MIAMI UNIVERSITY • PHI GAMMA DELTA • Winter 2020 63nd Annual Frank Norris Pig Dinner The April 25, 2020 Pig Dinner will be a memorable event for both the graduate and undergraduate FIJI brothers. Many interesting events are planned for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday including a Friday night gathering at Left Field, a local bar and grill, Saturday, a House Corporation noon lunch meeting, the Frank Norris Pig Dinner at the Elms Hotel, followed by a special “After the Pig” Concert and a Sunday coffee. All the FIJI graduate brothers who pre-register for the dinner will receive the schedule before the weekend of April 24-26. “Go Pig or Go Home” is the theme this year. We encourage all graduate brothers to return to Mother Miami and also contact another FIJI brother that they have not seen for a long time. Encourage that brother to return with them to Oxford. Contact your closest FIJI brothers or your pledge class and plan a great weekend with them in Oxford. This is a great opportunity to spend Pig Dinner weekend with your FIJI brothers. This year we will recognize Phi Gamma Delta’s largest pledge class graduating in 1970. They still think they are 21 again. Continued on page 3 Register for Pig Dinner at https://www.legfi.com/app/events/pigdinner2020/1977 \r\nNew Officers Frank Rivelle III (2021) My name is Frank Rivelle and I am a junior at Miami University. I was raised in Westerville, Ohio and am a graduate of Olentangy Orange High School in 2017. I have played baseball my entire life and continue to practice this by playing for the intermural Phi Gam team. I am currently studying Zoology with a Pre-Dental Co-Major which I plan on attending The Ohio State University for dental school after my four years at Miami. I currently live off-campus with three other brothers in an apartment. Hometown: Westerville, OH Roles in FIJI: New Member Educator, President Major: Zoology/Pre-Dentistry Current Occupation: Pursuing an internship/shadowing opportunity for the summer of 2020 Favorite FIJI memory: My favorite FIJI memory was the night I had received my bid to be a member of Phi Gamma Delta. Walking into a house by myself not knowing anyone was overwhelming, but one of the best decisions I have ever made. Over the past couple of years, I have built relationships from men who still attend the university, all the way to those who used to attend in the ’90s. All of this comes back to the one night I have accepted to join something I will have for the rest of my life. Favorite Food: Philly Cheesesteak Favorite Sports Team: The Ohio State Buckeyes Favorite Oxford Restaurant: Skippers Hobbies/Interest: Baseball, Bowling, Hockey, and Netflix 2 Alex Amata (2021) My name is Alex Amata and I am a junior here at Miami University. I am from Chagrin Falls (a small suburb of Cleveland), and graduated from Chagrin Falls High School in 2017 where I played soccer and was the captain of our tennis team. I am a student of the Farmer School of Business where I am pursuing a Supply Chain and Operations Major as well as an Arts Management Minor through the College of Creative Arts. I currently live in an off campus apartment with a few friends from my pledge class. Hometown: Chagrin Falls, OH Roles in FIJI: Social Chair, Treasurer Major: Supply Chain Operations Management | Minor in Arts Management Current Occupation: Pursuing an internship for the summer of 2020. Favorite FIJI Memory: My buddies and I were out one night for my friends birthday. After getting home, we were speaking hypothetically about whether or not it was humanly possible to run a marathon without training. I jokingly said I could do it, but I am not one to go back on my word…so they next day I woke up and ran 53 laps around Cook Field. The whole chapter came to cheer me on and it was one of the greatest shows of brotherhood I have ever experienced as well as a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life. Favorite Food: Seared Ahi Tuna Favorite Sports Team: Cleveland Indians Favorite Oxford Restaurant: Fridge and Pantry Hobbies/Interests: Music, cooking, fitness, spending time with friends Bill Porter (2021) My name is Bill Porter and I am from Chagrin Falls, Ohio. I attended Chagrin Falls High School before attending Capital University where I was a member of the baseball team for one year. I later transferred to Miami University where I enrolled in the college of arts and science in pursuit of a degree in Communications. My brother, Tim Porter, graduated