THE END OF THE SLANT FALL 2015 - MIAMI UNIVERSITY - PHI GAMMA DELTA RETURN OF THE ROYAL PURPLE By: Duncan Hutchings (2016) Corresponding Secretary During the summer of 2013, a young man was strolling on the beach. Suddenly, he spotted a girl approaching him with an alarming speed. As the girl drew nearer, he realized her facial expression was filled with dismay. Without any introduction, the distraught girl asked, “Do you go to Miami?” Surprised with the unexpected question, the young man then remembered he was wearing a Miami Redhawks shirt and informed the girl that he does attend Miami University. She quickly responded, “I go to Miami too” and in a grave tone, she said: “The FIJI house burned down last night...” The man became paralyzed in shock. In disbelief, the stunned man replied: “Oh My God, I’m a Fiji.” That man was me, and this unlikely story is how I first heard of the fire on 130 East High Street. After I had made contact with my fraternity brothers and saw pictures of the fire on social media websites, I ultimately accepted that what I had heard on the beach was true. The Chapter house, the place I call home, had been devoured by flames. The first months following the tragic fire was a turbulent time for the brothers of Mu Upsilon. The iconic East High Street house had been dreadfully blackened by blazing flames. But, most distressing, our home was destroyed. The abrupt loss of 130 caused brothers to have qualms about the future of Mu Upsilon; however, that senti-ment would prove to be fleeting. (Continued on page 2) Inside this Issue Update from the Purple Legionnaire 3 130 East High Street Renaissance 4 The Top of the Heap is at the Top of the Hill 5 Photo Gallery 7 \r\nTHE END OF THE SLANT After the Sigma Chi Fraternity graciously offered us to seek refuge in their Alpha house, the Phi Gam brotherhood began relinquishing their doubts about the chapter. We started to pick our heads up and recall our enduring values. Soon enough, an aura of persistence pervaded the brotherhood. brotherhood. Throughout the course of the 2014-2015 school year, the brothers of Mu Upsilon excelled in both academia and extracurricular activities. The chapter raised its collective GPA to a value of 3.0, which ranked third among the entire fraternity community. Furthermore, brothers were elected by the Interfraternity Council (IFC) to serve as ambassadors for FIJI and to improve the entire Greek community, which they executed admirably. It has been a long journey for the Mu Upsilon brothers. A despicable case of arson caused our home to burn up in flames, we were forced to relocate to an unfamiliar fraternity house and our faith in the chapter was tested. However, the brotherhood united together under our cardinal principle: persistence. What started as hope evolved into persistence that could not be stopped until we were able to reclaim our home on the corner of East High Street. After two years of unwavering determination, inspiring brotherhood strength and unrelenting support from our invaluable graduate brothers, Mu Upsilon is proud to once again call 130 East High Street home! Of all the tasks the chapter officers completed, none was more important than our comprehensive leadership retreat. House Corp President Jim Secor (1967), Purple Legionnaire Allan Payne (1968), and all five officers scheduled an intensive leadership During the 2013-2014 school year, the chapter officers started to tackle the most crucial issues facing the conference to discuss the chapter’s upcoming affairs. During this full-day event, the seven Fiji brothers chapter. The officers, led by Andrew Bell (2015), prepared a thorough plan that articulated the exact began a steadfast nationwide fundraising campaign steps for our return to our proper home on High and established connections with some of Mu UpsiStreet. Now with a methodical playbook, the officers lon’s most esteemed and generous graduates. By the spent the rest of the semester and summer holding end of the school year, the chapter had received a frequent conference calls with graduates who would considerable amount of donations and the concrete help facilitate the reinhabiting of our chapter house. foundation for a new house had been poured. Meanwhile, the chapter officers - President Andrew Karle (2016), Treasurer Dave Nelson (2016), Recording Secretary Ben Hicks (2017), Historian Jack Onulak (2016) and me, Corresponding Secretary Duncan Hutchings (2016) - have been leading Mu Upsilon toward a bright future. In early January, a trip to FIJI Academy gave the offi-cers the opportunity to converse with distinguished Fijis from across the country and learned how to successfully implement Phi Gam traditions into the chapter. In April, the officers and the 2015 pledge class