FIJIGRAM CHI UPSILON CHAPTER OF PHI GAMMA DELTA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO SPRING 2016 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Brothers, It is an incredible time to be a part of the Chi Upsilon Chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. Over the past year, we have been able to accomplish tremendous feats. We raised over $10,000 toward a variety of philanthropic causes, we had our largest number of new initiates in chapter history, and, perhaps most importantly, we were able to remain the top fraternity in terms of size, scholarship, athletics, and philanthropy in spite of not having a house. It is a tremendous honor to be serving as your president this year. I understand that this is not only a role of leadership, but servitude to both the undergraduate and graduate brothers alike. The cabinet and myself feel confident going into the year, but much more importantly, I feel extremely confident in all of our brothers to continue in the advancement and pursuit of excellence within our chapter. We look forward to continuing our chapter’s upward march. Even before our term has begun, our cabinet has already been working on a variety of tasks that I hope will make all of us proud, including a meal plan for the brothers in the house, setting up more events with our graduate brothers, and continuing to increase our philanthropy efforts on all pillars. Thank you all for your continued support of the Chi Upsilon Chapter. I am proud to serve you this year, and I hope to see you all in our newly renovated house. Fraternally, Clyde Christian Anderson (2018) PERGE! A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON 5615 Another quarter comes to a close on the University of Chicago campus with the balance of academic struggles and good times that come along with it. However, there has been a hole in the lives of some on campus, specifically at 5615 South University Avenue. Being only a second-year student, I have yet to fully experience a day in the Chi Upsilon chapter house as a member of Phi Gamma Delta. Any “memories” I have of life in the house have all been received by passed down stories from older brothers that conjure within me mixed feelings of jealousy and excitement. Many of these stories about the house would often end with a solemn, “You just don’t understand. Having the house is a completely different experience so you’ll just have to wait and see.” With the wait coming to a close, any conversation pertaining to the house exudes great happiness that once again the brothers of our chapter will have a centralized location for all chapter activities. I personally had the experience of completing the pledge education process without a chapter house. The process was extremely valuable and I made life-long friends through 1 \r\nA New Perspective on 5615 Conitnued... it, but there was definitely a disconnect within the fraternity. There was no place where a large number of brothers could just be hanging around at any time. Meetings were held all over the Hyde Park area wherever we could find space. The result was an environment where there was not necessarily animosity between any pledges or any brothers, but people simply tended to hang around with their own class. There became small cliques in a way within the larger group simply because everyone was spread out. There were still positive memories shared between the entire fraternity, but not as many as most would like which made the bond between all brothers seem, if only slightly, less strong. The year and a half without a house may have been an odd one for the Chi Upsilon chapter, but presently it just means there is a lot to look forward to. There are the obvious things such as having a place for meetings and somewhere to go hangout after classes or on the weekends. Along with these conveniences will come a stronger brotherhood. 1st years through 4th years alike will all be in the same social environment, specifically one that everyone is extremely excited to finally be in. Out of these interactions will flourish a stronger bond and a great overall environment where no disconnect can exist since we will all be connected in one location. Mostly, I look forward to having a house because even without a place where I knew they would always be, my brothers are the main reason my time thus far at the U of C has been so phenomenal. What having a house now means is even more opportunities to make amazing memories with my brothers as we move on into our next phase as proud members of Phi Gamma Delta. Fraternally, Charlie Shifman PERSISTENCE We all know that nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Most of us in the Chi Upsilon chapter are student-athletes here at the University of Chicago, though we are doing a good job of branching out. We have brothers on the football, basketball, baseball, and wrestling teams. There are already enough challenges with being a student-athlete, but even more so here at our school. The brothers that are football players had to call upon persistence very much this past season. The head coach implemented new practice hours that required the players waking up sometimes as early as 5 a.m. Though their record didn’t reflect how they wanted the season to turn out, they called upon persistence to finish out the season strong and with great effort. The other, more important, half of being a student-athlete is the student part. Due to the early morning practices, it would be very easy for the brothers on the football team to sleep in and skip class, however none of them did. Our chapter’s GPA is something that is very important to all of us and even though times were tough we were able to power through it and still perform at a high level in the classroom. When the times got tough we were able to lean on each others shoulders and help get through it together. Even