january 2011 Volume 3 The Sigma Phi Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta Newsletter ______________________________ President’s Address Throughout the past spring term leading to the fall term, our chapter has excelled in many fraternal aspects. Our chapter feels we have improved our recruitment, graduate relations, and pledge education efforts. This would not be possible without the large quantity of gentlemen that we have in our chapter. In regards to external relations, our chapter has had an impact on the FIU community by having many brothers involved on campus. We still need to improve and encourage brothers to put in involvement into their university. Lastly, it is our goal to strive to further become a well-rounded chapter exemplifying all our values and having an impact in all aspects whether internal or external. With that, I am excited for the next leadership and the rest of the brothers to take our chapter above and beyond. Fraternally, Sandor Toledo Chapter President Perge! www.fiufiji.net \r\nRec cruit tmen nt 36 65 Recruitment R is i the lifeblo ood of the fraaternity. Thrroughout thiss summer annd fall semesster, we believ ve our chaptter has increaased the vitaality of our B Brotherhood not only by increasinglyy developin ng ourselvess, but also deeveloping those that we allowed intoo our Brotherhood this ppast summer and a fall. Wee have the ho onor of sayin ng that we’vee selectivelyy recruited coollege men w with great potential to exccel in different areas of th he Fraternityy, but also inn the FIU community. Thhis summer we w initiated ten gentlem men of quality y. ww ww.fiufiji.net \r\nTh he so ocial l Life e Throughout T th his fall semeester, we hav ve had the hoonor of hostiing two sociials mixers w with two exceellent sororitiies on campu us. Our chap pter had beenn able to form mulate frienndly relationss with the women w of Alpha A Omicro on Pi and Siigma Kappa by being geentlemen of qquality and jjust knowing how to havee a good tim me. We look forward f to hhosting moree social and ccommunity m in the spring. service mixers ww ww.fiufiji.net \r\nThe haun nted d Hou use This T year, ourr chapter mu ust say that we’ve w had a Haunted Hoouse that excceeded our expectatiions. Not onlly did we recceive a widee audience, bbut we were able to beneefit two philanthrropies by parrtnering up with w the soro ority Alpha X Xi Delta. Wiith the help oof our brotheers, pledges, and sorority y partners wee were able to t execute thhe Haunted H House as sm moothly as 00 to be don nated to the A American Reed Cross andd Autism Speaks. possible. Finally, we raised $1,50 Watch ou ut! We’ve allready started d planning our o next Hauunted House philanthropy and plan oon making it even betterr! ww ww.fiufiji.net \r\nBlack k Diam mond d For rmal l Itt’s always grreat to take the t opportun nity to host ann event off ccampus in w which we cann celebratee our Brotherrhood and in n this year’s Black Diam mond Formal, we did justt that. We enjoyed great g music, food, and a wonderful beach b scenerry in South B Beach. Durinng that time,, we took the opportunity to reward th he brothers th hat have exccelled this paast year and we also heart, Nelly Ahlstrom. A Pllanning for tthe next form mal is underw way announceed our 2010 FIJI Sweeth and we lo ook forward d to next yearr! ward The Friiendship Aw Fra ank Azcuy The Knowledge Aw ward Sea an McCall The Service S Awarrd Step phen Varelaa The Morality M Awaard Sea an McCall The Excellence Aw ward Renzzo Barrantees New N Membeer of the Yeaar Award Mattthew Youngg ww ww.fiufiji.net \r\nFIU F Homec comin ng 20 010! Our O great uniiversity’s hom mecoming iss a priceless tradition in which all FIIU Panthers take pride in. On the samee note, differrent organizaations particcipate in frienndly compettition to show w their scho ool spirit. Ou ur partners th his Homecoming were tthe women oof Delta Phi Epsilon. Wiith their help p and our effforts, we werre able to ex xcel in this y ear’s Homeccoming com mpetition. Wee greatly ap ppreciate thee effort they put into working with uus. On anothher note, FIU U played an extraordiinary game against a the War W Hawks of o the Univ. of Louisianaa Monroe. F FIU achievedd victory in n a stunning overtime wiin of 42 - 35 5. ww ww.fiufiji.net \r\nCamp C pus M Men Throughout T th he fall, we’v ve had many y of our brothhers receive many campus honors annd get involved in many y different asspects of the FIU commuunity. Our goal is to strivve for furtheer campus involvement i so that we may m develop p ourselves innto outstandding citizens in the FIU community. Renzo Barrantes L Lukas Calafelll B waas chosen to the Overall Director of Panther Cam mp, an organnization that Renzo Barrantes condu ucts a retreatt in the summ mer to teach h and