from Miami University in 2015 and was also a member of Fiji. I now reside in an off-campus apartment with three brothers in Fiji. Hometown: Chagrin Falls, Ohio Roles in Fiji: Social Chair, Recording Secretary Major: Strategic Communications with a minor in Entrepreneurship Current Occupation: Pursuing an internship for the summer of 2020. Favorite FIJI Memory: It’s really hard to pick just one. Living in the chapter house last year was the best year of my life thus far, I never imagined living in a house with 30 of my best friends and will forever cherish that time. Favorite Food: Cheeseburger and Fries Favorite Sports Team: Cleveland Indians Favorite Oxford Restaurant: Mac & Joes Hobbies/Interests: Golf, Baseball, Spending time with friends \r\nPhi Gamma Delta – Mu Upsilon Brandon Bowers (2021) Brandon Bowers is a Junior at Miami University. He is from Needham, Massachusetts and graduated from Needham High School. In High School Brandon played lacrosse and football and was active in multiple clubs throughout his time there. He is currently working towards a marketing major with a minor in information systems at Miami’s Farmer School of Business. He currently resides in an apartment off campus with three other Phi Gamma Delta brothers. Hometown: Needham, Massachusetts Roles in FIJI: Judiciary Board Member, Historian Major: Marketing | Minor in Information Systems Current Occupation: Pursuing internships for the summer of 2020 Favorite FIJI Memory: It is so difficult for me to pick just one memory here with my brothers. Whether its playing or watching FIJI dominate interfraternal sports, meeting the alumni, who help build this fraternity, during Pig Dinner, or just hanging out watching football on Sundays at 130 East High Street, I cherish every moment with my brothers. Favorite Food: Spaghetti-Os (with meatballs) Favorite Sports Team: New England Patriots Favorite Oxford Restaurant: Steinkellers Hobbies/Interests: Football, Music, Relaxing with friends Alec Sjodin (2021) I am from Fairfield, Connecticut and graduated from Avon Old Farms before coming to Miami University. I enrolled in the Farmer School of Business as an Economics major, however decided to switch to Finance my sophomore year. My mother and two of my brothers graduated from Miami, the younger one being a Fiji who graduated in 2018. I now reside in an off-campus house with a few of my Fiji brothers. Hometown: Fairfield, Connecticut Roles in FIJI: Social Chair, Corresponding Secretary Major: Business Finance Current Occupation: Pursuing an internship for summer 2020 Favorite FIJI Memory: My favorite memory as a Fiji was Pig Dinner my sophomore year. It always amazes me how many alumni are still so proud of this fraternity and make the trip out. Having a recently graduated older brother, I have gotten to know many of the guys who have graduated over the past years. Pig Dinner is a great opportunity to make new connections while also staying in touch with old friends. Also, watching Alex run that marathon was amazing and will be something I will remember forever. Favorite Food: Steak and Mashed Potatoes Favorite Sports Team: New England Patriots Favorite Oxford Restaurant: Mac & Joes Hobbies/Interests: Fishing, Golfing, and Cooking Continued from page 1 The cost of the Miami University Norris Pig Dinner weekend of events for FIJI grads is $85. Register for the dinner at www.legfi.com/app/events/ pigdinner2020/1977 and see who is coming. The $85 fee will cover the Pig Dinner on Saturday night and the food on Friday night and Sunday morning. Because of the great interest, the 50 rooms in Elms Hotel for 4/24 and 4/25 in the PGD Block were all sold out by January 15. To find Oxford accommodations try the Sycamore Best Western, Hampton Inn, Comfort Inn or the Miami University Marcum Center. Groups of FIJI grads often rent cabins at Hueston Woods and take Uber back there after the festivities. We hope that you will join us at the Pig Dinner weekend on April 24-26 for a great time with your FIJI brothers. Perge! Alan Molina, Pig Dinner, Graduate Co-Chair almo322@aol.com Tony Marraccini (marracan@miamioh.edu Pig Dinner, Undergrad Co-Chair 3 \r\nHouse Director and Cohen had a chance encounter with Jay Brunner – A prolific multiinstrumentalist and vocalist with a penchant for King Crimson, Tom Waits, and Ace of Base. At the time, Brunner was fronting multiple bands and running the music counter at Center Stage Music on Main Street. Desperate, Theisen asked if Brunner played