YE QUAKER THE BETA CHAPTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA FIJI IN THIS ISSUE: Note from the Alumni President Community Service Homecoming Upcoming Events Update from the Summer Fall 2016 While many students basked in the sun and played on the beach this summer, many Fijis were hard at work. A large contingent of our brotherhood was employed in New York City. While learning the ins and outs of finance, consulting, and banking during the day, they made sure to keep strong the brotherly bond outside of the working hours. Many lived together in NYU housing and met up with graduate brothers currently in New York, such as Mario Del Cueto (2017) and Ben Feis (2016), pictured right. Similarly, some in our chapter working or taking classes here in Philadelphia made sure to meet up with recently graduated brothers at every opportunity possible. Three brothers, Grant Kleiser (2017), Matthew Peters (2019) and Noah Gelles (2019), represented the fraternity at Ekklesia this year which was held in Boston. They made sure to grab dinner with recent grad, Denes Marton (2016), between the many meetings. Throughout the various scattered locations that our brotherhood inhabited this summer, from Seattle to Texas, the theme of “Not for College Days Alone” was omnipresent. Note from the President The Chapter is off to a great start in the new school year. Our brotherhood continues to serve as one of the most active, diverse, and respected communities on campus. Throughout the academic year, we hope to expand upon existing events and traditions and to increase the scope of chapter initiatives. Already, we have executed several successful brotherhood and service events including a chapter outing to a Phillies game and local park cleanup in West Philadelphia. We continue to expand the resources available to brothers, highlighted by the introduction of a chapter meal plan and a formalized resume review process. In the next few weeks, we will be interviewing applicants for the annual Fiji Gentleman Scholarship and hosting our marquis Haunted House philanthropy event. We are always looking to hear from our grad brothers. If you have any questions, new member recommendations or plans to travel to Philadelphia, please don’t hesitate to reach out! Best, Connor Swords (2017) \r\nA Note from the Alumni President By: Terry Spahr (1988) Hi Brothers, It has been another good year for the undergraduate brothers at the house. There are 79 brothers. The newest class from the spring was 18 strong. This fall, the house has 21 residents, a reversion to the mean after overfilling it the past school year with 26. Running full occupancy is about 22, so we're right on target. The undergrads have had a modified meal plan with catered food brought in for a portion of the brothers this past year, and we are continuing it this fall. Upon the results of an undergrad survey, enthusiasm and commitment for a meal plan with a house cook was high. We are in the midst of getting a design proposal and estimates to renovate and upgrade the kitchen to make it fully operational and up to code. Pending estimates and board approval, we hope to have this work done either over winter break or this coming summer 2017, depending on the length of the permitting process with the City of Philadelphia. The funding for this project beyond any safety code items that the University contributes towards comes from the donations from graduate brothers. Lastly, in the spring you received our annual solicitation letter from our House Corporaton Treasurer, Gary Giegerich (1985). Please note, we are going to a calendar year from a school year in soliciting and accounting for donations. We feel there will be less confusion on annual giving from our graduate brothers pondering, “Did I give or not give this past school year.” Thank you for your continued support of our fraternity and its culture of excellence, caring, and lifelong brotherhood and friendships that make our lives fulfilling from our time spent at 3619. Community Service This past weekend, Fiji hosted our third biannual park cleanup at Morris Park, partnered with our friends from Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority and Alpha Phi Sorority. Always a favorite of the brotherhood, this trip is a reminder of what a big difference we can make with just a few hours of our time (and also a great chance to get some fresh air!). Since we started going here just a year and a half ago, it is truly astounding the progress the park has made. Our first trip consisted of cleaning up trash that littered the vast majority of the park. This year, our task was beautification, weeding and mulching garden beds, which almost seemed like putting the final touches on this project that had come such a long way. At the end of the day, there was a consensus that the cleanup had been some of the most fulfilling work brothers had done all semester, and there was clamouring for more opportunities for community work. Now we all are eager for our trip next semester, to see the continued progress of Morris Park! \r\nHomecoming Update: On Saturday, October 29th, the Brothers of Phi Gamma Delta reconnected with graduate brothers of all ages. From 11:00 am-1:00 pm we had a very nice hors d'oeuvre hour prepared by our very own new in-house chef. Pictured to the right, William Teplitz (2019) welcomed his father Matthew Teplitz (1982) to his new home, the Beta chapter house. Sitting next to William is Bill Randall(1988). Pictured below from left to right is Greg Jannetta (1988), Bill Randall (1988), Graham Clarke (1988), Bud Weidknecht (1956), Tony Jannetta (1956), Steve Jannetta (1986) and Rafe Rosato (1988) enjoying the event. Many of the brothers then saw the Quakers take down Brown University in an entertaining 21-14 victor. We all reconnected at the Tap House for drinks at 5:00 pm to watch a wonderful sunset, upon which some of the more recent graduate brothers had a pleasant dinner all together at a local restaurant. Many brothers reconnected over old recollections of living together and events such as Pig Dinner, former homecomings, and the always memorable brotherhood initiation. Lots of wisdom was passed down to younger brothers, which we all appreciated a lot. The undergrads can say for the whole fraternity that we are looking forward to seeing these graduate brothers again, hopefully at Pig Dinner and future homecomings. Upcoming Events: The date for this year’s spring Pig Dinner will be sent out shortly (will be sometime in April), please keep your eyes out for future announcements and invites! If you would like to donate to the Beta Chapter of Fiji, please visit to the website: https://www.phigam.org/ BetaDonations, and follow the instructions. We appreciate your generosity! \r\nPHI GAMMA DELTA The University of Pennsylvania Beta Chapter Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit # 540 Designed and printed at the International Headquarters of Phi Gamma Delta HAVE GOOD NEWS? Brothers, If you have any good news, upcoming events, want to make a contribution, or have any other inquiry regarding Ye Quaker Fiji please contact the Coordinator of Communications, Luke Francis, at the International Headquarters at lfrancis@phigam.org