The Deke Quarterly

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DEKE the

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Summer 2017

TWO DEKES DISCOVER the JOYS of MAKING

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DEKE FOUNDATION ESTABLISHED TO FUND KEY INITIATIVES FOR DEKE UNDERGRADS

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arly this year we made an important improvement to the way alumni such as you can support DKE by establishing the Deke Foundation. As in the past, annual alumni dues will still go directly to DKE International to support the day to day operations of HQ. But now, alumni have the opportunity to make donations to a new fund called the Deke Foundation. This has multiple benefits for alumni who are making the donations. First, donations to the Deke Foundation are tax deductible for US income tax purposes. Second, you can designate a percentage -- up to 50% -- of your donation to the exclusive use of your active chapter. Third, dollars you donate to the Foundation support DKE Brothers, because the Foundation can grant money to DKE for educational programming. There is further detail and an example of “educational programming” below, so you know what your dollars are doing to help DKE. Designating a portion of one’s donation is undoubtedly of interest to many alumni, so here is how that will work. Chapter Endowment Funds Once a chapter fund reaches $5,000, the Foundation can apply a portion of that money toward educational programs that will benefit the chapter’s members. One example would be paying the travel and registration fee for a member to attend a Deke Leadership Conference or the Chapter Presidents Conference. Another example would be for the chapter to sponsor a speaker on men’s health awareness for the IFC community. A chapter’s fund could also be used to sponsor a scholarship for the chapter member with the highest GPA, or to purchase textbooks for the Scholarship Chairman. These are direct benefits to undergraduate chapters made possible by donations from alumni to the Deke Foundation and designated for a specific chapter’s fund. Educational Programming Sponsored by DKE HQ The second major way donations to the Deke Foundation support DKE is through programming provided to chapters and members from the International Headquarters. One such program is already in place. A very important new service which will be available to DKE undergraduate members starting in the upcoming academic year is mental health counseling. The statistics on college students who suffer from issues such as anxiety, stress, depression, relationship problems, and drug and alcohol dependency, are shocking. Colleges and universities simply do not have the bandwidth to handle it all. All universities have some resources

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to deal with this, but those resources are primarily directed at serious cases or emergencies, as they should be. To help members deal with these issues, DKE has contracted with an outside firm who will provide online counseling to individual members. While the concept of online counseling may sound strange to some people, think about how today’s college students communicate... through text messages, FB messenger, GroupMe chats, etc. Thus the idea of being able to get advice from someone through that medium makes a lot more sense to this generation. It’s anonymous, and removes the stigma many college men have of signing up for an appointment with a counselor, going to the University’s Health Center, then waiting on a couch outside an office door for the appointment to start. Plus it is likely he’d have to wait a couple weeks to get his appointment - except in emergency situations. The service contracted by DKE is staffed 100% by licensed counselors, who will “talk” to members through online chat discussions, or by phone. They find that most issues college students are dealing with can be handled in about three sessions. Tragically, DKE lost three undergraduate members to suicide in the last academic year. The hope is this service can make a difference in helping DKE members work through their problems - well before they get to that point. This service is being used successfully by a few other large fraternities, and DKE is confident it will be very positively received when it is launched in the 2017-2018 academic year. The counseling will be provided free of charge to undergraduate Dekes; the entire budget will be covered by DKE HQ. This is one example of a fraternity program that can be funded by grants to DKE International from the Deke Foundation, thanks to donations from alumni. There are others, and the intent is for this type of important programming to be increasingly funded by the Foundation, which will award grants to DKE based on an IRS-approved grant request procedure. Thus, DKE International has transitioned its primary requests for alumni funding over to the Deke Foundation. Not only does this provide donors a more defined understanding of how their donations are being used, it also allows specific targeting of some money, if the donor so chooses. As always, DKE Fraternity and Deke Foundation greatly appreciate the support of all our alumni at any dollar level, to make it possible for us to be a resource to our undergraduate Brothers. Deke Foundation, 3001 Plymouth, Suite 205, Ann Arbor, MI 48105