bass. Brunner, bored and suffering temporary delusions of grandeur, replied “Yeah, I play bass.” Pig Dinner – As Food for Thought “What if we got the band back together in Oxford for a 20 year reunion show?” It was a simple idea. An unlikely ponderance. They weren’t on a mission from G-d...they certainly weren’t sure that anyone would care about their little rock n’ roll renaissance...Hell, they didn’t even know if the four of them could pull off a song from start to finish without suffering a midlife brain fart. But in January of 2019, four Baghdad Jones alumni found themselves in a room together at the home of Blake Theisen (1999) in Madison, WI–in the middle of a winter snowpocalypse – to do what none of them thought would happen again in their adult lives: Make music. Bayuk, a classically trained pianist and self-taught vocalist / guitarist was the band frontman, chief songwriter, and unofficial party coordinator. Bayuk learned the art of song craft from musical titans the likes of Rush and Phish, though he considers, “I Want A New Drug” by Huey Lewis and the News to be “the perfect song.” Theisen, an accomplished percussionist, leader of his high school drumline, member of DC based cover bands, and an avid fan of questionably likable, harmony-driven rock the likes of The Samples, DaDa, and Vertical Horizon, sang and held down the rhythm section (and looked the best in a tank top). Cohen, who cut his teeth playing along to cassette tapes of 80’s hair metal and early 90’s postFlash backwards 2 decades to grunge rock wasn’t allowed near a August of 1995. Theisen, Matt microphone, but played rhythm Bayuk (2000), and Charles Cohen and lead guitar (and was the first (1999) began their Miami U chapters band member to wear a polyester on the second floor of the all-male shirt on stage). athlete dorm, Denison Hall. Bassist Ed Zell (1998), a founding None of them were, in fact, athletes, member of the quartet, decided that and all of them had hoped their college wasn’t his bag and freshman year would feature disappeared into the ether shortly rubbing elbows with the opposite before the band’s first official gig–A sex on the way to the showers. No four hour marathon performance at such luck, but… There was Phi the MU Rec Center. Gamma Delta, and there was music. Two days before the show, Theisen 4 (He didn’t) Over the next 48 hours, the four rehearsed in the sweltering heat and stale beer stench of the Fiji basement. They somehow managed to piece together enough material to make it through the show, and the rest, as they say, is history. Over the next few years, the band released 3 albums (Baghdad Jones, One Wish, and Taking Pictures) and played nearly every stage in Oxford, thanks in large part to their Fiji brethren. In fact, it was the Phi Gam support that truly fueled the band’s engine, propelling Baghdad Jones to temporary, big-fish-in-asmall-pond success. After graduation, Cohen’s girlfriend pulled a Yoko Ono and convinced him to leave the band for the urban pastures of Manhattan. Bayuk, Theisen, and Brunner pushed on as a three piece, but as the demands of adult life grew, they eventually decided to hang up their guitar straps and call it quits in 2004. But sometimes in life, you get a second chance. As they discovered on that first frigid day in Madison, Bayuk, Theisen, Cohen, and Brunner were indeed able to make it through an entire song. In fact, as crazy as it Continued on page 5 \r\nA Letter from the Purple Legionnaire Brothers: Philanthropy and Community Service We have the best group of graduate Brothers surrounding the chapter that we have had in years. Mike Bevis has just moved from head of House Corp to head of the Board of Chapter Advisors, and Brian Gravitt has taken over House Corp. Upcoming Events House Corp and Board of Chapter Advisors Current HC members are: Brian Gravitt (chairman), Matt Deevers (branding & social media), Alan Molina (fund-raising & Pig Dinner), John Fountain (member), Rick Graeff (Financial), Jud Sims (Legal), Dick Hutchinson (past Financial), Greg Smith and Mike McGurk. Current BCA members are Mike Bevis (Chairman), Matt Kuchers (Leadership Development), Kirk Jones (member), Charles Hilgeman III (member), Drew Davis (Miami employee/Scholarship Chair), Sam Hicks (member/advisor), Allan Payne (Purple Legionnaire and adjunct member), Roosevelt Jackson (Academic Advisor and House Director), and Jim O’Donnell (Outside Facilities Manager). Brothers – I want to reiterate what great group of accomplished