traveled to Phi Gamma Delta Headquarters in Lexington, KY to formally initiate our new brothers. The five officers initiated the 2015 pledge class into the Page 2 With the start of a new year around the corner, the rising sophomore pledge class is thrilled to soon move into the incredible chapter house, and the entire chapter is proud to usher in a golden era for Mu Upsilon. As the editor of this newsletter, I am proud to write on behalf of my fraternity brothers. I personally cannot wait for the corner of East High Street to be embellished with an elegant touch of Royal Purple. \r\nUPdATE FROm THE PURPLE LEgIONNAIRE By: Allan Payne (1968) 130 East High St: Fortunately, I have had the pleasure of being in Oxford regularly the last few months, so I have been able to witness the house renovations. When you enter 130 East High Street, you will come in the old entryway, you will see a totally renovated living room and Dr. Barr room - complete with John T. McCarty’s original mantle and the old oak mantle in the living room. Everything will look very much as it was, except NEW! You will see an amazing “Chapter Room” which will be an all-purpose lounge, TV room, study room, and party room with tables, chairs and a counter area - with brands of coffee and assorted cold drinks. You will see a library with the latest technology. In fact, the whole house will be technology “savvy”. You will see single rooms, double rooms/suites, and four-man suites all provided with beds, dressers, work desks and study chairs. Undergrads will be able to put their own “stamp” on their rooms, but with very specific parameters on what is allowable. Most of all, you will see the brand everywhere within the house: the badge, the insignia, noted broth-ers and multiple taglines, like “Not for college days alone.” Fall 2015 Grad Bios for Mentoring: In keeping with the undergrad bios, we would like to ask graduate Fijis to please let us know if you would like to be involved as a mentor, in your field, to undergrads. If this inquiry gains traction, with your response, we will create a graduate brother site of bios for undergrads to access so they contact you. Pig Dinner: Pig Dinner was an enormous success. We met at The Elms Uptown (formerly the Holiday Inn). Behind the registration counter, as we walked in, was a large picture of “Hiawabop,” the now retired Miami Indian mascot, and behind him, clear as day, was Brother Brian Keeley (1967) in his cheerleader outfit, looking mighty spiffy. Old Fiji 1960’s and 1970’s videos ran all night, and speeches were short! Brother Charlie Harnett (1964) recounted his days at Miami and the journey he has taken since then. After returning last year (for the first time in decades), Charlie came back as guest speaker this year and really got things going. Also, it was a pleasure for me to sit with Brother Charlie (Chuck) Morehead (1965) whom I hadn’t seen since 1965! Saturday, October 3: Please put this date on your calendar and plan to attend our Dedication Day – “130 Rising” celebration. We will tour the new House, hear Brother Bill Isaac (1965) offer remarks and you will eat well. We are inviting dignitaries of all kinds, but most of all we want you to meet our undergrads. Those of you who came to Pig Dinner raved about them. Section Chief Ben Harper (Kentucky 1969) and Executive Director Bill Martin (Mississippi State 1975) attended, and both seemed to be totally plugged in to the evening. After Brother Harnett’s address, Fiji songs rang throughout, but when we sang the “Chant,” – you know, “Hail Phi Gamma Delta, our Delta we adore…” - Ben Harper said he had never heard that song before. Neither had Bill Martin. So, brothers, where did we get that song? New Initiates: Fall Off-Site Leadership Retreat: As we just said goodbye to some great brothers whom we will miss, we initiated and welcomed 28 new brothers in April at International Headquarters in Lexington. They are the sophomores to be. The sophomore class, now juniors to be, are 35 strong, making a total of 63 brothers who are undergrads. Miami has long since done away with fall pledge classes, so our next class will be in 2016 (when we are sitting in our new House). The undergrads have initiated two excellent classes while living in the secluded Sigma Chi house. I cannot wait to see us in the prime real estate spot in all of Oxford – 130 East High St. The undergrads are totally psyched, and so am I. This past February, we had a retreat with the Cabinet emphasizing VISION, ALIGNMENT and EXECUTION as the three key components for chapter success. This fall, we will pick up on the same theme, emphasizing process, process, process in every aspect of what we do: from academics, to sports and finances. I hope to see you October 3 at our Dedication