Beta Upsilon Chapter

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Beta Upsilon Chapter (Founded 03 April 1995) is located at University of Massachusetts-Amherst in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Chapter had 94 founding Brothers and is a member of the Northeast Region. Fall 2019.jpg|thumb|100px|right|Beta Upsilon Chapter, Fall 2019]]

Beta Upsilon Chapter History

Founding

The Beta Upsilon Chapter was founded on April 03, 1995 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The chapter's founding went through a rough period and a year went by before members became inducted. There were 94 founding members of Beta Upsilon, Tina Sachar being the first inducted. The first meeting held without national Phi Sigma Pi representatives present was on October 21, 1996, with 74 members present.

Early Years (1996-2000)

The Beta Upsilon chapter of Phi Sigma Pi underwent a few struggles upon being chartered. The charter class was established on April 3, 1995, however the fledgling Chapter did not succeed and a restart of the Chapter by National Headquarters was done in April 1996.

The chapter saw new initiate classes made up on average of about fifteen members. The brotherhood quickly established local traditions, such as the annual banquet at the end of each semester. The banquet was held at the Peking Garden restaurant in Hadley, MA during the first few years of it's founding. Initiation has always been the interest of all active brothers, and the chapter celebrated an Initiate Picture Day to help initiates bond. During this event, initiates and brothers would hang out around campus and get lunch together. The day would also include a little photo shoot of the initiates.

Another tradition established early on in the chapter was the Initiate Scavenger Hunt. Split into teams, the initiates have to travel around campus to decipher clues which will ultimately lead to their final clue. In the past, the scavenger hunt involved clues relating to the University of Massachusetts campus. However, recently the event has been changed to include anonymous clues about each brother.

The "Dark" Years (2000-2005)

After the first three years of active service to the UMass campus, the chapter's organization began to wane for the next few years. Little is recorded or remaining from the years 2000-2005 and no scrap books were maintained (that are still in the chapter's possession). Hopefully this period in the chapter's history will be filled in soon. If you have information about this time that may help fill in the blanks, please contact pspumass@gmail.com.

Beta Upsilon 2007

Main Article: Beta Upsilon 2007 Chapter History

Beta Upsilon 2008

Main Article: Beta Upsilon 2008 Chapter History

Beta Upsilon 2009

Main Article: Beta Upsilon 2009 Chapter History

Beta Upsilon 2010

Main Article: Beta Upsilon 2010 Chapter History

The Current Chapter

Beta Upsilon at Relay for Life, Spring 2009

The Beta Upsilon Chapter currently has 46 Active Brothers. Beta Upsilon's members are active in the UMass community, participating in various clubs ranging from social fraternities/sororities, to honor societies, to various registered student organizations around campus, but remain united through Phi Sigma Pi.

The chapter's recent goals include strengthening the bonds we share as Brothers as well as sustaining long-lasting relationships with Alumni. Recently the Brotherhood has expanded the chapter through new executive board positions as well as a new committee, the Outreach Committee, which promotes collaboration with other organizations on campus for new events.

The chapter has taken an active role in recent years to create new traditions, such as:

  • Helping to organize the Amherst NEDA walk in October
  • Participating in Challah for Hunger
  • Forming a team for UMass FTK
  • Raising money with Dessert Crawl
  • Decorating Downtown Amherst for the holidays

Most recently, the chapter has been dedicated to increasing the diversity and awareness of our members by hosting events such as:

  • "Gender and Sexuality 101 - A collaboration with the UMass Stonewall Center"
  • "Mental Health in College"
  • Brotalks: where Brothers share their expertise on a given topic including, but not limited to: Asexuality, Skin Care Routines, and The Mechanisms of Vocalization

The Active Chapter

Current Brothers

Chapter Chant

Phi Sigma Pi, BY, What's that?
that's Beta OOps, make no mistakes,
we're geniuses, don't test us,
you think otherwise and get messed up.

We're PSP, our bonds are strong,
UMASS, so party hard and long,
don't stop, we can't, why would we try?
we Beta OOps, and we so fly.

So listen up, get ready for,
the best chapter, there's plenty more,
where that came from, we're number one,
how you like that, we'll come right back.

Say PSP, (chant back PSP),
Say PSP, (chant back PSP),
It's true, it's true, and what is true?
we are Beta OOps, so WHO ARE YOU?

Written By: Louis Harris (Psi)

Fall 2020 Executive Board

Here is a list of Beta Upsilon Past Executive Boards.

