,/ GD FIJI NEWS February 2001 Greetings and Salutations Formal Rush - 2001 Winter Term Is Off To A Great Start The Top Ten Theo Giraldin Corresponding Secretary I'll bet you thought all the holiday cards and newsletters had stopped flowing, didn't you? Well, here at the Gamma Deuteron Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta, we are neck-deep in winter term and things are going great! Good news in academics, good news on the home front, and good news about brotherhood makes good news all around. Read on to find out how small improvements in the house make a big difference in pride, good grades help us hold on to our alcohol free housing exemption, and also find out more about new ideas and programs in the graduate relations department. Last, but certainly not least. Winter means more Pledges! Keep Yours Eyes Pealed: In coming issues of GD-FIJI NEWS you will find info on this years Pig Dinner, date to be announced soon! Inside This Issue Greetings and Salutations Formal Rush - 2001 Formal Rush went very well this year as we made a few slight changes and improvements from recent traditions. Our first hurdle was being faced with less than desirable rush dates. As you may know, each chapter on campus draws rush dates through a basic lottery. There are five houses, and five rush events each week of the two week, formal rush process, it seemed to be just bad luck when we ended up with back to back dates; the last one of the first week and the first one of the second week. When life gives you lemons, you just have to make lemonade. The chapter really pulled together. We brainstormed on ideas to make formal rush more exciting, with more prizes and it turned out to be a great experience. Traditionally, our first rush event has been the Fiji Olympics. This year we changed the name to Fiji Tournament and made it a much more interactive experience. Instead of having the rushees, in groups, led by a brother, we let the groups move from game to game and kept brothers stationed at the games. This way more brothers could meet and get to know the rushees. The evening culminated with the traditional eating contest. Many of the current brothers in the house suddenly realized that this would be the first eating contest without Brother Kit Kelly '00. He reportedly it's the little things... Good Grades for GD Fijis Calling All Grads! ^ I Continued on Page 2 \r\nc.i )\r It's The Little Things... Recent House Improvements Have Helped a Lot It's been 80 years and counting for Gamma Deuteron's Castle. All together, she is holding up pretty well, but her age is showing. Recently, a few small cosmetic improvements have made all the difference for the chapter. Several weeks ago, right before rush in fact, several brothers were sitting around, thinking about the state of affairs in the house. They noticed that pride in the house had slumped a little. While the brotherhood remains strong, the house didn't seem to attract guys over to hang out and get together. We had all of the essentials, big screen TV, pool table, foosball. What could be the matter? They realized that the house had gotten a little dirty over the last few months, things were picked up, but it wasn't really clean. Most of all, if you did come over to hang out at the house, there was pretty much only one place to do it. The main floor. The basement was a dark dingy place, it had the laundry room and that was about it. Well, a little inspiration and some creativity turned all this around. For the basement: I *'1' Continued From Page 1 swept the contest all 4 years of his Knox career. Needless to say, his skill was missed. Later, prizes were handed out and it was then time for us to get ready for the next event. Staying with tradition, the second rush event was Fiji Casino. Everyone in the house, from the brothers to the rushees, felt like a high roller that night. With over 30 rushees in attendance, the Fiji Bucks ranged in the hundreds of millions. Traditional games such as blackjack, poker, and craps were the staple, however this years addition of video gaming on the big screen TV proved to be a success as well. Almost everyone was able to come away with a prize of some sort. As usual, this year's Casino ended the traditional way. Several brothers played the infamous hand of poker.. .only one getting to try out new hairstyles on the rest. Brother Dan Ligon '03 was victorious this year. With a stroke of creativity that brought good laughs for ail, he shaved his name, one letter each, on the back of his opponents heads. Purple spirit shined through this year as it always has, and formal rush yielded the best ten freshmen on this campus. These men show a lot of promise and seem to be an excellent addition to the chapter. First, we bought new, leather couches. Then, we purchased two new electronic dart boards. Next, we replaced all the ceiling tiles. After that, a new surround sound speaker system was installed and a reciever/cd player wired up. We got some bar stools