2014 Delta Chi Chapter History
Main article: Delta Chi Chapter
Spring
Recruitment: Alpha Betas
We began the semester with information sessions and meeting all of the potential rushes! This was a very exciting time meeting so many new friends. The information sessions went well with bros and potentials interacting and staying for over an hour to talk and bond. During rush week Sarah did an amazing job holding three events: Bookmarks for Teach for America, Disney Trivia, and Mocktails. At the Teach for America Bookmarks event, the brothers and recruits watched a short video about what Teach for America is and its positive impact on classrooms nationwide. They also learned about Phi Sigma Pi’s involvement with the philanthropy, including an alternative spring break trip during which PSP brothers built a playground for a public school. After that, brothers and recruits mingled while decorating bookmarks to donate to Teach for America classrooms in Philadelphia. Many of the book- marks were adorned with gems, ribbons, motivational phrases about reading, and quotes from popular novels. Everyone in attendance had a great time meeting each other and learning about PSP’s national philanthropy. The next recruitment event, Disney Trivia, featured a fun and competitive game that fit into the scholarship leg of the tripod. Brothers and recruits were organized into seven large teams. Team members introduced themselves to each other, shared fun facts, and collectively decided on team names. The group played the game Jeopardy style, and three brothers moder- ated the activity. After the first game, there was time to quickly play another one. Brothers switched teams to meet more recruits. The teams responded positively to the final Jeopardy question, “What is Alice Gast’s middle name?” even though it was not Disney related. Delta Chi had a lot of fun with this new event, and we will probably repeat it in semesters to come. Finally, Mocktails ended the week. This event had mock cocktails and cookies and was really just an opportunity to get rushes and bros talking. After a be- ginning introduction period we played games such as Train- wreck. This was a really great way to learn interesting facts about the rushes and get to know them better. This also gave them an opportunity to find brothers with which they had things in common.
Pref week kicked off with a delicious ice cream social event! Due to the multiple (and unprecedented!) snow days that week many events had to be rescheduled, but the Chapter was able to work around it. Brothers and Prefs chatted while enjoying chocolate and vanilla ice cream. Yum! The middle event of Pref week was balloon animals where bros and prefs learned to make shapes out of balloons. A few of the prefs even took the time to spell out PSP with balloons! Pref week ended with Teambuilders including stations of charades, TANK, and event planning. There was a lot of excitement and laughter by all involved and a great way to end an amazing week with the prefs.
House Cup
This semester the Eboard decided to re-implement the House Cup with a new twist, the “Minute to Win It” challenge! Each Chapter meeting, the four houses have one minute to complete and win a challenge in order to win extra House Points. For any- one unfamiliar with the House Cup, it is a semester-long contest designed to emulate the Hogwarts House Cup award, with all of the Brothers split equally among four houses named after Phi Sigma Pi’s founders. Fall 2013’s winning House was the Woodcocks. The brothers decided to take the $200 allotted dollars and take a field trip to Revolutions. We tried to accommodate all brothers by doing so during finals week in December – however, we were snowed out. The second date we planned for was snowed out as well, but finally on February 9th the Woodcocks enjoyed bowling, a lot of food, and some really awe- some fellowship! We were honored to win the Housecup and look forward to participating again this semester. This semester the teams are the Torchia Pterodactyls, the Hendericks Hippos, the Wood Wallabies, and the McClure McCaws.
ICR: Medieval Times
On February 22nd the Alpha Theta chapter hosted an ICR event at Medieval Times in Lyndhurst, New Jersey! 6 Delta Chi Brothers joined them for a night of feasting and revelry at the Medieval-themed Dinner & Tournament castle, where they watched knights joust and swordfight all on horseback. Even though their knight didn’t win the tournament, every Brother still had a blast!
Fundraising: Stacy's Got Greek
Kristen Schmidt organized a fundraiser which turned out to be an abso- lute success. Stacy (with the help of her mother) founded the company Stacy’s got Greek. She lets students design letters shirts with a letter design, a backing, and a shirt color. She had so many op- tions and stationed herself outside of Upper Cort for 2 days. PSPDX did an amazing job of getting the word out throughout the school and so many people purchased letter shirts from Stacy! DX helped Stacy in Upper and made a percent of the sales plus a piece of the price of any shirt you yourself bought. The chapter was excited for the success but so many members also got new shirts! Stacy said we were extremely helpful and a great experience for her so she may be back before the semester is over!