Beta Upsilon Brothers at Retreat 2010

Fall 2020 Standing Committee Chairs

     TBD

Spring 2020 Standing Committee Chairs


Past Chapter Presidents

  1. Tancy Kelly (Spring 1996 - Spring 1997)
  2. Cheyenne Ferro (Fall 1997 - Spring 1998)
  3. Matt Fallon (Fall 1998 - Spring 2000)
  4. (Unknown) (2001)
  5. (Unknown) (2002)
  6. Danielle Williams (??? - Spring 2004)
  7. Sarah Stancato (Fall 2004 - Spring 2005)
  8. Joe Cabral (Fall 2005 - Spring 2006)
  9. Rich Iannone (Fall 2006 - Spring 2007)
  10. David Romanelli (Fall 2007 - Spring 2008)
  11. Christine Rega (Fall 2008 - Spring 2009)
  12. Ashley Blubaugh (Fall 2010 - Spring 2011)
  13. Raymond Isenburg (Fall 2011 - Spring 2012)
  14. Jacob Coffin (Fall 2012 - Spring 2013)
  15. Kayla Goldberg (Fall 2013-Spring 2014)
  16. (Unknown) (Fall 2014-Spring 2015)
  17. Justin Waller (Fall 2015-Spring 2016)
  18. Jess Orlando (Fall 2016-Spring 2017)
  19. Tessa Oliver (Fall 2017-Spring 2018)
  20. Jacqueline Dow (Fall 2018-Spring 2019)
  21. Joseph McKinnon (Fall 2019-Spring 2020)

Chapter Events & Activities

Volunteering at the Amherst NEDA Walk

  • The Beta Upsilon Chapter helps organize the Amherst NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association) Walk annually. In the past, we've created our own teams to walk through Downtown Amherst in an effort to raise money for the treatment and prevention of eating disorders. Most recently, a few Brothers organized a 'Self-Care' table which included making stress-reducing stones from balls of clay.

Amherst Dessert Crawl

  • Beginning in Fall 2013, and continued ever since, the town of Amherst hosts a Dessert Crawl in association with Amherst BID and Phi Sigma Pi, where local restaurants and cafes hand out free goodies to all who purchase Dessert Crawl tickets. Locals crave those delicious doughnuts-on-a-stick from Glazed, and it only happens for free once a year through Dessert Crawl. This exciting event significantly contributes to the fundraising of our chapter to create new and unique events each semester.
The Beta Upsilon Chapter at the Second Annual TFA 5K Road Race, Spring 2009

Formal Banquet

  • The consensus is that this is the Brothers' favorite event. At the end of each semester, the Beta Upsilon Brothers go to local destination (e.g. Union Station in Northampton, MA) to celebrate the end of a successful semester and our newly-inducted Brothers. At banquet, we have the privilege of a professional photoshoot (can't forget those big purple and gold letters!), a formal dinner, followed by superlative awards and a long night of some much-needed stress relief: dancing.

Founder's Day

  • Every year around February 14th, the Brothers gather to celebrate the founding of our organization back in 1916. Each year, Brothers join together to reminisce about experiences and share fond memories of PSP. Usually, the event is circulated around baking scrumptious pies together. Why? Because we are Phi Sigma Pi(e)!

UMass Hockey Games

  • The Beta Upsilon's favorite social event is to watch Coach Greg Carvel and the UMass hockey team battle against their opponents. Not only is it a great event for boosting UMass spirit, but a lot of friendships between Brothers are formed by their passion for the game (also Cale Makar). In 2019, when UMass made it to the Frozen Four, some of the Brothers invested in a trip to go to TD Garden in Boston (home of the Boston Bruins) to watch the boys fight to claim the title of national champions. If that doesn't demonstrate our love for UMass hockey, I don't know what does.

UMass FTK

  • UMass FTK is a day-long dance marathon to benefit the Children's Miracle Network and the Baystate Children's Hospital in Springfield, MA. The dance is put on by the fraternities and sororities at UMass. There are many other events during the dance marathon such as a relay race, a four square, and a Guitar Hero tournament. Beta Upsilon has participated since 2007. In 2007, UMass FTK (previously UDance) participants raised over $20,000! Each year the event raises more and more money for such an important cause.

Notable Alumni

Chapter Honors and Awards

Beta Upsilon TFA 5k t-shirt 2010

Publications

National Awards

University Awards

  • Silver Chapter Excellence Award, Spring 2009

Further Resources

In the News