SUMMER 2 0 17

table of

Volume 135, No. 2

CONTENTS 14

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DEKE FOUNDATION

5

DEKE NEWS

12

Chapter Consultant Update

18

Chapter News cover story

DEKE WINEMAKERS

29

colony news SPECIAL report

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8

Sam Heffner Special Feature

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Meet the DKE Board

PUBLISHED BY Delta Kappa Epsilon International 3001 Plymouth Road, Suite 205 Ann Arbor, MI 48105 (734) 302-4210 dke.org DKE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Michael Peters, Delta Delta ’90, Chairman Peter Tripp, Phi Gamma ’93, Vice Chairman Grant Burnyeat, Phi Alpha ’65, Treasurer Neilson Brown, Beta ’67, Mid American Regional Director Cory Crenshaw, Tau Lambda ’01, Southern Regional Director Bob Green, Eta ’69, Member At Large Dan Johnson, Sigma Alpha ’77, Member At Large Stan McMillan, Gamma ’89, Mid Atlantic Regional Director John McNeil, Psi ’79, Member At Large Matt McQueen, Beta Gamma ’03 Mason Morjikian, Lamdba ’88, Midwest Regional Director Kevin O’Bryon, Tau Lambda ’77, Southeast Regional Director Luther Soules IV, Tau Chi ’18, Undergraduate Member Terry Stewart, Phi Chi ’69, Member At Large Ross Wigle, Alpha Phi ’79, Member At Large Billy Treadway, Zeta Zeta ’74, Honorary President DKE HQ STAFF Executive Director: Doug Lanpher, Gamma ’77 Director of Marketing & Technology: Eric Holland, Kappa ’13 Chapter Consultants with areas of responsibility: Tommy Desch, Delta ’17; Pennsylvania & Mid-South Craig Dick, Phi Alpha ’16; Canada & Midwest Nyles Pollonias, Beta Gamma ’18; Southeast Brandon Rosales, Theta Chi ’17; New York & Northeast Turner Spears, Lambda Tau ’16; Southwest Clayton Trette, Iota ’16; Upstate New York Administrative Director: Jen Haidet, Miami University

Guest Column

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DEKE QUARTERLY STAFF Co-editor: Robert Alvis, Gamma ’74 Co-editor: Kevin Cuneo, Gamma ’77 Design: Scott-Goodman Design

departments

CONTRIBUTORS Kevin Cuneo, Gamma ’77 Parker Lawson, Iota ’15

Jay Paterno feature story

DKE DINERS

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HQ Report

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DEKES UNDER 30

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alumni spotlight

32

forgotten greats

34

alumni profile

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DEKES GIVING BACK

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MYSTIC CIRCLE

Clayton Trette, Iota ’15 Jay Paterno

The DEKE QUARTERLY is an educational journal published by Delta Kappa Epsilon in Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: DEKE Quarterly, 3001 Plymoth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Correspondence: Send to DEKE Quarterly 3001 Plymouth Rd., Suite 205, Ann Arbor, MI 48105. Manuscripts, literature, and letters should be addressed to the Editor. Submissions will not be returned. Please mark CONFIDENTIAL if material should not be published. Copyright ©2017 Delta Kappa Epsilon For change of address please contact DKE HQ and provide Full Name, Chapter, both old and new address. w w w.d ke.o rg

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HQ REPORT D

to bond with his pledge brothers, get to know the actives, learn about DKE history and the chapter’s history, and learn about the operation of the chapter so he can become a fully functioning active member as soon as he is initiated. These things can all happen without resorting to dangerous practices which demean the individual or put him in harm’s way.

ear Brothers in DKE,

Welcome to the Summer edition of The DEKE Quarterly. With the students gone for summer break, HQ takes on a different kind of busy. There is still plenty of activity, but I guess the pace is a little less frenetic. We have about ten weeks to catch up, review the past year, think about what we need to do differently, make plans for 2017-18 and get our three new Chapter Consultants trained and ready to go. But rather than use this space to talk about our summer activities, I’d like to shift direction in this issue, and talk about a subject that has been dominating the news for the past few months. I’m referring to hazing, and the need to completely eradicate it wherever it exists. The Penn State tragedy which resulted in the hazing death of a 19-year old Beta Theta Pi student brings this issue front and center to all of us, but that is only the most recent reminder. Hazing has many definitions, but for purposes of this article, let’s refer to hazing as any activity that New Members (formerly referred to as pledges) are expected to do that is not expected of current members, in order gain membership, especially that which creates any sort of risk to the student’s health or safety.

