The Deltan Bucknell University ‐ Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity ‐ Winter 2014 Edition DELTA ASSOCIATION UPDATE By: David “Whitey” Berardinelli (1993) - Delta Association President The over 130-year Fiji tradition at Bucknell continues and is moving ahead with strength. Delta Chapter recently took a pledge class of 32 young men including a positive mix of football, lacrosse, baseball and soccer players as well as nonathletic associated student leaders. We believe this is the biggest pledge class since the institution of sophomore rush in 1992 and the biggest period since 1991. That class escalates the total brotherhood to over 75 members. After some lean times, Delta Chapter has returned to its place as the top fraternity at Bucknell. “After some lean times, Delta Chapter has returned to its place as the top fraternity at Bucknell.” We are proud to remain the only independently owned fraternity at Bucknell. We are the only house able to be fully financed by the strength of its Brotherhood, including its alumni support. We hope that all alumni adhere to the motto “not for college days alone” and continue to contribute to the House both by attending alumni events and by contributing financially. We must do both those things if Delta Chapter is to continue to survive and succeed. Looking forward to Pig Dinner in April! CHAPTER PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS By: Paul Adkins (2015) - Chapter President After a successful beginning to the year, the Delta house can officially say that we are on top of the campus power struggle. We are proud to announce that we gained a 32 person pledge class to gain to our already strong brotherhood. After increasing our members to a recent high of 76, the new cabinet has focused their attention on furthering the house’s brotherhood, which includes implementing the importance of the five core values of friendship, knowledge, service, morality, and excellence. The house is comprised of a diverse set of students that includes athletes, ROTC members, and IFC members. Last spring, we finished as one of the top fraternities on campus with a house GPA of 3.34. Additionally, we won two intramural championships with undefeated seasons in both flag football and softball. The brothers of the Delta house watched our brothers on the soccer field finish the season with a 13-6-1 record. In particular, Jonathan Grad (2015), played extremely well and finished as the third leading scorer; all while recovering from (Continued on page 2) \r\nThe Deltan Page 2 CHAPTER PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS continued... (Continued from page 1) multiple calf surgeries. FIJI made their fan presence noticed when we won the Men’s Soccer Cheer-a-thon. This contest awarded a monetary prize to the loudest group of students at a particular game. FIJI brothers made their impact on the football field as well. The Bison’s season finished with a 6-5 record, which was highlighted by a 40-10 victory over #15 ranked Lehigh. Starting Linebacker, Lee Marvel (2015), finished second on the team in tackles with two forced fumbles. The Delta house supported the team by donating funds for pink apparel in support of breast cancer awareness month. The Delta house has also continued to hold our promise to give back to the community. During the past year, we were able to donate over $2,000 and participate in many events on campus. In particular, the Delta house supported Alex Bradbury (2015) and the Lacrosse team as they vowed to not shave for the month of November in “Our success in academics, recruitment, and athletics is just a small part of what makes us a tremendous chapter.” order to raise money for the Help The Fight organization, which donates funds for those diagnosed with breast cancer. Looking forward, brothers are working towards a spring philanthropy event that entails a FIJI Island themed beach volleyball tournament. proud of the chapter and it’s direction. Our success in academics, recruitment, and athletics is just a small part of what make us a tremendous chapter. We hope to continue our traditions, while creating a strong brotherhood dedicated to becoming well-developed men. As a member of the Delta house, I am extremely proud and fortunate to call each member my brother and am absolutely confident these relationships will carry on for life. Lastly, I hope to see many alumni return to the house, so we can continue to develop the alumni-brother relationship. We are extremely grateful for the opportunities and resources that our alumni make available. Perge! At an overall glance, I could not be more Charity Basketball Tournament 2013 Thanksgiving 2013 \r\nPage 3 NOTES FROM THE CHAPTER OFFICERS Samuel Davidson (2014) Treasurer/ Vice-President David Gross (2015) Recording Secretary Once again the Delta chapter is off to a great start. In my three years with the fraternity, we have continually improved our brotherhood and this year is no different. The house is full of good, young men who believe in the fraternity and are willing to work to continually improve our chapter. The Delta house tradition of having strong leaders in student-athletes, student government officials and IFC board members continues. With over 70 members, the house holds a new life and atmosphere that make us proud to be FIJI’s. We