for the bar. Using old paddles, we decorated the front of the bar. In no particular order: > Graham Lambert, Watertown MA > Tom Kanger, Bridgman Ml > Matt Forman, Buffalo Grove IL Behind the bar, we hung the Phi Gamma Delta 150"^ > Tom Neagle, Charlotte NC anniversary flag, flanked with a couple of paddles as well. To top it off, the flag is illuminated by some nice track lighting. Finally, we had the carpets down there as well as on the main floor professionally steam > Sean Tedrick, Sterling IL > Luke Denoma, Lake Villa IL > Nick Benedict, Knoxville IL > Courtney Brown, Jenks OK > Andy Zehr, Peoria IL > Bob Heller, St. Louis MO cleaned. Now the house is a fun, clean, enjoyable place to hang out with friends and brothers. With all of its patriotic atmosphere, the basement provides a wonderful place for hanging out and socializing on the weekends, but is also equally inviting to mid-week study groups and brothers who want a place to do homework. A big thank you to all of the brothers who helped with some aspect of this large project. It was a job well done!!! Thanks a Ton to Our Pledges: We couldn't have got this newsletter out without the help of the pledge class. Great Job guys!!! GD FIJI NEWS 2 \r\nGood Grades for GD Fijis Calling All Grads! High marks make reason for merriment We want you!I! With our alcohol free housing exemption hanging In the balance, now more than ever Scholarship We know Gamma Deuteron Is a great chapter, and It will remain the best In our hearts. But one aspect of Fraternity life seems to have slipped away from this chapter, and that Is Graduate Reiations. Where have all our graduates gone? Of the nearly 700 known, living. Gamma Deuteron Graduates, less than 10 percent have contact with the chapter on at least an annual basis!!! must come first. In order to maintain our 'wet' status, we must match or beat the all fraternity average, every single term. This exemption Is fairly prestigious. Out of 107 chapter and 7 colonies, only 27 were granted an alcohol free housing exemption. We had to stand up to rigorous requirements to show that our chapter was worthy. Yet again, the brothers of the undergraduate chapter did their part by cracking the books, attending study sessions, and keeping on top of their schoolwork. And It paid off. Once again, the Gamma Deuteron chapter asserted Its excellence on the Knox College campus, rising to the top position among fraternities. At press time, our exact, final house GPA was not yet returned to us by the school. However, the preliminary numbers show us coming In with just over an astounding 3.0 GPA for the entire chapter In Fall Term. Along with proving our excellence academically. In order to keep our exemption we must make a commitment to continuing education In the fields of alcohol and drug addiction. Insurance, risk management, and the legalities concerning alcohol consumption from a fraternity perspective. To accomplish this, we host a battery of speakers and presenters ranging from faculty members to law enforcement officials each year, so that these Issues are fresh In the chapter's mind. By maintaining this level of commitment and perseverance, the chapter Is sure to remain top notch condition as we continue to move into the 21®' century. Chapter Address: FIJI - Box 1735 Knox College 2 E. South Street Galesburg, IL 61401 We, the current undergraduate chapter, feel that this Is a travesty. Other than your names, we don't know anything about you. This has prompted us to roll out a whole new graduate relations program. We want to get to know you. We want you to be a fundamental and Integral part of this chapter's life. A task this big has got to start somewhere, so we thought that communication would be the best tool to begin with. You should expect to see more mailings, Informationals, and newsletters as well as bigger and better events In the near future. To get this whole campaign kicked off, we would like the same from you. Who are you? What do you do? Are you married? Have kids? What was life at Knox College like when you were here? What was FIJI life like when you were here? In conjunction with getting to know you, we want to know what you want. To start the discussion off, we have a few Ideas. Tell us Ifwe're on the right path or not. Do you want to hear more news from the brothers who were In chapter with you? Maybe we can help get you In contact with a brother with whom you have lost touch. Instead of paper mailings would you rather receive emalllngs? We are ready and willing to offer all of these programs If there Is any Interest! Is there something neat that you would like to see offered that we haven't thought of? Why have you lost contact with and/or Interest In the chapter? What can we do, as a chapter, to earn back your Interest and/or Involvement? Please send us your stories, your Ideas, your comments and your criticisms. We want you! ^ ^ All correspondence can be sent to the address at left. ATTN: Corresponding Secretary GD FIJI NEWS 3