Doug Lanpher, Executive Director

“Whatever the rationale, hazing is not acceptable. Let’s state the obvious - never should anyone in DKE do anything to put a New Member in any situation where there is a risk to their health or safety.”

Some forms of hazing are intended to be challenging either physically or psychologically, but hazing can take other forms too -- humiliation or embarrassment, personal servitude, late night line-ups, “designated driver” duties (sometimes until 2 or 3 a.m.), sleep or sensory deprivation, house cleanups, and many other things. It’s a slippery slope to say that some forms of hazing are worse than others, because once the hazing culture gets embedded, it is too easy for the active members to step up the intensity from year to year. The whole mindset that new members (pledges) are second class citizens and must perform certain activities to be “worthy” of membership, or to “earn” their membership, needs to be eliminated. When a chapter extends a bid to a freshman to join DKE, that means he has earned his membership. The next few weeks should be a time for him

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Some major fraternities have entirely eliminated pledging. SAE is the most recent example. These fraternities do their educational programming AFTER initiation, when the new members are (theoretically at least) on equal status with everyone else. DKE does not support that concept, because a safe and well-run New Member Education (NME) program can be very constructive and a positive, memorable experience. The NME program, which averages about six weeks, is also a time for the New Member to evaluate his decision, and decide if he wants to make a lifelong commitment to his new fraternity. (Although DKE does not support this, I would not be surprised to see some universities take the decision out of our hands, by banning all NME programs and requiring immediate initiation.)

Here is another key point. Young men, college freshmen typically, often do not view what they are going through as hazing, and sometimes they even enjoy it. They can see what the fraternity has to offer, and they are willing to put up with some abuse - even if they know it’s hazing, in order to get in. Some have been through some sort of hazing in high school sports or elsewhere. But because the new members themselves do not object does not make it ok. Many colleges and universities welcome Greek Life on their campuses, but how can we expect them to continue doing so if they see stories like what happened at Penn State? The rationales that exist for hazing are legendary: • It’s a bonding experience; it made us really close-knit. • We went through it and nothing went wrong, so why can’t they? • They have to earn their membership. • We have to find out if they are worthy. • Their membership will be more meaningful to them if they have to go through it.


DEKE NEWS

• • • • • • •

The other chapters on campus are a lot tougher than we are. It prepares them for membership. We have to find out if they really want it. We never do anything that would put them in any real danger. They’ll appreciate their membership more in the long run. We don’t make them do anything they don’t want to do. Our alumni won’t come around any more if we stop hazing.

And of course the old standby - “It’s part of our tradition.”But all of this is easily refutable. Anyone can design a New Member Education program which accomplishes all of its objectives without resorting to practices which demean other individuals, treat them with disrespect, impede their academic success, or put them at risk to their health or safety. Bonding is not achievable only through hazing. Whatever the rationale, hazing is not acceptable. Let’s state the obvious - never should anyone in DKE do anything to put a New Member in any situation where there is a risk to their health or safety. But beyond that, hazing demeans the individual, and I believe it also demeans the one doing the hazing. By robbing young men of their dignity, it is a cancer on the culture and the values of a chapter. Hazing is not just innocent hijinks, or boys being boys. It’s illegal in 44 states and across Canada. Young men are getting prosecuted for hazing and this trend will continue. It results in ruined lives, closed chapters, lawsuits. Some of the young men involved in the Penn State case face serious prison time if convicted. DKE prohibits our chapters from hazing, and we will take firm action against violators when we learn of it. We closed a chapter this summer for hazing violations. If you are a chapter alumni adviser, please step in and end it, or report it to Deke HQ. You should make sure this is not occurring at your chapter. If you are an active member and you see it happening, call HQ or the Hazing Hotline (DKE is a member). It’s anonymous. The Hazing Hotline number is 888-668-4293. Remember, Dekes are supposed to be Gentlemen, Scholars, and Jolly Good Fellows. Gentlemen treat others with respect and dignity. We expect our members and our chapters to live up to that standard.

