1970-1971 Chapter History of the Rho Phi Chapter at Rose-Hulman

1970-1971 Chapter History of the Rho Phi Chapter at Rose-Hulman

1970-1971 chapter history for the Rho Phi chapter at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. The five page history was written by Gary N. Bowman (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 1972).

, THE CHAPTER HISTORY OF RHO PHI OF PHI GAMMA DELTA
1970-1971
Compiled by
Gary N. Bowman
Chapter Historian

THE HISTORY OF RHO PHI
OF PHI GAMMA DELTA
1970-71

Rho Phi came charging into its third year of affiliation with Phi Gamma Delta in the late summer and early fall of 1970.

Barhydt House, during its second summer as the Fiji abode, received some attention in the form of garage work. The sliding doors on the south side of the garage were removed in July and replaced with a partial wall and ante-room. The intent of this change was to turn the garage into a combination chapter room - party room.

Late August found President Steve Goble ('71), Treasurer Jim Graham ('72), and Historian John Smith ('71) headed to Cleveland, Ohio as Rho Phi's official representatives to the 122nd Great Lakes Ekklesia. During the conclave Rho Phi received a Certificate of Achievement for exceeding the All Men's Average at Rose Poly for the 1968-69 school year. Also, we were awarded third place in the Riverda Harding Jordan Bowl competition for the 1968-69. We were very proud of our chapter.

Registration was September 8, 1970 and all the brothers were happy to be reunited after the long summer and we had high hopes for a successful rush under the new I.F.C. rush rules. This was the first year that Greeks were allowed to make social contact with the freshmen and talk fraternity prior to second quarter pledging. The I.F.C. Dance was held on October 3, 1970 and this night saw many a Fiji doubling with frosh. We showed many freshmen that young Phi Gamma Delta was standing in good stead in the Rose Poly Greek community.

October 13th was the day for the Fall Honors Convo and Phi Gamma Delta again asserted her strength. Senior Tom Dehne ('71) was awarded the Carl Wishmeyer Award for being the number one man at the end of his Junior year. Tom had a 4.00 cumulative grade point average. Junior Jim Graham received the Paul N. Bogart Award for being the number one man at the end of his Sophomore year. Two Fiji R.O.T.C. cadets, Loren Doyle ('71) and Jay O'Sullivan ('71) were named Distinguished Military Students. Tom Dehne and Jim Graham were tapped into Blue Key national honorary service fraternity. Burt Jones ('71) and Jim Graham were tapped into Tau Beta Pi national honorary engineering fraternity. Finally, we were awarded the I.F.C. Scholarship Trophy for the spring quarter of 1970.

Homecoming, October 23-24, was the first chance for the Rho Phi graduates to come "home". They were met by a campus full of good cheer and activity. The Queen was crowned just prior to the bonfire and Rascal's concert on Friday night. Bev Day, the Fiji entry, was a finalist and member of the Queen's court. On Saturday the chapter entered the float competition with a horse-drawn "Gay-Nineties" fire wagon. That evening we held a low-key party for all our visiting graduates.

Rho Phi held its second annual Fiji Olympics on Saturday, October 31st. Teams were comprised of I.S.U. sororities, and dormitory teams from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. The fact that the event was held this year on the front lawn of the Institute (in front of the main building) drew a huge crowd of spectators. Guerin Hall, the freshman dorm at Saint Mary's, won the contest and took home the coveted King Bohunkus Trophy.

Sunday, November 22, 1970 rolled around and was recognized by a short celebration and a round of clicks at dinner for being Rho Phi's first anniversary. The big Installation Party we hope to have every year was postponed this first year due to the fact that Rose Poly was in the middle of first quarter finals.

December 9th filled the house with females and Yuletide cheer as we decorated our Christmas tree with original hand-made ornaments (i.e. hand-made by Fijis and dates.)

Tension was mounting the weekend of December 12th for this was the last of formal rush before Bid Day on Monday. The Greeks ruled the campus on Monday, December 14th, 1970 as the freshmen made their preferences, hoping to match themselves with "their" fraternity's bid. Rho Phi came up on Bid Day and during post rush with seventeen top men. Filled with enthusiasm and high hopes for these new men, we gave each other spiritous greetings and took a holiday break.

On January 6, 1971 the President of the Institute, Dr. John A. Logan, made an announcement that greatly affected the fiscal status of the school. It was prepared in such secrecy that no one knew why a press conference was being called. The news was that Tony Hulman, Terre Haute industrialist and owner of the Indianapolis 500 Speedway, had given to the Institute all the profits of the Hulman Foundation (which came to nearly 15 million dollars) and as a result of this gift the Board of Managers of Rose Polytechnic Institute unanimously voted to alter the name of the Institute to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. The Institute is now financially solvent and will be so for many years to come. And we are confident that Rho Phi will flourish as Rose-Hulman flourishes.