guide i ncoming freeshmen to beecome leaderrs and get g involved in the FIU community. c Renzo was aalso inductedd into Omicrron Delta Kaappa, a lead dership hono or society. C partiicipated in th he fall 2010 Academy A off Leaders sesssion, a leaddership progrram Lukas Calafell in wh hich studentss learn to effficiently utiliize their leaddership qualiities and appply them their respeective organiizations. Luk kas was also inducted intto the Sociollogical Honoor Society, Alpha Kappa Dellta. nd Lukas botth had the op pportunity to o run for 20110 Homecom ming King. R Renzo Renzo an represented FIJI, while Lukass represented d the Studennt Programm ming Councill. ww ww.fiufiji.net \r\nThis fall,, we’ve had many m brotheers become Student S Govvernment Asssociation Intterns. Our hoope is that theey will take leadership positions p in the t future in order to streengthen the F FIU commuunity and deveelop their skiills as professsionals and leaders. Theese brothers were Artem m Volos, Ru udy Leal-MccCormack, Alex A Castro o, and Fabricce Gregoiree. Artem Volos Rudy Leal-M McCormack, Alex A Castro, aand Fabrice G Gregoire ww ww.fiufiji.net \r\nGr raduate N News s A Persp P pect tive on C Chin na Why W do you come c to China to teach English? E In A America lifee is better!" tthat's the firsst sentence it often comes out of o the my stu udents mouthh when I intrroduce myseelf. Although A it iss true that liv ving standard ds in generaal are much hhigher in Am merica, livingg in Chinaa has proven n to be one of o the best ex xperiences off my life. Teeaching English in Chinaa has given n me the opp portunity to learn l about the t Chinese cculture, peopple, and lifesstyle. As I fiind, this old o Asian cullture is much h too differeent from anytthing we thiink of in the “Western Cultu ure.” Some would argue it is much m cheaperr, easier, andd less troubleesome to takke a few colllege classees in Chinese culture and d language. I would disaagree. Perhapps learning aabout anciennt Greecce from a un niversity classs and never visiting the Pantheon w will serve youu right, especcially when our o cultural background b emanates frrom ancient Greece and Rome. On thhe otherr hand, Chineese culture was w totally reemoved from m Greece and Rome, as a matter of ffact they were w well deeveloped by the time Ath hens erectedd any of thosse monuments we think oof as uniqu ue of their tim me. Being here and expeeriencing life fe as a local pperson and ggetting to know the cu ulture and daaily life is an n amazing ex xperience. It I is more im mportant that we understaand China’s people and cculture. The United Stattes of Amerrica, as well as all of Eu urope and maany countriees depend heeavily on impports from Chinaa. These relaationships arre bound to be b strained aand tense to llevels we aree yet to see; howeever, it is my y opinion thaat understan nding the Chiinese will prrove crucial to the betterrment of ou ur future relaationships. From Shaanghai, P! Alberto Marinas, M FIU U 2003 ww ww.fiufiji.net \r\nwww. fiufiji.net \r\nSean Chislett is engaged to Mailyn M Villanueva, V an a FIU Alum mni Dan n Brown finiished his seccond year tteaching Engglish on Novv. 30 in S. K Korea. He w will then be tteaching E English in otther Asian loocations succh aas, Singaporre, Laos, andd Thailand. Paul McCall is engaged e to Natalie N Rubinstein R Lazzaro Gomez will be finisshing his m military tourr in Iraq arouund late D December, eearly Januaryy ww ww.fiufiji.net \r\nDavid Roland is currently deeployed in Afghanistan A Davvid Gomez- became a coollege iinstructor at the Everest Institute. Hee iis also seekinng a certification in H Hypnosis annd Applied B Behavior A Analysis. Finnally, he is aalso pproviding beehavioral theerapy autisticc aadolescents. Carlo os Sanchez moved to Marietta, M Georgia G with his wife Inees and two so ons, Gabriel and Nicolass in June an nd will be ex xpecting their third ch hild in Marcch. ww ww.fiufiji.net \r\nIncoming Leadership Renzo Barrantes President Artem Volos Treasurer Joshua Acosta Recording Secretary Ian Gonzalez Corresponding Secretary Johny Corea Historian Their email addresses can be found on www.fiufiji.net www.fiufiji.net \r\nUpcoming Events * Frank B. Norris Pig dinner* When: Saturday, April 9, 2011 (7:30 PM) Where: FIU Stadium Club Admission Cost: $30.00 Attire: Business formal Contact us! Please visit our website to view past newsletters and other information @ www.fiufiji.net Coming soon: The Sigma Phi Chapter Twitter Account! Follow the daily happenings of the Sigma Phi Chapter! Are you at the FIJI House and want to let your brothers know? Join Foursquare and check-in at the FIJI House every time you visit! Editor in Chief Lukas Calafell lcala002@fiu.edu Designer: J.P. Armstrong jp.armstrong@gmail.com www.fiufiji.net