In the Bonds, Doug Lanpher, Gamma ’77 Executive Director, Delta Kappa Epsilon

DKE GEARS UP FOR 175TH ANNIVERSARY – SAVE THE DATE! JUNE 22, 2019 The 175th Anniversary of the founding of our noble brotherhood is rapidly approaching. The small band of brothers who congregated at Yale to form Delta Kappa Epsilon, did so in June of 1844. In less than two years, Dekes will gather to celebrate this historic occasion. There will be a weekend long celebration in the New York City area, capped off by a dinner at the Yale Club, on June 22nd, 2019, exactly 175 years after our Fraternity got its humble start. You will be seeing more information from us over the next several months, but for now, please keep this date on your calendar and make plans to attend. In addition, we are planning to hold regional dinners in the spring and early summer of 2019, so Dekes from all over who cannot make it to New York, can celebrate locally. The top DKE cities in terms of alumni presence - besides NYC/tri-state area, are: Boston, Washington DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Orleans, Mobile, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit, Houston, and Dallas. We are seeking volunteers to help organize dinners in those cities from March-May of 2019. If you are interested, please email eric@dke.org and he will be in touch.

LIVINGSTON ADDRESSES DKE CLUB OF NYC BUSINESS MEETING Former House of Representatives member Robert Livingston, Tau Lambda-Tulane ’66, offered entertaining insights from his years as a congressional leader at the 132nd annual business meeting of the DKE Club of New York. Brother Livingston is the founder/ managing member of the Livingston Group, one of the leading government relations firms in Washington, D.C. Members received positive news about the club’s operations, which continue at a successful rate. New Membership chairman Eric Dubowsky reported a 13-percent increase in DKE Brothers who have joined the club in the past year. Also, Brother Robert Cudd, treasurer, said the club’s investment portfolio gained 7 percent in the period from April, 2016 to April, 2017. On the social front, events such as the Fall Dinner Dance and the Holiday Party attracted large crowds in 2016. This year’s Dinner Dance is scheduled for Oct. 27th, while the Holiday Party is set for Dec. 14th.

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DEKE NEWS

LETTER TO THE EDITORS We would like to thank The DEKE Quarterly for the profile article in the Spring 2017 issue about our son, Andrew Garwood, who passed away on January 12, 2016 from brain cancer. Michael Dulan, Phi Rho ’15 and Matt Costantino, Phi Rho ’14 did a wonderful job describing Andrew’s drive to support the causes he cared so deeply about as well as his enthusiasm for life. The Phi Rho chapter of DKE has been there at every turn to support Andrew and our family. Many of the Dekes remain in close contact with us. Their steady support is deeply appreciated. With the recent unfortunate incident at a different PSU fraternity, we would like to express our opinion that the Penn State Dekes we know are an entirely different caliber of men. We feel privileged to be associated with this group of young men. As mentioned in the spring 2017 article, the Andrew Garwood Strong Foundation’s inaugural golf outing took place in June near State College. The event raised over $13,000 in support of brain cancer awareness through the Foundation. We would like to thank all of the contributors to this cause and in particular the members of the Phi Rho chapter of DKE who organized this event. Steve & Terri Garwood Glen Ellyn, IL

DKE FIREFIGHTER RESCUES DROWNING MAN New Jersey firefighter Craig Konkle, a DKE brother from Alpha MuRowan, recently received a valor award from the 200 Club of Somerset County in New Jersey for helping to rescue a man who had fallen through the ice on the Delaware & Raritan Canal. Francis “Buck” Clarke had fallen into the canal as he tried to rescue his sister’s dog and floated out into the middle of the icy waters. Rescue efforts by Bound Brook and South Bound Brook police and fire departments proved fruitless, as Clarke struggled to stay afloat for nearly 30 minutes in the choppy, freezing water. Bound Brook police officer Jason Gianotto finally raced home and grabbed a dry suit, life jacket and rope. Then he and Konkle hopped into a boat and rowed out to Clarke. “He was pretty much to the point that he couldn’t grab anything,” Konkle said. “So, we had to go and get him.” Konkle said Clarke was exhausted when they pulled him into the boat, and his body temperature had plunged so low that his life was in danger. Clarke survived after receiving emergency treatment from paramedics at the scene. Somerset County officials praised Konkle for his bravery. 6 The Deke Quarterly | Summer 2017

