a “fish bowl” in which members may deposit notes to be read during chapter. Though the container actually varies by week (our fish bowl has been everything from a smiley-face piggy bank to a Hanukkah candy dish), the chapter seems to enjoy having a forum for humorous comments as well as notes of thanks and encouragement to be read. The Brothers at Large feel that this has been a good semester for Delta Chi, and have witnessed improvements in the cohesion felt within our chapter. We have only positive predictions for the upcoming semester.