during our rigorous finals week, we always gave the best effort and it truly paid off. Finally, persistence had been very important to everyone in our chapter as of late, not just the athletes. Our house renovations were delayed a little longer than we had expected. While many of us had hoped to enjoy our new house by the start of the school year, it unfortunately got delayed for the remainder of the calendar year. At this point, all of the brothers in the sophomore class have no idea what it’s like to have a house. This didn’t matter much though. We were still able to adapt and 2 \r\nPERSISTENCE Continued... come together as brothers. Not having a house may have not been ideal, but it certainly didn’t hurt our brotherly bond, it may have even enhanced it. We have still been able to have fun social and philanthropic events while conducting chapter business without any speed bumps. Through our persistence, we have been able to power through rough times. We didn’t merely get by; we excelled through the difficulties and have been made better men because of it. Fraternally, Stash Rowley FIJI FALL RECRUITMENT 2016 This past fall, we as a fraternity placed an even stronger emphasis than usual on our recruitment. With the return of the chapter house the fraternity was fired up about finding a group of young men that would be an excellent fit in both culture and excellence. Along with this, because of the current climate towards Greek organizations across the country we wanted to spend more time truly getting to know each individual so that we could recruit the best possible group the University of Chicago has to offer. Recruitment began with our designated recruitment chairs reaching out to brothers for recommendations as well as holding rush events. One of the first rush events came during our first week when the fraternity held a cookout at the interim Maclean House to meet potential pledges. The turnout was great, and from this we were able to develop a relationship with the people that were interested in potentially joining our chapter. After this we held additional social events and used them as a platform to facilitate and gain further interest in the fraternity. Once it became time to decide on bids, we held one final event which was a pizza gathering between only brothers and the potential pledges in order to get one final personalized interaction, with an emphasis on learning the character and personalities of the guys in a much more relaxed environment. After all our efforts we eventually voted as a fraternity and assembled a fall pledge class of twelve individuals. We narrowed down our lists substantially, only admitting those who were deemed to be the most qualified of individuals to join our organization. This class from the start was one of our most diverse and well-rounded classes that we have ever had. Our fall class contains students from multiple organizations such as the varsity football team, varsity basketball team, varsity baseball and in addition contains international students here at the university with each pledge having a very different background. During their process the class has begun to develop and adhere to the values of this fraternity while meshing together extremely well despite the fact that they all come from such different places. With the fraternity as a whole emphasizing recruitment so heavily we have put together an exceptional group that will surely represent the fraternity well in years to come. We are extremely excited to one day have them as members of this fraternity. Moving forward, we look to conclude their pledging process in a timely manner and to into our next stage of recruitment in constructing an even better class this spring, as we are always looking to add even more qualified individuals to Chi Upsilon chapter of Phi Gamma Delta. Fraternally, Trevor Anderson 3 \r\nFOOTBALL REPORT Phi Gamma Delta once again contributed to the Maroons football team in 2016, leading them through a season that had some major successes despite facing adversity. The Maroons spent the year breaking in a new high-flying offense, and were able to increase their yards per game by 120 yards. In terms of wins and losses the season did not go exactly how the Maroons had planned, finishing with 4 wins and 6 losses. Despite this, the Maroons played valiantly every week, and many members of our chapter were key contributors to the team. Our own corresponding secretary, Jackson Garrey, led the team in tackles with 116, good for 11.6 per game and 19th in the entire nation. Quarterback Burke Moser, also a senior member our chapter, passed for 3,766 yards, finishing 2nd in division 3 in that category. Burke’s persistence throughout the season was emphasized in the team’s comeback victory in week 8 against the University of Sewanee. In the first quarter the Maroons struggled, even falling behind 17-0 after an interception by Moser returned for a touchdown. But Burke never gave up, and led the team to a victory, 49-17. In the end, he finished the game with 7 touchdowns, tied for an NCAA record. Burke never gave up – even in the face of adversity; he persisted and gave the Maroons their 4th win of the season. Burke Moser celebrates with Jeff Mason after scoring a touchdown. This was very much the attitude of the team throughout the entire season. The season started slow while breaking in new offensive and defensive systems, with a loss to Case Western. While the Maroons were certainly hurt by the loss, the team knew that they could battle and fight to reach their full potential before the season ended. The next week, the team trounced Millsaps College in decisive fashion, and knew they could fight through any challenge. While the season ended with 4 wins and 6 losses, the Maroons continued to battle through adversity, losing two games in a row only once the entire year. “The results on