day re-opening! Allan (“Al”/”Fast Al”/“Alphonse”) Payne (1969) Purple Legionnaire Perge! Page 3 \r\nTHE END OF THE SLANT Dear Brothers, In May of 2013, the Fiji House had a substantial fire, virtually a total loss. We had two choices: 1) Sell the property, with the proceeds going to National for safe-keeping or 2) Design and build the Fiji House of the future. It took a year to navigate through the Oxford Historic Architecture Preservation Board, Planning Commission - with some 13 variances - and the City of Oxford development requirements. We filed for a building permit within the 12-month window, before our non-conforming use zoning would revert to an Office/Residential zoning category, which does not include fraternity houses. Upon receiving the permit, we had another period of time, upon which construction needed to be completed. This meant that we had to start construction in the fall of 2014 and occupy by fall of 2015. We selected Brackett Builders of Troy, OH, a Construction Manager who I had substantial confidence in, (having completed numerous projects with them). They manage a volume of $100 million of construction per year, so a $4 million project was not something they were seeking. Fortunately, they agreed to do the project. The president of the Company, Rick Stahl, took this on personally with a local superintendent, Bill Sayres. We were still trying to get the final settlement from the insurance company, - thank you Steve Unger (1975) - and were hopeful Page 4 130 EAST HIGH STREET RENAISSANCE we would obtain enough funds to complete a portion of the proj-ect. We had scenario A, B and C, in terms of the scope of work we could match with available dol-lars, but we had to start…We kind of had a “gun to our heads.” As the team expanded from George Simonds (1959), myself and Dick Hutchinson (1969), our confidence in raising money grew thank you Clay Barnard (1969) and we pulled the trigger on the full build-out to accommodate up to 45 Brothers. The team contin-ued to grow and we grew stronger. Allan Payne (1969) took on the task of Purple Legionnaire and he built a high level of confidence with the new Brothers and graduates. We made a big commitment to the City of Oxford, and ourselves, in re-building the 1828 structure, which was in very delicate shape. We had to temporarily enclose the structure the first winter as we could not survive a harsh winter, open to the weather. The 1828 house has been restructured with fire treated lumber, replacing all floor and roof structures and stabilizing the masonry walls. The new structure has sprinkler fire protection and smoke detectors/alarms, in addition to stairway standpipes and other fire safety enhancements, over and above the building code. The new 130 East High Street will have a lot of the same spaces M O M E N T U M !!!!! and spatial relationships as we experienced; however, we have This has been about risk manageprovided 18 semi-private suites ment and building credibility and for upper-classmen, with two Momentum. rooms sharing a bath. We still have central bathrooms for the During the year, we had to design the house, which was not just a task 13 double occupancy rooms without baths, and one ADA acof replacing what we had. It needed to be what we wanted in the cessible suite. The house will be future. To recruit the best brothers furnished, thanks to Alan Molina (1980). and to compete with university housing and market rate housing The architectural expression is provided by the private sector, our contextual, blending into the fraternity house must provide a historic style prevalent in quality living environ-ment, Oxford, and scaling the building strengthen the fraternity experience as a transition from the single and communicate our past and fam-ily neighborhoods to the vision for the future. We also know com-mercial district. The goal that we must be in a positive cash was to maintain the emphasis position, managing how funds are and prominence of the 1828 spent, and assuring a strong income house, which we have stream/occupancy at market rates. accomplished. (Continued on page 5) \r\nFall 2015 130 East High street Renaissance continued... I am pleased with the design of the house, and hope that you see the past as well as the future vision for the Mu Upsilon Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. There are touches of the old and some exciting aspects of the new. I cannot wait for you to see it! We will occupy the second and third floors by August 15, and complete the first floor and basement by September 15. The house will look great for the Dedication on October 3. Also thanks to Jim Secor (1967) as House Corp. President, and the many Brothers who have stepped up to assist in our accomplishments. We are getting