and motivated graduate FIJI Brothers we have advising the chapter –the very best in years, I believe! Continued from page 4 sounds, the four of them found that playing together again was the musical equivalent of riding a bike. Sure they were older, slower, rounder, and grayer, but... Their musical connection remained intact, and was now bolstered by two additional decades of music and life experience. And so it was that in April of 2019, on the same weekend as Pig Dinner, the band took the stage in Oxford, OH once more. Bearing witness to their unique brand of melodic 90’s rock was a smattering of familiar faces. Old Fiji friends (and their spouses) made the trek from all parts of the globe to relive the Baghdad Jones, Phi Gam celebration. Of course, upon arrival in Oxford, visiting the rebuilt FIJI house was a must. As newly appointed House Director, I greeted the crew with open arms and provided a tour. In return I was invited to the show later that evening. After only 2 songs I knew what had to happen! I thought, What if we make these guys a part of the Pig Dinner weekend? The By the time you read this our “Drop the Puck” philanthropy will be over. This is an annual event that has been tremendously successful – the Brothers are hoping to bring in $16,000. in support of ________________ Pig Dinner is the weekend of April 24-25. A new “wrinkle” this year is the Fiji band (“Baghdad Jones") that will be playing after the Dinner. Roosevelt Jackson discovered them playing uptown last Pig Dinner and “reeled-them-in” to be present this April. Fall Leadership Retreat For the fourth year in a row the U-grads, and I (along with first-timer Roosevelt) will be at the Wilderness Retreat in Camden, OH. Participants will be the Cabinet + leadership succession-planning candidates. The wall-climb, Knocker-Ball, zip-line, and Paintball will be on the agenda in addition to leadership development training. Brothers– please get Pig Dinner on your calendar. We’re making it one of the best ever! Allan Payne (“Alphonse”), PL MU 1969 concept was not hard to sell. Everyone was thrilled with the idea! Therefore, this year for Pig Dinner 2020 Baghdad Jones will once again bring the party back to Oxford! On Saturday, April 25, as part of the official Phi Gamma Delta Pig Dinner experience, the band will be playing an exclusive show for their Fiji brethren at the Woods from 8pm - 10pm. It’s a private event – Brothers past and present and their significant others only– and promises to be a night of epic rock and a chance to make some new memories with some old friends. We hope to see you there! Roosevelt Jackson, House Director https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPkHqOzTJtc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOWaZJp50a0 https://www.facebook.com/BaghdadJones/ https://open.spotify.com/album/6BySUZ9IVPt0j9D6auWtOK 5 \r\nFIJIS on Campus My name is Alex Amata, treasurer of Phi Gamma Delta. Ever since my freshman year FIJI has given me some extremely valuable leadership opportunities which have helped shape me to take on this role. First semester sophomore year I worked with our apparel team to help create, order, and distribute t-shirts for our events. From there I took on the role of social chair. This was a job that could be highly stressful at times, but really helped prepare me for ambiguous situations of all types and developed my leadership skills more than I ever expected. It was a very rewarding position, and made me realize how much FIJI means to me–a key reason I wanted to take on the role of treasurer. I hope to use the skills that I have developed through my coursework at Miami, internship and work New FIJI Brothers Rush has been an amazing success with 36 new pledges. Phi Gamma Delta has always been an interesting mix of Brothers, and this year is no different. The new Cabinet (“Exec Team”) has really hit the ground running and they need to be congratulated. Mason James Agostinelli Matthew Apgar James Brinkman Daniel Burke Bradley Donaldson Gerardo Espinosa Ley Aidan Fitzgerald Jason Floegel Greg Friedenberg Calum Gordon Thomas Gordon Jacob Guzik Connor Hetzel Daniel Huegel Jimmy Kane Armeen Kazemi Matt Keane Christian Kreusser opportunities, and my skills as a chapter leader to execute the role effectively and efficiently! Chatham, NJ Libertyville, IL Paradise Valley, Arizona Menlo Park, CA Denver, CO Cincinnati, OH Winnetka, IL Westhampton, NY Mountainside, NJ Westport, CT Cleveland Pittsburgh, PA Briarcliff, NY