have maintained very healthy finances over the past year, and have been able to donate well over $2,000 to many charities. We continue to volunteer with the Heiter Center for our annual FIJI Field Day and we are looking to do more work with them in the coming year. The house looks forward to continuing to improve and become more active on campus. FIJI has made great strides in the past four years to regain our respective place in the Bucknell community. This semester, after receiving the most new members of any fraternity on campus, there is no doubt we have returned to the glory that we have enjoyed in the past. Personally, this past year and a half has been very rewarding. Living in Gray Stone has allowed me to form strong ties with my brothers. Our brothers have taken great joy and pleasure in educating the new members and teaching them the values and traditions of FIJI. The sophomore class has already contributed much to FIJI. They have helped plan events, are excelling on the sports fields, and have taken great interest in the upkeep of the house. In fact, they just completed a new multipurpose table for the living room. If any alumni have any questions about the Delta Chapter please feel free to contact me at dbg006@bucknell.edu. Luke Vreeland (2015) Corresponding Secretary This past semester has been an exciting one. While we were able to watch our brothers lead successful football and soccer teams, we also proudly welcomed 32 new pledges into the fraternity. With such a successful recruiting effort, FIJI has once again solidified its presence on campus. Having already taken up many leadership roles, the new pledges will surely contribute to our chapter and hopefully perpetuate such positivity. Watching them unite into a cohesive group of young FIJIs has been an extremely rewarding experience. Finally, we successfully hosted our annual Parents Weekend event and are looking forward to similar gatherings in the coming semester. Andrew Coe (2015) Chapter Historian It’s incredible that it has already been over a year since I decided to pledge FIJI and I can sincerely say that it has been the most rewarding decision I’ve made at Bucknell. I rushed FIJI in August ‘12 and the ways I’ve seen the Delta Chapter grow since then cannot be overlooked. At that time, our senior class was fairly small at only sixteen brothers. Our newest pledge class of 32 is not only the largest on campus, but also consists of campus leaders, premier athletes, and well-rounded young men. Our pledges rushed Delta Chapter because they understand that it’s a growing organization with unbelievable potential. For the first time since I rushed, I can say that every time I walk into the house, I see groups of brothers playing pool, relaxing in the bison head room, and reading in the study rooms. As the historian, besides teaching our pledges national and local rituals, I have stressed the importance of spending time as a chapter at the house. If any alumni remember notable traditions or rituals that may be overlooked in the Purple Pilgrim, please email me personally at andrewcoe4@gmail.com. We are always open to suggestions. Perge! Marcus Dunlap (2016) Pledge Class President This years’ pledge class represents a diverse group of Bucknell sophomore students from hockey players to baseball players, environmental club activists to avid bird hunters. We are an outgoing group of young men who have already begun to establish a campus-wide reputation as respectable gentlemen and hardworking student-athletes, who know how to have a good time come Friday afternoon. We have spent the past eight weeks strengthening our friendships with each other and older brothers through trips, tailgates, intramural sports games and spending time around the house. Several weeks ago a group of twelve pledges, myself included, drove an hour south down route 15 to an outfitters where we were given 5 canoes and pushed off the banks of the mighty Susquehanna. With not much more than hot dogs, sleeping-bags, and some refreshments, we embarked on a fifteen-mile overnight camping/canoeing trip on which we covered about eight miles each day and cooked dinner over the fire at night. This is one of many adventures pledges have taken with each other and older brothers to strengthen our rapidly growing life-long bonds of friendship...the sweetest influence. As a group, we look forward to continuing the Phi Gam traditions of giving back to the community and maintaining an exceptional reputation as well-rounded, but rowdy young men. \r\nNonprofit Org Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity 1201 Red Mile Road Lexington, KY 40504 US Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit # 540 Save the Date Delta Chapter Pig Dinner Saturday, April 12 DONATE I am pleased to make a contribution to the Delta Chapter of : $1,000 $500 $250 $100 $50 $25 Other ________ Donations can be made on-line at www.phigam.org/BucknellDonations, by phone at (859) 255-1848 ext. 136, or send checks payable to Phi Gamma Delta to: Bucknell/Delta Chapter Donations, PO Box 4599, Lexington, KY 40544 and include this form. Please make checks payable to Delta Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. Design, printing and mailing services provided by the International Fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta.