A Letter from the President Passing of the President gavel– old to the new cabinet When I rushed FIJI my freshman year, I did so because I thought they were the highest quality guys with the best brotherhood on campus. This has not changed. However, other things have. When I joined the Fraternity, we were living in the Sigma Chi house way down on Sycamore by the football stadium, a 10 or 15 minute walk from uptown, and even farther from class buildings. We raised $2,000 for Leukemia and Lymphoma– a worthy cause and a substantial amount. We participated in intramural sports, made the playoffs sometimes, and always had a good time competing with our brothers. Rocco Manzo joined us that spring, helping us to much improved academic achievement and personal development. Flash forward to today, as my term as President comes to an end and we seniors prepare to graduate. Here, we find ourselves back in our original home at 130 E High Street, in a beautifully renovated and expanded version of what had previously existed. Men in other fraternities look at the house with jealousy, and freshmen with hope. Reportedly, we have had over three times the attendance of the average fraternity at our recruitment events. The past two semesters we have raised approximately $10,000 per semester for a variety of charities and through a variety Left to Right: Sam Hicks, Tyler Magill, Alex Cazorla, Ben Hicks (past Pres), Tom Staley (new President), Billy Bauder, Thatcher Creber, Dave Andrews, Jake Hicks. of philanthropic events, which we ourselves have organized and hosted under the leadership of our outgoing philanthropy chair Thatcher Creber (2018), without whom none of this would have happened, or at least not to the same degree. We are fresh off of three more intramural sports championships, well-attended by our brothers in the stands, with more championships on the horizon. To be fair, we are still working on our grades (come on guys). I’d like to give special thanks to our Purple Legionnaire, Allan Payne (1968), who rarely misses a chapter meeting and even attends many intramural games. Allan has been unwaveringly dedicated and supportive of us, and we appreciate him more than my words can express. As a chapter, we are grateful to him for showing that Phi Gamma Delta is “Not For College Days Alone,” and I am personally grateful to him for trying to set me up with every attractive waitress in Oxford. I have been so lucky and privileged to be the President of the Mu Upsilon Chapter during such an amazing time in its existence. Continued on page 5. \r\nNew 2017 Cabinet Name: Thomas Staley III (2018) Position: President Hometown: Hingham, MA Major: finance Minors: economics, mathematics Hobbies: Basketball, Bowling, Billiards, Battlestar Gallactica Favorite Phi Gam memory: Back-to-Back Basketbrawl Champions (philanthropy event hosted by Kappa Alpha Theta) Name: John Thatcher Creber Jr. (2018) Position: Recording Secretary Hometown: Oakbrook, Il Grade: Junior Major: biology Hobbies: Ice Hockey, Sailing, Scuba Diving, Spearfishing Favorite Memory: Scoring with two seconds left in the third period to win Drop the Puck on Cancer. Name: Dave Andrews (2018) Position: Historian Hometown: Fairfield, CT Grade: Junior Major: finance Hobbies: Skiing, billiards, darts, lacrosse Favorite Phi Gam Memory: Watching the hockey team win Drop the Puck charity tournament in last minute of the game. Name: Jakob Hicks (2018) Position: Treasurer Hometown: Toronto, Canada Grade: Junior Major: finance Hobbies: Hockey, reading, movies Favorite Phi Gam Memory: First Pig Dinner in 2015 Tom Staley, President-Elect As the young gentlemen of the Mu Upsilon Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta prepare for the next year, we look forward to continuing to lead the Greek community of Miami University by example. Year after year, the leaders of Phi Gam have pushed the chapter to new heights, and we plan on continuing this trend. As we move into the spring semester, we are putting a ton of time and energy into recruiting the newest class of Fijis. Our goal is to welcome at least 35 young men into our fraternity next semester and give them the privilege of living at the renovated 130 East High. Housing more than 40 brothers, the chapter house provides the ideal location for our brothers to live, to study and to plan the activities of the chapter. We hope to gain access to the balcony of the building soon, 2 so we can experience the house the way our alumni have. Additionally, I’m confident that we will continue to build on our community involvement and philanthropic presence on campus. We have improved each year that I have been at Miami, and this trend should continue. Phi Gam has been a force in athletics at Miami as well. Our basketball team, hockey team and softball team have all won championships in the past year, and we do not plan on slowing down. I cannot be sure what the future holds, but I know the brothers of Phi Gamma Delta and I are committed to maintaining and improving the strong reputation of this chapter, pressing on in our pursuit of excellence. Name: Billy Bauder (2018) Position: Corresponding Secretary Hometown: Lake Forest, IL Grade: Junior Major: marketing with minors in Spanish and international business Hobbies: Playing guitar, going to music festivals and camping Favorite Phi Gam Memory: About 12 of my Mu Upsilon brothers and I made a roadtrip to the University of Wisonsin Madison for the Wisconsin vs. OSU football game over our fall break. We had a great time and were able to check out the Fiji house there as well! \r\nStarting the School Year– FIJI House Meeting President Ben Hicks started the meeting on Sunday, August 28. We had about 70 undergrads in attendance. We reiterated that we needed a huge rush in the coming spring. We MUST fill the house. We also talked about not doing anything that would ruin anyones life or hurt the house. Steve Snyder, a 38-year Miami employee (14 in the Office of the President), shared how Miami and Oxford work together to pinpoint problems. He warned against social media postings as they also monitor that. He told the brothers that we have a great house and our visibility is there for all to see – the good and the bad. Greg Smith gave a very moving, personal view of addiction. Thanks for sharing, Greg. Alphonse covered a lot of areas as far as what we need to accomplish this year. He is doing a great job as Purple Legionnaire. Jim Menninger also shared his perception of his Life Coach role and told everyone he is available at anytime for counseling and discussions. Beavo Perge! Brothers Recently the Miami Student and The Cincinnati Enquirer carried stories about numerous fraternities at Miami. Your fraternity Phi Gamma Delta was mentioned as being under investigation for drug and alcohol abuse. Any general press releases like these are hurtful, causing public relations difficulties. Recovery takes a long time. Supposedly, there was an event last April where the Fijis were accused of a drug and/or alcohol abuse situation by a Miami student. Your chapter officers and House Corporation felt the charges were without any factual basis. Therefore, HC moved forward with retaining a local law firm to represent the house and investigate the situation at a sizable cost. We are tightening our belts and being good financial stewards to cover these unexpected expenses. As of September 29, we have been informed that the hearing to be held on September 30 had been canceled. Currently, our Purple Legionnaire, Allan Payne, and HC President, Mike Bevis, are arranging a meeting with the office of student affairs to work to avoid future problems. Our undergrads are off to a strong start for 2016-2017 year. Your house corporation is working closely with the brothers and Miami in order to increase communication, cooperation and compliance with all Oxford and Miami University regulations. A meeting held in late August with all undergrad Fijis was well attended and the time invested was well spent to help our brothers navigate these troubled times on campus. Thank you for your support of our chapter at Miami. Your attendance at the upcoming Pig Dinner next April and financial contributions are appreciated. Your Mu Upsilon House Corporation Board of Trustees: Mike Bevis (1970) John Fountain (1985) Dick Hutchinson (1969) Al Molina (1980) Greg Smith (1971) Michael Wagner (2010) 3 \r\nA Letter from the Purple Legionnaire Brothers: Two things motivate me at this point in my life – challenge and having fun. I’m still having fun at 130 E. High St, and you can believe it’s a challenge. The fun aspect is working with very bright, enthusiastic, talented guys who are Fijis in every way that we remember when we were at 130 E. High St. This past year Fiji had an overall grade