Haddonfield, NJ Cincinnati, OH Chatham, NJ Westfield, NJ Simon Krohn Andrew Lucas Jack Manning Emmett Martin Ben Marwede Quinn McClamroch Will Mogler Ethan Ostroff Aaron Passalacqua Max Polakovich Piers Roofthooft Carson Rose Eric Sagle Carter Schlesner Evan Schmidt Jaret Simpson Patrick Ward Jack Zerfas Scarsdale, NY Darien, CT Hingham, MA Glen Ridge, NJ Kenilworth, IL Barrington, IL Millburn, NJ Ceveland, OH Grand Rapids, MI Darien, CT Traverse City, MI Powell, OH Loveland, OH Chatham, NJ Boston, MA Springfield, IL Inter Fraternity Council Phi Gamma Delta is proud to have two Brothers on Miami’s Interfraternity Council. Brothers Grant Winkle and Kyle Naderhope are involved in fraternity leadership on Miami’s campus. Well done FIJI Brothers! Grant Naderhoff 6 \r\nPig Dinner 2019 \r\nAlcohol Abuse Prevention Training At its core, our Fraternity aims to contribute to the development of young men in their most formative years so that they become great people, husbands, fathers, professionals, and leaders. Often, these young men begin their membership to Phi Gamma Delta during their freshman year where they have a bit more freedom in their dormitory than they had in their parent’s home. By sophomore year, these young men have even more autonomy and many are routinely using alcohol for the first time. In conversations with MU and City of Oxford Police, you will hear that sophomore men are a primary cohort for conduct violations and many of the lowest GPA’s in the chapter each semester are among sophomore men who are struggling with various issues, including safe use of alcohol. Miami University has many resources and evidence-based educational options for alcohol abuse prevention and some of this content is mandatory for all MU students. However, the graduate leaders of Mu Upsilon feel that more focus is needed for our membership in order to keep our young men safe and to help them to make smart and intentional choices in their use of alcohol. In early February, our graduate chapter, in partnership with Miami University’s Office of Student Wellness, will facilitate a 2-hour program called “Choices About Alcohol; A Brief Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program” for our chapter with mandatory participation by our sophomores. It is our intention to make “Choices” an annual tradition to help our new members consider their risks, plan ahead, and learn how to be smart when drinking. We all want our undergraduate brothers to have the great college experience that each of us had at Miami University. Part of that college experience may include the responsible use of alcohol but our first priority must be their safety and well being. I am proud that our graduate brothers have sought out these resources to enhance the education for our new members and that we make personal safety our top priority in our brotherhood. Perge! Brian Gravitt (1990) Ohio University Suspends 15 Interfraternity Council Chapters Over Hazing Allegations Ohio University has suspended all 15 fraternities on campus because of widespread allegations of hazing. A grand jury has indicted 18 men on 64 charges in the beating and hazing of a fraternity pledge at Delta Tau Delta fraternity at Miami University. Activities for those 15 chapters, which represent nearly 1,000 students, have been suspended until further notice because of “a growing concern elevated by allegations of hazing against seven” fraternity chapters. The OU announcement came from hazing activities at Ohio campuses, including the Nov. 12 death of Collin Wiant at an Ohio University fraternity’s off-campus annex. “We realize that not every fraternity is involved in hazing practices, but we also know that this problem is widespread, and that for every hazing incident that is reported, there are a multitude of hazing incidents that go unreported,” Kathleen Wiant, Collin’s mom, said in a statement to The Dispatch. “OU has taken a smart step with this measure to protect the safety and dignity of these young men. 8 In its letter to fraternity and sorority chapter presidents, OU said some chapters failed to live up to the standards and values set forth by the university. In November 2017, Ohio State University imposed a temporary blanket suspension of all 37 of its fraternities governed by the Interfraternity Council, citing a high number of investigations into their conduct that semester. At the time, the university said 11 fraternities were under investigation. Miami University announced a little more than a month ago it had suspended Delta Tau Delta for 10 to 15 years after a university investigation found the fraternity had violated the school’s code of conduct. The fraternity had already been suspended shortly after the paddling and hazing incident occurred. The student pledge filed an incident report in which he said he had to be taken to a hospital, where he spent seven hours, and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.231, the Dayton Daily News reported. \r\nChuck Pettis November 2019 A Christmas Wish To our beloved FIJI family and friends, What can you wish for this time of year That hasn’t been wished for before? What big wish would make such a difference That you wouldn’t need anything more? As I am sure most of you know we lost Chuck on March 21, 2019. His passing was unexpected and he was gone in a split second. Who is so wise that they know just the right thing To wish for or hope for or say So that this Christmas morning the air would be fresher And things would seem better some way? He loved watching the birds and I’m sure that’s what he was doing. His service was wonderful with all the barbershoppers there singing his favorite songs. And they projected Chuck on the TV screens at the service reciting his original poem “Voices” followed by Atlanta Vocal Project singing “God Bless America.” It was very emotional and I doubt there were many dry eyes in the chapel. People at the service told me how much they would miss their first Christmas greeting of the year. I told them that Chuck had already written our annual poem and he had given it to me and it is enclosed with this letter to you all. Tim Loudon Fiji Brother Timothy Alan Loudon died on Friday, January 17 at Auburn Skilled Nursing after an intense battle with metastatic melanoma. He was 69 years old. Born in Salem, Ohio, Tim spent his childhood in Hanoverton, Ohio, graduating from United High School in 1968. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and an MBA in finance from Miami University in Oxford Ohio, class of 1972. He was a proud member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. So here is Chuck and Berta’s Christmas Poem for 2019. I hope you like it as much as I do and remember Chuck fondly. He was a special man and touched many lives and will for a long, long time. I’m also enclosing the last picture taken of Chuck and me, New Years Eve, 2018. His obituary has this picture cropped with just him on his notice (Roswell Funeral Home, Charles Burgess Pettis). Thank you family, friends, and his fellow barbershoppers for being so supportive in these hard times. He lived the past 42 years in Salem, where he and his family owned and operated a Ford Lincoln Mercury dealership, the A.J. Loudon Company. Tim and his brother Hank Jr. began working at the car business at an early age, washing and detailing cars and gradually learning the sales and administrative side of the business. Upon the death of their father in 1988, Tim and Hank Jr. ran the business until 2007 when it was sold. Tim maintained a passion for cars of all types and a fascination for car racing. He loved the game of golf for the chance to spend time Perhaps just a wish for calm and for silence Instead of the roar we all hear. Perhaps a return to the day when kind words And laughter cause a smile to appear. I think that’s the answer, a more peaceful time When friends can agree or not Without the emotion that grows and grows And doesn’t know where to stop. A simple wish really, and not new at all It’s been here since who knows when. Remember the angels? They sang it best. Simply peace and good will to men. Copyright © 2019 by Charles B. Pettis with friends and the opportunity to meet new people. After retiring from the car business, Tim developed a fondness for poker for the same reasons, and made many new friends through participating in local games and tournaments. He was a member and past president of the Salem Golf Club and a member of the Moose Lodge 1012. Tim leaves his wife of 44 years, Barb (Luecke) and their two children: Emily Loudon of Salem and Andrew Loudon of Cleveland. 9 \r\nPhi Gamma Delta Fraternity Mu Upsilon at Miami University 1201 Red Mile Road P.O. Box 4599 Lexington, KY 40544 Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit # 540 THE END OF THE SLANT WINTER 2020 MU UPSILON CHAPTER AT MIAMI UNIVERSITY Miami University – Phi Gamma Delta 130 east High Street, Oxford, Ohio Register today! www.legfi.com/app/events/pigdinner2020/1977