the field weren’t what we expected from ourselves as a team, and that’s tough” said senior leader Jackson Garrey, “but we came together as a team and really fought as brothers the entire year.” The team sent off it’s seniors to the outside world knowing that they had helped the program move towards many more wins to come, and the Maroons hope to build on their 2016 successes moving forward into 2017. Many seniors plan on coming back to campus soon to see how the 2017 Maroons look. They now move on to their futures through many industries including finance, medicine, and law. Garrey, though, has made other plans: “Now that the season ended and I have looked back, I’ve decided to try out with the Bears and see if I can make the 2017 roster. Hopefully those years on the Maroon’s punt team serve me well!” Fraternally, Nate Chandler P! 4 \r\nBASKETBALL OUTLOOK FOR 2016-2017 The University of Chicago Maroons are off to a scintillating 6-1 start to their 2016-2017 campaign. After a heartbreaking buzzer-beater loss against North Park at home in the season opener, the Maroons have righted the ship and are on a 6 game winning streak in non-conference play. Most recently, the Maroons secured an 83-69 victory against the Kalamazoo Hornets in their final game before heading to Memphis to compete in the Rhodes Holiday Classic. The brothers of Phi Gamma Delta have been a vital part of the team this year, as the 11 brothers and 3 pledges on the team have accounted for nearly 60% of the points the Maroons have scored so far. Leading the way for the FIJIs in the scoring column is Noah Karras, a second-year performer from Lake Forest, Illinois. After seven games Noah boasts a 16.4 points per game average and recently put up a career high 27 points in the Maroons victory over Kalamazoo. Another brother leading the Maroon charge is Tyler Howard, a fourth-year point guard from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In his third and final season with the keys to the offense, Howard has the Maroons right where they want to be for a deep UAA and playoff run. Tyler is doing this all while posting impressive numbers himself, at 11.9 points per game and 5.4 assists per game, he is getting the job done on the court. Jake Fenlon, a third year performer from Rochester, NY has continued to display his incredible sharp shooting ability on the court, shooting 51% from deep. In the first seven games Jake has made seven three pointers on two separate occasions. The first of these came against the Illinois Institute of Technology where he finished with 25 points and 7 rebounds, and the second came against Wheaton, where Jake hit seven three-point shots in the first half alone. Collin Barthel, a third-year from Indianapolis, Indiana has maintained his strong play going into his second year as a captain for the Maroons. His big 20-point performance against the Lake Forest Foresters after suffering their first loss against North Park helped propel the Maroons to their six game win streak they hold today. Two second-years, Justin Jackson from Marietta, Georgia and Ryan Jacobsen from St. Paul, Minnesota have provided fantastic energy off the bench for the Maroons. Striving to be stars in their roles, both have stepped up and made big plays when the team needed it the most. Ryan Shearmire, a forward from West Linn, Oregon and Porter Veach, a guard from Winnetka, Illinois have seen limited action in competition but have provided great energy and intangibles to help drive the Maroons to a 6-1 record. Ryan recently tied his career high against the Depauw Tigers, scoring a clutch basket off the bench. Alex Gustafson, a fourth-year forward from Oak Park, Illinois and Max Jacobs, a second-year point guard from Short Hills, New Jersey have been battling injuries and they continue to work diligently with the training staff with hopes of making a return later in the year. The Maroons next competition will come when they travel to Memphis with hopes to bring home a tournament victory at the Rhodes Holiday Classic. Fraternally, Mitch Hufnagel P! Tyler Howard, our 2016 Historian, scoring yet another slam-dunk. Ryan Shearmire, current incoming corresponding secretary, smiling as he looks forward to another successful year with his teammates. 5 \r\nPHI GAMMA DELTA University of Chicago Chi Upsilon Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Lexington, KY Permit # 540 MAKE YOURSELF IMMORTAL! Phi Gamma Delta is teaming up with Donate Life to increase the number of organ donors across North America. This joint venture is called the Immortal Phi Gam project. There are more than 125,000 people waiting for an organ transplant in the United States and Canada, with approximately 150 names added to the waiting list every day. About 79 organ transplants take place every day, but sadly, approximately 22 people die every day because they did not receive an organ in time. The good news is that together Phi Gams can make a tremendous difference. One organ donor can save or improve the lives of up to 50 other people! Making yourself immortal is an easy 3-step process. 1. Go to www.phigam.org/immortalphigam and register at the bottom of the web page. 2. Click on the link on the same web page that will take you to Donate Life’s map page. Click on the state or province where you are licensed to drive or live and register to become an organ donor. This step is unnecessary if your driver’s license in the U.S. or insurance card in Canada already shows that you are an organ donor, but register again if you are uncertain. 3. Tell your parents, spouse, family members, and loved ones that you want to donate your organs when you die. If you are already a registered donor through your state or province, please register with the Fraternity as well at www.phigam.org/immortalphigam to help track the number of brothers who have made this life-saving decision. 6