point average of 3.1, putting them in the top 10 of fraternities. They won campus titles in softball, basketball and hockey– all the more reason for everyone to “hate the Fijis”. Part of my fun is guiding and coaching the guys in a variety of areas – they listen and then implement, putting their own “stamp” on things. No politics, no conflict, no dragging their feet– guys working synergistically. What a concept! Part of the fun also is working with a terrific bunch of brothers in House Corporation. Many of us are from the 60s and 70s, but we are now adding more “young blood”. It’s great to work with the guys from my era – Mike Bevis (“Beavo”), Mike McGurk (“Gurk”), Ted Goble (“Gobies”), Warren Soare, Clay Barnard (“Mick”), Steve Unger and Gary Bone. The “young bloods,” include Michael Wagner and Andrew Pirring. A Brother in the “midrange” is John Fountain. We are actively talking to guys to take over for us “old guard”. The challenge part of working with Mu Upsilon is largely in the area of risk management. This is mostly in the hands of the House Corporation and Brother Mike McGurk, but I am also greatly involved. The recent ridiculous allegations brought against Phi Gamma Delta, by a very disturbed young woman, were a monumental challenge. Thank goodness for attorney and Brother Jud Sims (1994), who led us to courtroom attorney Charlie Rittgers, also a Miami grad. Charlie was our main strategist and tactical guide through the whole series of pointcounterpoint forays with Miami. The guys had a great time at the outdoor retreat, Nov. 18-19. The old and new Cabinets were present along with a group of sophomores we see as potential leaders in the future. Friday night, they played music, built a bonfire, and I engaged them in my favorite leadership game, “Win All You Can”. Saturday morning, they played “Bubble Ball” and Thatcher Creber destroyed everybody. The zip-line was different in that guys had to compete against one another by throwing a bean bag at a target halfway down the course. We’ll be following up this retreat with a three hour leadership meeting with the new team, emphasizing "Vision, Alignment and Execution” as our leadership model and a "Culture of Accountability"as our tagline. Guys – Please get 4.22.17 on your calendar for our 60th PIG DINNER! We want to surpass what we did in 2007 when we rented out Millet Hall and had over 450 Brothers back. Hope to see you there! Allan Payne, Purple Legionnaire Perge! The Norris Big Pig Dinner 2017– 60 Years of Excellence Phi Gamma Delta Gamma has reclaimed its position as one of the leading fraternities at Miami University! The Fijis responded quickly to the suspicious fire which destroyed the fraternity house. The graduate brothers provided the leadership, architectural expertise and the money to rebuild the house. The undergraduates kept the "FIJI spirit" strong at Miami, with three years of excellent pledge classes, good grades, strong intramural teams and campus leadership. In October 2015 the dedication of the new Chapter house was a great celebration, and nearly 200 attended Pig Dinner last April. 4 Now we have another reason to celebrate - The Norris Big Pig Dinner 2017 - 60 years of excellence and brotherhood! Ten years ago in 2007, the Miami University FIJIS had the largest Norris Pig Dinner attendance in the nation-wide history of Phi Gamma Delta, when over 500 attended! Join us for the Norris Big Pig Dinner on 4/22/17, celebrating the 60th year since the Miami FIJIS were founded. Because we expect another record-setting number of graduate and undergraduate brothers to attend, we have reserved the largest room in the new Armstrong Center. Make dinner reservations at www.phigam. org/ mupigdinner. Reserve a hotel room at a discounted PGD rate in one of these hotels: Elms Hotel (513) 524-2002, Sycamore Best Western (513) 523-0000, Hampton Inn, Marcum Center, or Comfort Inn. Join us for a weekend of celebration and brotherhood! Encourage your Fiji brothers to attend and to make their dinner and hotel reservations early for this important event in the history of our Phi Gamma Delta fraternity at Miami University. Perge! Warren Soare (1970) Pig Dinner Co-Chairman wsoaremu70@hotmail.com \r\nDedication to Philanthropy Since being elected philanthropy chair, it has been my goal to amplify our impact on the Oxford community and increase donations on behalf of the Mu Upsilon Chapter. In light of these goals, I founded the first annual “Strike Out Diabetes” softball game vs Theta Chi at Miami Athletics Hayden Field. Together, we raised a total of $4,800 to benefit The American Diabetes Association. In addition, I ran the executive board of “Drop the Puck on Cancer”, an ice hockey event in which we beat Sigma Pi 3-2, with a last second goal. This past year we raised a total of $7,300 for Central Ohio Men Against Prostate Cancer. I have spearheaded the expansion of the DTP into a tournament style, including 16 total chapters, with a goal to raise $15-20k. Additionally, the Mu Upsilon Chapter hosted the “Monday Night Football” tournament with Alpha Chi Omega, where we raised $4,700 for Domestic Violence Awareness. Finally, as a chapter we raised $2,000 during mother’s weekend which was donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Looking forward to 2017, we are also planning to host a “FIJI Fright Night” haunted house, which will be included into the town of Oxford’s official list of Halloween special events. I hope by hosting an event like this at 130 E. High Street, we can connect ourselves to the Oxford community in a way unparalleled by any other student organization on campus. Other significant philanthropy events the Mu Upsilon chapter contributed to were: • Phi Delta Theta’s “March Madness Bracket Challenge” which raised a total of $535 to the Oxford Food Bank. • Kappa Kappa Gamma’s “Kappa Dog Night” which raised a total of $800 for Reading is Fundamental! • Delta Zeta’s community food drive in which $800 of perishable goods were donated to the Oxford Food Bank. -Thatcher Creber (2018) Continued from page 1. The rest of the outgoing cabinet – Sam Hicks (2017), Billy Bauder (2018), Alex Cazorla (2017), and Jordan Cook (2016) – have been instrumental in our collective success, and I am sure they feel similarly fortunate. Our past executive boards have been inspirational to me, as well as very successful for the chapter. I also could not be more excited about the incoming cabinet and look forward to seeing them continue this trend. With a record number of brothers running for positions on the cabinet and as chairmen this past week, I am proud of the direction the chapter is taking and look forward to its bright future. I am, and always will be proud, to be a FIJI. Benedict Hicks (2017) Chapter President Perge! 5 \r\nIntramural Softball Team Championship Photo credited to the strong leadership from team veteran brothers who have laid the foundation for us to follow. Finishing the regular season 5-0, and earning a #3 seed in the playoffs, the team was gunning to hoist the elusive Fraternity League trophy that hadn’t been in 130 E. High’s possession for many years. After cruising through the quarterfinals to a 14-4 victory, the Phi Gams were faced with an unexpected challenge in the semifinals. Phi Psi jumped to an early 3-0 lead in the first, which then grew more in the next frames. In the bottom of the 5th inning, we found ourselves down 12-4. Disheartened and shocked, the team was in desperate need of a rally. The 2016 softball season was a year filled with great excitement for the Phi Gams. After last season’s disappointing loss in the quarterfinals and the departure of six seniors, the team looked to rebuild and find themselves at the top of the fraternity-league standings. In need of the most talented men on campus, the team recruited very hard in the offseason, searching for former high school, and even collegiate standout athletes. By opening day, we solidified our lineup with the best athletes that 130 E. High had to offer. While the team had humble expectations, we began the season at 4-0, outscoring our opponents 69-20. Though pleased with our efforts, we remained hungry for more. Soon after our undefeated start, we faced some unexpected 6 adversity. During the midst of a midseason roster shake-up, Donny Scheatzle (2018) and Clark Currier (2018) were added to the team. The decision to beef-up our roster was now complete, as we now had Donny “Big Country” Scheatzle as our battery-mate. The two were a formidable duo at the plate, providing a muchneeded offensive spark to the lineup. One of the more interesting stories of the season involved the addition of four freshmen to the team. These individuals had big shoes to fill, as previous graduates had left quite the legacy on the diamond. Much to our pleasant surprise, freshmen Sam Selby (2019), Neil Shaw (2019) and Justin Sadler (2019) made an immediate impact in the outfield. When asked about their impact early on, Sadler suggest the success should be In the bottom half, we put a few runs across to cut down on the lead. After a couple of singles, the bases were loaded with one out. The Phi Gams had their prayers answered when a grand slam was launched over the left-centerfield fence to tie the game up. This was the momentum that the Phi Gams desperately needed, and soon after we gained the lead, advancing to the finals against Sigma Pi. With the hollywood script in play, the Phi Gams run-ruled the championship game and clutched the Fraternity League Championship trophy for the first time in years. The championship season was a true team effort, where each individual chipped in to help achieve our seasonlong goal. Naturally, the Championship t-shirts handed out after the victory were even royal purple, to make the perfect season even better. Proud to be! \r\nIntramural Hockey Team FIJI intramural hockey, much like the Chapter as a whole, has made tremendous strides from what it was when I first started playing for the team in the fall of 2013. When I began playing for the team, we struggled to dress more than five players a game, and despite our high level of skill, would occasionally lose games by wide margins, never even coming close to making the playoffs. Today, the Toronto Orange Leafs, self-titled as an amalgamation of the Toronto NHL franchise and the intramural team’s favorite frozen yogurt shop, dominates the fraternity, and school-wide intramural hockey scene. Competing at the highest level of play, the OLeafs now have won four of the past five intramural championships and were declared victors of the first annual "Dropping The Puck On Cancer" charity event in a nailbiting overtime victory over SAE. In a reversal from the early days, where putting together a squad larger than five players was a challenge, the Orange Leafs now have 15 regular players and even have to make cuts from their competitive roster. The tremendous boost in participation and ability has come as a result of strong chapter spirit and tremendous recruiting from alumnus, and General Manager of the team, Michael J. Deprima (2015). “We’ve never back-checked, played much defense, or tried particularly hard,” says Mike. “Instead, what I’ve always looked for when recruiting players is, not only tremendous natural ability, but guys with great character, both on and off the ice. This has led to a chemistry which, when combined with our team’s incredible good looks and God-given talent, has made us virtually unbeatable.” This focus on character has led to off-ice success for the Orange Leafs as well, as demonstrated by their election to many of the major roles within the Chapter. Of the five members of the retiring Cabinet, two were OLeafs, a number dwarfed only by the three incoming this year. The last two generations of pledge educators, three generations of social chairmen, the philanthropy chairman brotherhood chairman, recruitment chairmen, academic chairman, and risk manager, are also members of the Mu Upsilon hockey team. The success hasn’t just been limited to fraternal activities. “It’s crazy,” says forward Brett Montgomery (2018), a member of the team’s Virginia line, with Jake Hicks (2018), and Thatcher Creber (2018). “After the 'Dropping the Puck' game, girls started noticing me! I’ve started getting a lot of attention from the fairer sex and hope to convert some of that attention into a girlfriend soon, much like I convert opportunities into goals on the ice.” Fortunately, the Orange Leafs’ dominance and leadership seems to be poised to continue for quite some time, as we are only graduating two players at the end of this academic year, myself and Ben Hicks (2017). Many thanks to everyone who has made my three years on the team, and in the chapter, so special, and to everyone who will continue to make this team, and chapter, so special in the future. Sam Hicks (2017) Team Captain 7 \r\nIntramural Sports Basketball The FIJI basketball team took to court hoping to win their third championship in four seasons. Veterans Mark Bennett (2016) and Zack Abbruzzese (2016) lead the team with plenty of big game experience. A strong freshman class featuring the sharpshooting duo Nathan Haas (2019) and