CHARLIE KINNEY GETS HIS DAY One month after his 90th birthday, Charlie Kinney, who has supported his Omega Chi Texas chapter for so many years, was honored with a special resolution from DKE’s Board of Directors. The framed document was presented to this beloved Deke on June 30. He turned 90 on May 28, which from now will be known to his fellow Dekes as “Charlie Kinney Day.” At the annual non-profit golf tournament and fundraiser for Raising Academic Performance, held in San Felipe, Texas, Kinney was honored by DKE Brothers Perry Ruthven, Carl King, Jim Berly, and Lee Hancock. They led the crowd in toasting Charlie for his numerous charitable activities and his lifelong loyalty to DKE.

ROBERT ‘RUSTY’ BARKERDING RECEIVES MAJOR AWARD The World Trade Center of New Orleans recently honored Robert “Rusty” Barkerding, Jr., Zeta Zeta ’63, with the prestigious C. Alvin Bertel Award. The award was established in 1967 and is presented each year to an individual who has made significant contributions to Louisiana’s port community. Brother Barkerding, who is president of Admiral Security Services, has worked in the maritime industry for more than 50 years. Barkerding currently serves as chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans. He is also director of New Orleans’ Board of Trade and president emeritus of the Propeller Club of New Orleans. In 1969, Brother Barkerding’s father, Robert R. Barkerding Sr., also received the Bertel Award


BAYER MEMORIAL FUND CONTINUES TO GROW Psi Delta Brothers at Wake Forest University have already raised more than $30,000 for the Jordan Bayer Memorial Scholarship Fund, and they are looking ahead with excitement to the Birdies for Bayer Golf Tournament. That event is scheduled for Sept. 15th during Wake Forest’s homecoming weekend. Wake Forest Brothers continue to open their hearts as they remember Jordan, who died in a car accident in 2015. Psi Delta Brothers have kept in close contact with Jordan’s family and stood with them at Wake Forest graduation ceremonies this year when Jordan’s diploma was awarded posthumously. Their good works drew national attention in May when Jordan’s aunt, Bridget Foley, who is the longtime executive editor of Women’s Wear Daily, wrote a moving tribute to Jordan and his DKE Brothers on her website. An edited version follows.

Many institutions give lip service to “community.” Wake Forest University lives it — the brothers of Delta Kappa Epsilon included By Bridget Foley, May 13, 2017 Frat boy. Among nonparticipants in Greek campus life, that distinction might conjure comic satire à la “Animal House,” in which good-time guys throw toga parties and food fights. The circumstances of this young’s man death are horrific; the impact on his family, unspeakable. That’s the side of fraternity life about which the general public most often hears. There’s another side. Until 18 months ago, I was fraternity agnostic, with no significant personal exposure and no strong opinion one way or the other on this particular time-honored approach to male bonding and its less notorious female counterpart. I understood, and continue to understand, calls for the total abolition of fraternities on campuses in light of wholly preventable tragedies. Conversely, I see how frat boys fall into a category with clergy, cops and doctors, the good ones often assumed in concert with the bad. On Sunday, several members of my family will travel to Wake Forest University. It’s my nephew Jordan’s graduation. Only Jordan won’t be there. His spirit will be there — and his memory. Wake Forest invited our family to the commencement, during which Jordan will be awarded a Degree in Memoriam. His parents, Liz and Steve, had reservations about accepting, not only because of the toll it will inevitably take on them. They worried that being there would inject a sadness into what should be a day of pure joy for Jordan’s friends and their families. The school countered that Jordan should be celebrated along with his class. Jordan rushed Delta Kappa Epsilon as a freshman, and the fraternity quickly proved a strong, happy base, its sense of “brotherhood”