stronger! We are coming back! I’m proud to be a FIJI! Fraternally, The greatest thanks is to the graduates, believing in our future, the new brothers and the vision we have as evidenced by the facility we are completing. Gerry Bird (1970) AIA, MBA Architect THE TOP OF THE HEAP Is AT THE TOP OF THE HILL thought to the chapter in 40 or 50 years (shame on us!, have responded in large numbers to the genuine crisis. In those dark days, when the remaining ruins of the house were ordered to be demolished, we were called, and we have answered. In the nearly two years since the fire, the 1828 house has been restored to better condition than ever, and it has been hugely expanded with a first-class addition that is spacious, luxurious and state-of-the-art, high-tech. Although daunting and challenging, the rebuilding of the house was the easy part. Now, we graduate brothers must meet an even greater challenge: rebuilding the chapter. By: Jim Secor (1967) - House Corp. President My Brothers, Without being too dramatic, it can truly be said that we will be at a genuine Watershed Moment when we gather on October 3, to re-dedicate the FIJI house, now graceful and imposing on the newly re-bricked East High Street. We will then stand on Miami’s proverbial “Hillcrest,” to look behind us on the Golden Years of the 1960’s and 1970’s, followed by many more years of breathtaking ups and downs. The past 40 years included moments of triumph and goodwill, intermittent and humiliating disciplinary shutdown, anguish, hopeful probationary re-colonization, more indignity and another re-colonization. We were stuck in a gloomy downward cycle, and then, the house burned! But, from the “Hillcrest,” we can also see the next 50 years: glittering and triumphant, as long as we remain vigilant. That dreadful fire has led to our re-birth, our greatest moment in Chapter history, since its founding. Graduate Brothers, many like your humble House Corp President, who had really not given too much First of all, we grads must recognize that conditions on Miami’s campus, and indeed across the country, are unrecognizably different from those we knew when we were last on campus. Virtually none of the traditions, which held us together as a chapter in the past, still remain. No semi-formal meals, no whiskeybesotten cook Carl stumbling around the kitchen. Not much interest in Greek Week, no highly competitive Serenades in the spring, no exuberant, raucous student bars uptown, no Gracie Dome driving her all-weather top-down Oldsmobile convertible (overheard: “Does the top on her car even work?”) to wink-wink/nudge-nudge us during her carefully-orchestrated “unannounced” drop-ins at our house parties. No FIJI Island weekends, like the (Continued on page 6) Page 5 \r\nTHE END OF THE SLANT jaw-dropping epics we so enjoyed, which were the talk of the campus, and of course, no house mother. Further, in the wide world outside of Oxford, an entire cultural sea-change has swept across the country, wherein the press has declared open-season on all things “Frat” (What an ugly, insulting word that is, and it’s now in common usage!. University presidents nervously peek out their windows to see if there are any satellite news trucks out front, again... “Frat” gang rapes (U of VA), “Frat” drug/ drink-induced bacchanalian riots (U of MI), “Frat” chants of vulgar racism (U of OK)... all headline news. And, reading those recurrent headlines, everyday Americans on and off campus seem to think life would be better for the whole country if all that “FRAT stuff ” would just disappear. Phew! Seems hopeless. And yet... Counterintuitively, our calamitous house fire, followed by an increasing frenzy of reconstruction behind a jubilant “Coming: August 15, 2015!” sign, seems to have improved our rush! During their exile in the (leased) Sigma Chi house, under the guidance of our indefatigable Purple Legionnaire Allan Payne (1968), our young Fijis have succeeded in attracting and initiating two large pledge classes of high-caliber young men. Meanwhile, the undergraduate officers have succeeded in galvanizing their troops to achieve ever more rigorous goals, such as raising their GPA from a dismal 22nd of 27 fraternities, to seventh of 27 by the end of the 2014 fall term, with an overall objective of raising themselves to 5th of 27 by the end of fall 2015. Through this summer, the officers have been conducting conference call meetings to hammer through the myriad boring-but-important details of managing a new $4 million building. These grads who have come to know the new young Fijis are delighted with the goals they have set for themselves, and we are impressed by all they intend to do to achieve those objectives. We see their energies, abilities and self-discipline, and their firm