Myles McNeal (2019) boosted the teams scoring threat. Scrappy defending and strong rebounding propelled the team to a 5-0 regular season record where they outscored opponents by an average of 27 points per game. Championship game basketball pics Two wins to start the playoffs gave the FIJI squad a spot in the final. An MVP performance from Thomas Staley (2018) spurred them on to yet another championship, solidifying the team’s recent dominance in the fraternity league. Flag Football After losing four graduating seniors from last season the new guys had big shoes to fill. Seniors Danny Tiley (2017), and Ben Vandertill (2017) inspired the young team to a strong season. Despite the efforts of an athletic group of wide receivers, the team was unable to qualify for the playoffs, finishing with a disappointing 3-2 record. Outdoor Soccer Coming off of a tough 2015 season, the Phi Gam soccer team was determined to have a winning season. A team that used to struggle for goals rallied behind the attacking talent of the sophomore class. Chris Lane (2019), and Graham DeLaney (2019) each chipped in with three goals in the regular season leading the team to three wins. The team just missed out on playoff qualification. Fiji Leadership Retreat FIJI retreat of the old Cabinet and new Cabinet. The guys had a blast doing the zipline, wall climb, balance “totter”, Bubble Ball and "Win All You Can”. 8 \r\nDr. Jim Menninger Dr. Jim Menninger has been named the FIJI Fraternity Life Coach at Miami University. This past semester has given him the opportunity to acquaint himself with the FIJI officers and Chapter as a whole. He states that, “In my opinion, FIJI undergraduates are a very bright and talented band of mighty warriors, and highly motivated to succeed in life. I believe they will make their mark at Miami and in their chosen profession upon graduation. My hope is to accentuate their success through counseling and leadership development”. Dr. Menninger is currently the Executive Director of the Wesley Campus Ministry at Miami. He mentors students, is a committee member for the Dr. Yamauchi Lecture Series, and is the Life Coach for the Men’s Miami University Basketball Team. He also serves on Dean Curme’s Off-Campus Intervention and Partnership task force. He consistently interacts with university professors and administrators. On Monday, October 10, Dr. Menninger represented Princeton University at President Crawford’s Inauguration. FIJI officers Ben and Sam Hicks also participated in the inaugural ceremony with other Miami students, as they read the Code of Love and Honor, “I Am Miami”. Dr. Menninger’s background includes over 25 years of experience on the university campus. He has served as a college administrator, adjunct faculty member and varsity tennis coach at Ashland University. He has taught at the University of Cincinnati and Wilmington College, and most recently he has served on staff with the Christian Medical Association at the U.C. Medical School. He was a city councilman in Fairfield, Ohio, and has been a consultant with the Chief Executive Network, an organization comprised of over 500 Chief Executive Officers. He has serves on the Board of Directors for a variety of philanthropic and educational organizations. In addition, he has served as the past President of the Ohio Valley Princeton Association and remains active in alumni activities. He enjoys tennis, is an avid outdoorsman and is active in his church. Purple Legionnaire Allan Payne and Dr. Menninger hosted a leadership retreat for FIJI undergrads on November 18 and 19. Given the outstanding leadership qualities of FIJI and undergraduates, both Payne and Menninger are very optimistic regarding the future of the FIJI fraternity at Miami. They plan to collaboratively implement more specific plans for the chapter as they build upon Payne’s leadership model of cultural accountability. Gallery Fijis at World Series, Ted Goble (1968) and Butch King (1970). Ted Goble meets with Renate Crawford. 9 \r\nPhi Gamma Delta Fraternity Mu Upsilon at Miami University 1201 Red Mile Road P.O. Box 4599 Lexington, KY 40544 Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit # 540 THE END OF THE SLANT Fall/Winter 2016 MU UPSILON CHAPTER AT MIAMI UNIVERSITY Gallery Alan Payne (1969), Miami President, Greg Crawford and Mike Bevis (1970). Miami President Greg Crawford with Ted Goble '68. 10