Bro Retreat: Battle of the Bands
The “Battle of the Bands” themed Bro Retreat this semester was held at Camp Men-o-Lan in Quakertown on March 22nd and 23rd. Brothers had an awesome time competing in trivia, relays and games as musical groups *Nsync, Village People, Madonna, KISS, Britney Spears, and Spice Girls. After the festivities ended, Brothers gathered around a campfire beneath the stars to share hopes, fears and regrets in what many Brothers consider to be their most memo- rable experience within PSP. Hugs and s'mores were exchanged after the long, exciting and emotional day. Overall, although the weather was a little cold and one Brother found himself falling through a semi-frozen lake (oops!), fun and brotherly-bonding was had by all! Thank you to Aaron and the BALs for a great Bro Retreat!
Leadership: Relay for Life
On Friday April 4th, our chapter participated in Lehigh Colleges against Cancer’s annual Relay for Life event in Grace Hall. Relay is an overnight, community-wide fundraising walk comprised of teams that take shifts walking during the event while others provide and/or engage in entertainment through games and other activities. All of the money raised before and during this event helps fund the American Cancer Society in its fight against cancer. This year Relay was Disney themed, which was reflected through Disney themed music, décor, and activities. PSP’s team, led by Team Captain and Leadership Chair Heather Doll, ’15, dove right into the theme by hosting a “photo booth” decked out with Disney props to pose with and went above and beyond the rest of the organizations by having team members come dressed as Disney characters (see photo). Although only one member needed to be present and walking the track at a time, our devoted Bros could be seen walking around or participating in activities at all hours of the night—and into the morning (see photo). PSP’s team had over 20 members and raised almost $2,000; the team had to up its fundraising goal from $1,000 to $1,750 due to so much success. Additionally, to make the night even more productive, the then-initiate Alpha Betas sought out the help of older Bros to study for their New Member Exam the next day! All in all, the night was full of fun, fitness, and philanthropy, and chapter members are already looking forward to next year’s Relay!
-Written by Marlee Milkis
Fall
Recruitment: Alpha Gammas
Information sessions went well with over 30 recruits coming out to learn more and excited for PSP. The first week of recruitment (Rush) began with a Trivia event where bros and recruits were split into teams and competed who had the best trivia knowledge. Tuesday we decorated collection boxes for Urban Alliance. This was a great opportunity to really get to know recruits and show off our artistic abilities (or lack thereof). We learned about the organization which helps intercity students learn about interviewing and how to dress for an internship. The organization also works with other companies to get actual internships for high school seniors. One of our Alumni had reached out to explain that Urban Alliance needed professional attire so after decorating these boxes, we will start a collection around campus. The Recruitment series concluded on Wednesday the 10th with an interactive session. It was a good turnout as more than 15 people, varying from freshman to junior, went to the event. We had a good time learning about each other. For the first half of the event, we played human bingo. It was really a huge push for people to mix and mingle. Brothers took the initiatives to talk to more shy people and helped them make conversations with others. It was an example of PSP fellowship goal. For the second half of the event, we played headbands. Words such as rainbow, sunshine, and things of that nature were on the bands and each person had to ask yes/no questions to try and figure out the word on their headband. It was a real challenge. Funny enough, the current PSP President got the word “PSP” on her band. She was clueless the entire time. Yet she enjoyed the twist. Brothers are really looking for value-added this recruitment season.
-Written by Phuc Nguyen
Fellowship: Picnic
To kick off the fall 2014 semester, Ali Yeager, Fellowship Chair for the 2014-2015 academic, orga- nized a picnic for all brothers to attend. The event took place on August 29, 2014 at 4:00 p.m, which was the first Friday of the semester. It was the perfect time for all brothers to enjoy each and every- one’s company after a long hard day of class. Both old and new brothers had an opportunity to meet and to catch up over some chips and drinks. Conversations included everyone’s semester goals and aspirations for the semester, with the addition of future fellowship event ideas. All in all, this picnic was a great morale booster for Brothers to start of the semester right!
-Written by Vincent Tung
Scholarship: Elegant Eating
The month of September concluded with a scholarship event called Elegant Eating on the 29th. Although the event took place during exam week, 12 brothers came and better yet learned how to dine with class in a formal situation. Elegant eating covers items such as how to maneuver your hands on the table, what topics to talk about and not to talk about, which silverware goes to what dish, and many more. One brother, who takes a big interest in cars, came up with a shorthand BMW (bread-main-water/wine) to represent where things are on the table. So next time when you dine at a fancy restaurant, just remember the BMW cars! Besides, the food was good. Maura, who planned and executed this event served chicken noddle soup, bread with olive oil, salads, baked ziti, and cake for desert. Brothers really couldn’t ask for more than hanging out and enjoying good food.