On the weekend of January 9th, the brotherhood journeyed to Spring Mills State Park with all the new pledges on a retreat established to get the pledges to know all the active brothers and vice-versa. After a zany afternoon of fun and games, the chapter settled down to a formal meal followed by an address from graduate brother John B. Hodsden ('70) on the founding of Rho Phi and its relevancy to the Rose-Hulman campus.

Each year in the Terre Haute community the Rotary Club and Boy Scouts team up in a Goodwill drive. There is much work involved and many opportunities are present for outside organizations to pitch in. Two years ago, when Rho Phi was in its colony phase we folded Goodwill bags down to a size convenient for distribution. This year the same job was available so on a snowy Saturday morning, January 30th, fifty actives and pledges rolled out of bed and drove downtown to the Goodwill building and began folding bags. At the end of the three-hour service project we had folded over 25,000 bags! This averaged out to be around 600 bags per man and we had the callouses and raw fingers to prove it. It was, however, a great deal of fun and was deemed well worth the sacrifice.

On February 12th we held a trade party (a formal mixing of a fraternity and sorority for the primary purpose of public relations) with the newly colonized Alpha Chi Omegas. The theme was a pajama party and by stripping the beds upstairs and bringing the mattresses down to the main floor we had a wall to wall bed for the creating an atmosphere and we all had a marvelous time.

The next morning a delegation journeyed to Indianapolis for Section XII's State Day activities held at the Ramada Inn East. The speaker was Archon N. W. Jerry Solomon (Nebraska '51).

February 20th was the date finally set for the celebration of the 1st anniversary of our Installation on November 22, 1969. Many graduates returned for this event and it was quite a bash.

Rho Phis were thinking purple on March 20th as this was the day of our Purple Garter Dance. The gartering ceremony was a very satisfying experience for the brothers and very thrilling for their ladies as they "raised their garters to higher glory!"

March 22nd was an important day for Rho Phi as they installed their new officers for the 1971-72 school year. It was an anxious and solemn occasion with the placing of the chapter into the hands of five chosen brothers. The officers installed on that day were President - Frederick C. Franzwa ('72) from Hobart, Indiana; Treasurer - Gregory B. Harbin ('73) from Vincennes, Indiana; Recording Secretary - Miki R. Joy ('72) from Sanford, Indiana.; Corresponding Secretary - Steven G. Thomas ('73) from Brazil, Indiana; and Historian - Gary N. Bowman ('72) from - Noblesville, Indiana.

For the second time in the three-year history of Phi Gamma Delta at Rose-Hulman we have captured the highest student government position on campus - Student Body President. On March 24th, Jim Grahan was elected to the office which two years earlier was held by his pledge father John Hodsden. (Like father - like son!) Jim was Student Body Vice-President this year and thus was well groomed for the position. An odd note worth mentioning here is that every year since its founding, Rho Phi has been in control of the Student Government along with a member of Alpha Tau Omega. Last year it was Fiji-ATO for the two highest offices respectively. This year it was ATO-Fiji and next year it will again be Fiji-ATO. We are proud to have brothers who have had the trust of the student body and the ability to handle the tremendous responsibilities of these positions.

Rho Phi was in a unique position this spring in that we were 150 feet from the I.S.U. colony house and when they were chartered on March 27th we were an integral part of the planning. Fred Franzwa, Rho Phi President, was on the ritual team and Steven Goble, past Rho Phi President, and Thomas M "Stogie" Hendrickson ('71), past Corresponding Secretary, were directors.

The Spring Honors Convo was held at Rose-Hulman on Tuesday, March 30, 1971. Tom Dehne, Steve Goble, and Jim Graham were elected to Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. Tom Dehne won the Clarence P. Sousley Award for being the Outstanding Senior Math Major. Fred Flanzwa was then tapped into both Tau Beta Pi and Blue Key honorary fraternities. And again, Phi Gamma Delta won the I.F. Scholarship Trophy. We have only lost the trophy one quarter since our affiliation with Phi Gamma Delta in October of 1968.

April 3rd was the date set for the annual Pledge Class Car Rallye. Time was not a factor which proved a blessing because it gave several brothers the opportunity to stop and help some farmers put out a brush fire and it gave brother Don Faris ('73) time to have his large Buick pulled out of a ditch by a nearby farmer's tractor. Graduate brother Ed Dye ('70) was the winner this year. Greg Reising ('73) received the "effort award" for getting one clue right out of forty! And after all the awards were given away and the sun had long since set in rolled a car full of brothers (stag) who eight hours and 227 miles earlier had planned on winning the three hour and 109-mile event!

On April 4th in an ever-continuing effort to promote relations with the Terre Haute Graduate Chapter Rho Phi held a Graduate Tea. Everyone attending had a wonderful time.

On April 5th Steve Goble was chosen as Rho Phis Wilkinson Award candidate for 1970-71.