determination to govern themselves. We are delighted to see the old FIJI Values like energy, ethics, and scholastic achievement coming back, and we are relieved to see those old core values being adapted to the new realities of the 21st century life on campus. Page 6 But, we have to be sure the entire graduate chapter recognizes that there is only one place to search for the proverbial “Silver Bullet”, to solve all of our 21st century fraternity house management issues: the mirror. There IS no quick and easy answer. We grads must recognize that however bright, talented and personable our undergrads may be (and they are all of the above), no matter how honorable and ethical they are, nor what fine families they are from (ditto), our young Fijis are just that: young. And furthermore, the inherent weakness of Phi Gamma Delta’s 150-year old management model is turnover. Once we get this bunch raised up, once they are reliably discharging their duties, they graduate and leave. Then we have yet another crop of brightbut-raw newbies; we have to start all over. That, after all, is our mission: to provide a rich, varied, learning experience, just as we had, a safe place to experiment, refine, and perfect the interactive/ management/operating skills of life, and then pass those skills on to the young men who come after us. When we think about it, it is obvious our constantly turning over undergrads will always be in need of mentoring by us grads. Happily, this current crop of undergrads seem to recognize their need ofour wisdom, our counsel and our experience. Further, they seem to welcome, even crave, kindly, thoughtful mentoring from us “old guys.” That, my Brothers, has not been seen at 130 East High Street for quite some time. We must not let them down! So, my graduate brothers, please look in the mirror, and ask the man you see, “How can I help?” Maybe start yourself off slow, and ask to head up one of the House Corp project-of-the-moment, or ask to “shadow” a grad brother who is already serving in some discrete function. It is both good and bad that the current House Corp is largely made up of Baby Boomers, who already knew and trusted each other, and “landed running” during the crisis. But now, we really must move on, and you must ask yourself, “Is it time for me to Give Back to the FIJI chapter that meant so much to me, in my formative years?” You’ll be glad you did your part to keep the house and the chapter where they belong: on top! \r\nFall 2015 Left to Right: Ben Hicks (2017), Andrew Karle (2016), Gordon Harnett (1964), Duncan Hutchings (2016) and Jack Onulak (2016). A construction worker in the soon-to-becompleted first floor. View from the western wing overlooking East High Street. Chapter house interior construction in progress. Left to Right: Allan Payne (1968), Jim Secor (1967), Ben Vandertil (2017), Ducan Hutchings (2016), Jack Onulak (2016), David Nelson (2016), Ben Hicks (2017), and Andrew Karle (2016) at the Leadership Retreat. Page 7 \r\nNonprofit Org US Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit # 540 Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity Mu Upsilon at Miami University 1201 Red Mile Road P.O. Box 4599 Lexington, KY 40544 THE END OF THE SLANT FALL 2015 MU UPSILON CHAPTER AT MIAMI UNIVERSITY MAKE YOURSELF IMMORTAL! Phi Gamma Delta is teaming up with Donate Life to increase the number of organ donors across North America. This joint venture is called the Immortal Phi Gam project. There are more than 125,000 people waiting for an organ transplant in the United States and Canada, with approximately 150 names added to the waiting list every day. About 79 organ transplants take place every day, but sadly, approximately 22 people die every day because they did not receive an organ in time. The good news is that together Phi Gams can make a tremendous difference. One organ donor can save or improve the lives of up to 50 other people! Making yourself immortal is an easy 3-step process. 1. Go to www.phigam.org/immortalphigam and register at the bottom of the web page. 2. Click on the link on the same web page that will take you to Donate Life’s map page. Click on the state or province where you are licensed to drive or live and register to become an organ donor. This step is unnecessary if your driver’s license in the U.S. or insurance card in Canada already shows that you are an organ donor, but register again if you are uncertain. 3. Tell your parents, spouse, family members, and loved ones that you want to donate your organs when you die. If you are already a registered donor through your state or province, please register with the Fraternity as well at www.phigam.org/immortalphigam to help track the number of brothers who have made this life-saving decision.