The Chi Mu Fiji Spring 2015 “Not for college days alone” Graduate Relations C hairman Brothers, My name is Andrew McCulloch. I am a freshman and a member of the Iota pledge class, and I am thrilled to be taking over for Will Black as the newest graduate relations chairman. As the Chi Mu chapter continues to grow and improve, we want to reemphasize the importance of maintaining a strong relationship with the graduate chapter. Since leaving campus in 2005, we lost some of our bond and connection with the graduate chapter. As graduate relations chairman, I want to start to rebuild that connection with our graduates by making contact with some of the brothers we might have lost during absence from campus. Be on the look out for our newsletters that we hope to send out twice every semester. In this newsletter, we’ll have news about recent Chi Mu events, any important chapter updates or any information relevant to our graduate chapter. If at any time you are in the Columbia area and would like to stop by the house, need assistance with rides or anything of the sort please, don’t hesitate to contact me. My cell phone is 281-6605619 and my email is acmyvb@mail.missouri.edu. Perge! Andrew McCulloch Graduate Relations Greek Week Champions Chi Mu is proud to announce that the chapter finished 1st in this year’s annual Greek Week competition. Greek Week features a series of competitions ranging from sports and spirit to service and skit with all proceeds benefitting local charities. Fiji had the fortune of being paired with two of our newest neighbors for the semester long competition. Delta Upsilon, our fraternity pairing, is finishing construction of their chapter house on the opposite side of Rollins St. Additionally, Chi Mu was fortunate enough to be paired with the women of Kappa Kappa Gamma, our newest next-door neighbors. With the help of Kappa Kappa Gamma and Delta Upsilon, Fiji placed in skit, blood and profit shares. Kappa Kappa Gamma was very appreciative of the chapter’s effort and participation, which helped the sorority lock up its 4th consecutive Greek Week championship. \r\nNe w Hou s e Pl an s At 8am on Saturday February 28th, a group of twenty or so graduate and undergraduate brothers held a programming meeting to discuss building of the new chapter house with Michael Hug of Hug & Associates. Hug & Associates has constructed several notable Greek houses around the south, including the Delta Gamma house at the University of Alabama and the Kappa Sigma house at Georgia Tech. This meeting was a big step forward in the process of the new house as it tackled topics such as the cost, layout, size and style of the house. The new Fiji house, which will be located at 503 & 505 E. Rollins Street, will sleep about 70 brothers. Included in this will be underground parking, a chapter room and backyard patio area for tailgates. If you would like to see some of Hug & Associates’ previous work, go to hugarchitects.com and click on the portfolio tab; there you will see a link to all of the Greek houses they have designed. Ro c k i n’ Ag ain st MS Every February, the University of Missouri hosts Rockin’ Against Multiple Sclerosis, or RAMS for short. RAMS is a two-week competition that raises money for those suffering from Multiple Sclerosis. The charity event consists of several parts; including a community service and bowling and lip-syncing competitions. After winning the lip sync portion last year, Chi Mu decided to take a large role in RAMS and volunteered to be a sponsor for 2015. Despite not winning back-to-back, Chi Mu placed 3rd overall, including 1st in bowling, service and sponsorship. On top of this impressive finish, our very own chapter president Sean “Dogger” Miller won the RAMS Community Service Award. While Chi Mu did well in RAMS, the best news is that the event raised over $81,000 for the MS Institute of Mid-Missouri. The whole thing was a great time and Chi Mu looks forward to participating in the event again next year. Pi g Di nner 20 15 The 2015 edition of the Frank Norris Pig Dinner was a huge success with a lot of graduate and active brothers in attendance. The first presentation of the night was given by Mizzou's newly hired Athletic Director, Mack Rhoades, a graduate Fiji from the University of Arizona. Rhoades talked about the future of Mizzou's athletics to the attendees, as well as pledging $100 to Chi Mu's new chapter house. After Rhoades presented, the architects for Chi Mu's new chapter house, Hugh & Associates, presented designs for the new chapter house. After the presentation, many graduate and active brothers signed up for the 1848 Club, a fundraising movement for the new chapter house. Enough money was raised to hire a professional fundraising firm, forwarding the development of the new house. Ph i G am Isl and Sl am Next fall marks the return of Chi Mu’s annual philanthropy and the chapter is pleased to present the first annual Phi Gam Island Week. Set for September 6th, the Phi Gam Island Slam is a campus wide beach volleyball tournament benefitting the USO. The bracket-style volleyball tournament will kick off the beginning of Fiji Island Week, a weeklong slate of events culminating in the annual Fiji Islander on September 12th. In addition to the Island Slam volleyball tournament and Islander, Island Week will play host to various profit shares and the first ever Fiji Purple Princess competition. \r\nRecently Initiated Brothers This past fall semester saw the initiation of the Iota class, our 9th pledge class since the chapter’s re-chartering (along with two holdovers from the previous spring’s Theta class). The Iota class was initiated on December 6th and 26 of its 28 original pledges were initiated as active brothers. Academic Excellence Recruitment chair members have made a concerted effort to recruit young men who embody the fraternity’s motto of scholarship, fraternity, self. Their efforts have paid off as shown by the chapter’s improvements in grades from the last two semesters. In Fall 2013, Phi Gamma Delta placed 14th out of all fraternities with a 2.999 GPA. In the following semester, Chi Mu made great strides and finished with a cumulative 3.160 The spring semester also saw the initiation of GPA, which finished 3rd out of all fraternities. The Iota class boasted an impressive 3.416 new member GPA, which ranked 2nd overall for new member GPA. This was .5 points above the all-new members average and .8 points above the all-freshman average. the Kappa class, which started with 14 pledges and initiated 11 active brothers on April 10th. The class began the spring semester with a cumulative 3.30 GPA. This past fall, the chapter did an even more remarkable job, accumulating a 3.178 GPA overall, ranking 2nd out of the 33 fraternities at MU. In total, 39 active brothers were initiated during the 2014-15 academic year, spanning three pledge classes and Additionally, the fall pledge class earned an impressive hailing from eight different states. Say hello to the newest 3.416 GPA, finishing second for new members as well. brothers of the Chi Mu chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. In just one year, the Chi Mu chapter of Phi Gamma Delta has established itself as one of the premier academic fraternities at the university. Congratulations to all members who contributed to this accomplishment. A Note on Recruitment The Chi Mu recruitment committee has been hard at work in the past semester searching for young men who embody the fraternity’s values of friendship, knowledge, service, morality and excellence. Iota class poses following their pinning ceremony in September Future Chapter Events June 26th-28th – Formal Recruitment Aug. 24th – Fall Classes Begin Sept. 2nd – Pledge Pinning Sept. 5th – Mizzou vs. SEMO Sept. 6th – Phi Gam Island Slam Philanthropy Sept. 5th-12th – Fiji Island Week Sept. 12th – Fiji Islander Sept. 19th – Mizzou vs. UConn (Dad’s Weekend) Oct. 3rd - Mizzou vs. South Carolina (SEC Opener) Oct. 10th – Mizzou vs. Florida (Homecoming) With the spring semester coming to a close and formal recruitment quickly approaching, we are preparing to build the chapter’s Lambda pledge class. We are looking for interested, motivated young men that can excel and continue to advance the Chi Mu chapter for years to come. If you know an incoming freshman that is interested in Fiji, and you would like them to be a part of the Chi Mu experience, please contact recruitment chair Max Oldani (’17) to recommend him for recruitment. Max Oldani – mrokbd@mail.missouri.edu