The Delta The official newsletter of the Delta Colony of Phi Gamma Delta at the University of Connecticut Graduate Brother Newsletter Introducing the Delta Colony at UConn Volume 1, Issue 1 Spring 2012 Inside this issue: Greek Week 2 HuskyTHON 2 Achievements 3 A Very Special Thank You 3 Graduate Brother Dinner 4 On Monday, January 16, 2012, sixty undergraduate men were initiated as the founding fathers of class the Delta Colony of Phi Gamma Delta at the University of Connecticut. These men were selected by Wes Martin (Missouri State 2009) and Taylor Herren (Arkansas 2011) to be the 60 that best fit the profile of a “FIJI Gentleman.” These 60 gentlemen are extremely excited to have the opportunity to make Phi Gamma Delta the prominent fraternity on the campus of UConn. They have a wide variety of skills and levels of involvement on campus. Some are chemical engineering majors, art majors, vice presidents for the Board of Governors, undergraduate trustees, as well as a host of other positions. Together, these men are delighted to have the opportunity few men get to have in a life time in founding a colony of Phi Gamma Delta. The Colony a er being introduced as pledges back in October. The Delta Colony Elects the Leadership The Delta Colony has elected its first full-term cabinet for the 2012 year. President: Lawrence Cotton (2013) Treasurer: Steven Waslo (2013)) Corresponding Secretary: John O’Brien (2013) Recording Secretary: Cody Grant (2014) Historian: Connor Scott (2014) From Le to right: Connor, John, Lawrence, Steven, Cody \r\nPage 2 The Delta Greek Week HuskyTHON’s catch phrase is “FTK” which stands for “For the Greek Week at UConn is a weeklong event on campus to celebrate all of the social fraternities and sororities. It is a time for all members of Greek Life to show their pride in their organizations, and is used for members to show their passion for scholarship, service, leadership and brotherhood or sisterhood. The ceremonies include a Greek Week speaker who will talk about values-based actions in the Greek com- munity, a community service day, and various Greek games. The theme is “The Week Zeus Got Loose.” The brothers are proud to be a part of Team 8, and will partner with Phi Sigma Rho, Beta Theta Pi, as well as Pi Delta Psi, and Kappa Phi Lambda, who are both Asian -interest Greek organizations. Each team is assigned a Greek based theme for the week, and Team 8’s theme is Medusa and Athena. For more information about Greek Week at UConn, visit greeklife.uconn.edu/ events_greekweek.html fully supports HuskyTHON and was there for all 18 hours on February 18. The Colony raised over $2,800 for the kids, and 14 brothers were dancing for all 18 hours. Even if they were not dancing, every brother donated for this wonderful cause. For more information about HuskyTHON, visit Huskython.uconn.edu. Kids.” FIJI Joins HuskyTHON HuskyTHON is UConn’s annual philanthropy event created by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. HuskyTHON’s goal is to raise money for the Connecticut Children’s Hospital through the Children’s Miracle Network, and to raise money, students dance for 18 hours straight. The Delta Colony FIJI Paints “The Rock” HuskyTHON benefits the ConnecƟcut Children’s Hospital. Placed all around the UConn campus, there are massive rocks that many organizations paint to promote their organizations. As one of our first brotherhood events, the brothers of the Colony painted one of the rocks on campus. It was enjoyed by all, and all brothers painted their initials somewhere on the rock. Joining us from IHQ was Field Secretary Gabe Camut (JMU 2011). The brothers a er they painted the rock. \r\nPage 3 Volume 1, Issue 1 Achievements of the Colony The Colony’s first six weeks on campus during the fall semester were filled with success for the brothers.    The Colony had a collective Grade Point Average of 3.085, ranking sec ond among all fraternities on campus. The Colony also partnered with Kappa Alpha Theta for Miracle Walk in support of HuskyTHON, and successfully helped raise $2,300 for Miracle Walk!  The new members have also quickly established themselves on campus as having a reputation as the gentlemen of UConn. The Colony The Colony sent three brothers, President Lawrence Cotton, Treasurer Steven Waslo, and Recruiting Chairman Colin Treanor, to St. Louis for the 37th annual Fiji Academy. 3.085, which had a collective GPA of was second on campus out of all fraternities! The Colony has also accepted 22 men as the newest pledges to the fraternity. A Very Special Thank You The Delta Colony of Phi Gamma Delta would like to thank Wes Martin (Missouri State 2009) and Taylor Herren (Arkansas 2011) of IHQ for all of their efforts to establish the Colony. These two men dedicated a month of their lives, working tirelessly to find men they felt exemplified a “FIJI Gentleman.” Because of their efforts, sixty men have been brought together as brothers, and this would not have been possible without the efforts of Wes and Taylor. The Colony would also like to thank all of the people at the Office of Fraternity and Sorority life for allowing Phi Gamma Delta to establish a chapter on campus. Without any of these people, this colony would not exist. In order to thank them for their efforts, the brothers of the Delta Colony created these paddles for Wes and Taylor, with each brother signing the back. A Letter from the Colony’s Purple Legionnaire Greetings and welcome to the first edition of the University of Connecticut FIJI Colony newsletter! Phi Gamma Delta’s expansion to the University of Connecticut has been an exciting journey. This past fall, Wes Martin (Missouri State 2009) and Taylor Herren (Arkansas 2011) spent 6 weeks recruiting the best men that UConn has to offer. Campus leaders sought out the unique opportunity to be the Colony’s founding fathers. When it was all said and done, we had 60 men initiate as Colony brothers in January. As the Colony begins its second semester, the men are hard at work to achieve their ultimate goal of chartering. The semester is sure to be an exciting one. The Colony already has an exceptional spring pledge class lined up with 22 men accepting bids. As spring recruitment winds down, the focus turns to spreading the FIJI name on campus and in the local community through supporting Greek and campus events and participating in service activities. In terms of graduate relations, expect a few events to occur this semester, with Pig Dinner to take place in April. If you are interested in staying up-to-date on Colony progress, please contact me via email. We have a graduate brother email list to provide grads an opportunity to stay informed of Colony and graduate brother events. In the meantime I hope you’ve enjoyed the first of what I’m sure will be many UConn FIJI graduate newsletters to come. Fraternally, Vincent Tortora (University of Kentucky 2009) VincentTortora@gmail.com Perge! \r\nAs can be imagined, the past five months have been a whirlwind of activity, with many hours of hard work being contributed by the 60 founding brothers of our Delta Colony here at the University of Connecticut. Our colony has come a long way since our start this past October. We have established a reputation of being gentlemen on campus while gaining the praise and respect of the faculty and staff we interact with on a daily basis. The Colony has pursued its goal of "campus domination" with brothers making an impact on student government, student philanthropy, achieving academic recognition, displaying athletic excellence in campus sports, and bringing in a class of 22 new brothers ( the largest pledge class on campus ). With these achievements, I can say our colony has true momentum behind the words, PRESS ON! Contact Information Lawrence Cotton President Email: Lawrence.cotton@gmail.com Jacob Schwartz Chairman of Graduate and Family Relations Email: Jacob.schwartz@uconn.edu If you would like to be removed from future mailings, please contact: Phigam.uconn@gmail.com Press on! Fraternally, Lawrence P. Cotton Jr. President Phi Gamma Delta, Delta Colony University of Connecticut Our Website is coming soon! SAVE THE DATE! Please join us at our FIRST EVER Pig Dinner! Location: Hartford Marriott Address: 200 Columbus Blvd, Hartford, CT Date: Friday, April 20, 2012 Time: 6:00 — 8:00 PM Formal invitations will be mailed out soon