-Written by Phuc Nguyen
Delta Chi Kickball
On the weekend of October 18th-19th , Brothers in Phi Sigma Pi from all over the East Coast came to Lehigh University to take part of Delta Chi Kickball. A bulk of the bros from Lehigh’s chapter along with bros from Villanova, East Carolina, and East Stoudsburg met on Friday night and got ready for the Frat Star- themed weekend by watching Animal House. Early Saturday morning, all the bros met on the grassy fields, ready for some competitive kickball. They were split into four teams: Luau, Mardi Gras, Team America, and Tight and Bright and pitted against each other in a round-robin tournament. The day was long, the catered lunch was good, and after 2 games each, Team Luau stood on top. Everyone decided that instead of a playoff round, that there should be one large game pitting Lehigh’s ICR chairs and event organizers, Kristen Schmidt and myself, against one another as captains. It was a close and competitive game, but Kristen’s team won it all with an 8th inning rally that broke the long-standing tie. Though kickball had ended, Delta Chi’s event had not quite ended. The PSP brothers bussed over to Revolutions, an adult arcade place, to have some fun. The brothers enjoyed bowling, pizza, and tons of arcade games for hours until the night’s end. Thus the weekend was over but the memories for those who attended will last a lifetime. Coming from a brother who helped plan this, Delta Chi Kickball was a great success even though we had a lower turnout than expected since it made me feel part of a bigger and yet just as inclusive brotherhood than the one I have in Delta Chi. I really got a sense of what being a national fraternity was all about, and no matter where a Brother was from, Lehigh brothers treated them just the same as they would their own brother.
-Written by Joe Palombo
BAL Event: Assoxination
One of our Brothers at Large, Lindsey Stretz, coordinated a game called Assoxination where over 30 Brothers participated. Asoxination is a game that is set up where a participant is assigned a target and he/she must asoxinate his or her target with a sock. The participant is also another participant’s target, which makes them paranoid at all times. This game was surely an adrenaline-filled game, but rest assured was a great way to keep Brother Morale high and foster the fun environment PSP embodies. The game ended after 3 weeks with a surprisingly quick ending where Joe Skibbens, Alpha Beta class, was triumphant.
-Written by Vincent Tung
Autumn Ad Hoc
Ad Hoc! What a wonderful event that was! Ad Hoc took place on Friday October 24th at Raub’s Farm Market in Easton, PA. The event started with brothers purchasing apple cider and caramel apples! What a delightful snack before the three hour journey that awaits. After the snacks were consumed, brothers decided to start their journey through the extremely large corn maze. The corn maze consisted of 10 different location points that were almost impossible to find. Fortunately, brothers of the Delta Chi Chapter were triumphant in finding almost all of the locations thanks to the great communication and teamwork skills demonstrated by all brothers in attendance. All in all, the caramel apples, the strange looking pumpkins, and the corn, we had a wonderful time fulfilling the tripod PSP embodies.
-Written by Vincent Tung
Leadership: Sincerely Yours
On Wednesday, October 29, PSP had an event called Sincerely Yours. The event was a leadership event that included writing letters for currently deployed soldiers, wounded soldiers, and veterans. The letters were sent to a national philanthropy called “Operation Gratitude” that aims to show appreciation and support to our soldiers. Operation Gratitude annually sends 150,000+ care packages filled with snacks, entertainment, hygiene and hand-made items, plus personal letters of appreciation, to New Recruits, Veterans, First Responders, Wounded Warriors, Care Givers and to individually named U.S. Service Members deployed overseas. Their mission is to “lift the spirits and meet the evolving needs of our Active Duty and Veteran communities, and provide volunteer opportunities for all Americans to express their appreciation to members of our Military.” According to operation gratitude, the most cherished items that soldiers receive are personal letters from civilians. They love hearing about people all over the world, and hearing about our support for them. It really serves to boost their spirit and morale. PSP made hand-written letters for this cause, and letters ranged from really creative and artistic cards, to simple and meaningful letters. Brothers were able to share about themselves, ask about the soldiers, and express their sincere appreciation and gratitude for the soldiers' service. On some occasions, the soldiers respond back, so brothers might be receiving responses in the near future as well that could possibly lead to a soldier-PSP brother pen pal system! We had a lot of fun doing it and sent the letters just in time for Veterans Day.
-Written by Michelle Juarez
BAL Event: Tailgate
As a fun, not for credit event, Brothers gathered to enjoy a morning of tailgating! It was challenging to wake up in the early hours of this fateful Saturday, but those who made the trek over the mountain to Goodman Campus were treated with yummy foods off the grill. Morning cheer was infused into the crowd by the Marching 97, who made its morning rounds in front of the brilliant brown and white mob. This PSP event allowed both active and alumni members of our Chapter to meet and share all the happenings of recent years. Though the impending week of exams forced some of our studious stu- dents to leave the tailgate before the gates opened to the game, those who were able to remain joined the Lehigh community to cheer on our Mountain Hawks.
-Written by Brian Perry