April 16th was the day of the Alpha Sigma Alpha Trade Party. A scavenger hunt was the event of the evening and despite the mysterious disappearance of several clues, the evening was an enjoyable one.

Our third Norris Pig Dinner was held on April 17th. A pre-dinner cocktail party was planned in the dining room of the house but refreshingly found its way to the front lawn. Dr. Richard Crowder (DePauw '31) spoke after the delicious meal. His topic was the inspiring heritage of Phi Gamma Delta. The "kegger" following the dinner lasted until 5:00 A.M. with Dr. Crowder being in the last group to retire. It was our best Pig Dinner yet.

Parent's Day at Rose-Hulman was April 24th and many things were scheduled to keep the families busy. Activities included an ROTC awards ceremony, a joint Band and Glee Club concert, a Track meet, and a Drama Club performance. We are proud to say that there were Rho Phis in every student function observed and we had a house full of proud and happy Rho Phi parents that day.

The Rose Riots are a series of short skits produced as a convocation by Blue Key national honorary service fraternity in which any interested group may satirize anything they desire which pertains to the Rose-Hulman community. We Fijis did a spoof of the more well-known professors in their typical classroom saturations. It was a riot!

Founder's Day discovered the Phi Gams at Deming park painting shelter houses and other buildings. By the end of the day there were red Fijis and green Fijis; striped Fijis and polka-dotted Fijis; and after the laking of the acting chairman of the project, there were even some wet Fijis. We had a good time.

Fiji Island was held May 8, 1971 on the island at Isaac Walton Beach in West Terre Haute. Festivities began in the early afternoon. Lakings were followed by more lakings and then it was time for dinner. After dinner it was every couple for themselves as it cooled off and everyone scrambled for the bonfire. Our band on the mainland from 9:00 P.M. to midnight was "Reformation" and one of its members was the 1969-70 Wilkinson Award Winner, Michael H. Schlatzein (I.U. '70).

Wednesday, May 12th was the pledge father-mother-son picnic at the newly painted shelter houses of Deming Park. The family reunions were very pleasurable and the picnic was a success.

Greek Weekend was Sunday, May 16, 1971. Overall in the day's activities Phi Gamma Delta came in fourth out of six after LXA, ATO, and SN. We came in strong to capture third in the ten-mile bike race. And in the evening, we came in a close second behind Lambda Chi in the songfest.

Our Senior Recognition Service and Dinner was held on May 17th as we paid homage to our graduating seniors for their unselfish devotion to Rho Phi. They were Tom Dehne, Loren Doyle, Steve Goble, Tom Hendrickson, Burt Jones, Roger Martindell: Jay O'Sullivan, John Smith, and Al Wernz.

Commencement exercises were held Friday evening, May 28, 1971 in the Shook Memorial Fieldhouse. The high point of the evening was when brother Tom Dehne won the coveted Hemingway Medal for being the highest man scholastically in the Senior class. Tom graduated with a 4.00 cumulative grade point average. He was the third man in the history of the Institute to graduate with a perfect record. And he is a Fiji.

This has been a recording of the major social events of the 1970-71 academic year. Surely as complete a record as we would like to have is impossible to manufacture for reasons of length and accuracy. We can only hope that as the years pass on at least some attempt will be made to preserve the yearly workings of Rho Phi. We can ask no more.

Gary N. Bowman ('72)

Perge!

MEMBERSHIP

Jerome Scott Andrews
Ronald Ray Andrews
Dennis Alan Bailey
Brian Eric Blair
Gary Neal Bowman
Bruce Allen Brown
Michael Alan Callahan
Michael Richard Collins
Keith Allen Corban
Thomas Albert Dehne
Edmond Louis Doerflein II
Loren Craig Doyle
David Roy Duvall
Robert Randall Entrekin
Donald Eugene Faris Jr.
Frederick Charles Franzwa
Steven Craig Goble
William Lawrence Gibson
James Henry Graham
Gregory Blain Harbin
Thomas Merle Hendrickson
William Orval Henry
Russell George Holl II
Daniel Gene Jackson
Thomas Lee Jackson
Burton Harold Jones Jr.
Miki Rene Joy
Gasimir Benedict Kuzmicki
Michael Lee
Jerry Nun Hon Loo
Morrell Edmond Lowery
Mark Andres Marinko
Roger Jay Martindell
Joseph Grafe Nesbitt
Thomas Vincent O'Brien III
Jay Donald O'Sullivan
Kevin Michael Patrick O'Sullivan
Michael Ernest Popagain
Gregory Paul Prezbindowski
William John Privratsky
Kenneth Eugene Rasner
Gregory Neal Reising
Joel Vincent Sanders
Jay Eugene Sensibaugh
John Michael Smith
Rodney Wayne Smith
Alan Lyn Smock
John Charles Temple
Steven Gerald Thomas
John Taliaferro Walter
Thomas Arthur Weaver
Albert Davidson Wernz
Cecil Lee Whitaker
Henry Joseph Wimbrow