a palpable reality. That’s not to give short shrift to his friends outside of the fraternity; they’ve all been remarkable. But there is power in organized community, and when marshaled for good, it’s uplifting to experience. On November 5, 2015, after what he felt was a great internship interview at Goldman Sachs, Jordan flew from New York into Charlotte, where he’d left his car. He never made it back to school. The next day, with our family gathered by him at Carolinas Medical Center, Liz said that some of Jordan’s friends were coming to see him. An hour or so later, with Liz and Steve in Jordan’s room, I exited the family gathering room to see my niece Nora sitting with about five somber-faced young men. How wonderful, I thought, that, almost instantly, these boys dropped what they were doing to make the 90-plus minute trip. They sat, patient in their sadness. As they waited, more kids arrived, and more, until the hallway was packed with young people. I don’t know how many came, 50 maybe, an incredible showing of love and support and community. The Dekes and others, some boys, some girls, talked to Jordan, to each other and to us. None rushed away. That powerful memory captures just how much Jordan was loved outside of our family, and how deeply entrenched he was in the Wake community. But it wasn’t the end. For the funeral and after, the Dekes mobilized. Upwards of 100 Wake students attended, including many who flew in from junior year abroad. Days after the funeral, a core group of Dekes visited the family at home. As night fell, the boys performed “Wild Horses,” a song with special resonance to the fraternity. In February, the Dekes held an exquisite memorial service on campus that included the dedication of a bench in Jordan’s name. It’s inscription: “Jordan Thomas Bayer, ’17/Forever Compassionate, Forever Brave, Forever Loved/Dedicated by his DKE Brothers/Friends from the Heart, Forever,” the last line the Dekes’ motto. A post-service reception followed at the fraternity house. There, a mural depicts Jordan as Bambi, one of two nicknames bestowed in recognition of his sweet nature. The other: Baby J. In October, the Dekes inaugurated a memorial scholarship with a golf tournament, Birdies for Bayer, followed by a reception and auction, planned and overseen to perfection. On November 6, to mark the first anniversary of Jordan’s death, several students led by Sidney Rivers, a member of Chi Omega sorority, ran the New York City Marathon in his honor, raising more than $24,000 for Memorial Sloan Kettering. Not all of Jordan’s friends are members of the fraternity or its closest sororities. But DKE has centered Wake’s mourning and celebration of Jordan, manifesting the language of community and brotherhood into concrete, proactive deeds — deeds not limited to major group activity. Liz frequently receives “just checking in” texts from Jordan’s friends, as well as visits when Boston-area Dekes are home from school. On Monday, Wake Forest will graduate its class of 2017. The occasion will mark Jordan’s last known milestone. It may also be the last time that his Deke classmates are all together in one place. Individually, they will continue to grow and, God willing, grow old. Some among them will ascend to greatness; all will face challenges to their belief systems and ethics. At times, their better selves will stumble; we all do. Luckily, they can draw from proven reserves of kindness, fortitude and gumption, egged on by an angel on their shoulder, Baby J. They are Friends from the Heart, Forever. Congratulations Wake Forest Class of 2017, Dekes and Non-Dekes. The complete version of the story is available at http://wwd.com/fashion news/fashion features/bridget-foleys-diary-sometimes-frat-boys-get-it-right-10886871

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SPECIAL REPORT

DKE MOURNS THE DEATH OF CHAIRMAN SAM HEFFNER AT 82 Delta Kappa Epsilon Brothers of all ages are mourning the death of Sam Heffner, a real estate developer, philanthropist and chairman of our Fraternity’s Board of Directors. Sam died April 8 of complications from a head injury he suffered in a vehicle accident. He was 82 years old, but, because of his energy and deep interest in everything around him, seemed much younger. Sam earned a bachelor’s degree in 1956 in architecture from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he pledged DKE and would remain a loyal and devoted Brother for the rest of his life. He was an active alumnus at RPI, serving for 15 years as the chairman of the school’s board of trustees. The alumni building on campus is named for Sam. “Sam was the kind of person who, when asked, would throw his whole body and spirit into every cause in which he believed,” said DKE Executive Director Doug Lanpher. “Our Fraternity is fortunate that Sam loved being a Deke, and that he served us so well as chairman of our Board. Sam loved people, especially young people, and he took great pride in the reestablishment and resurgence of our Psi Omega Chapter at RPI.” Former DKE Chairman Stan McMillan remembers Sam as a man who blazed his own trail. “Sam followed me as chairman of DKE in 2014, but he succeeded no one. The men Sam met as a freshman at RPI 65 years ago remained his close friends and Brothers, and together they cemented the DKE motto, ‘Friends from the heart forever.’” Ted St. George, Psi Omega ’16, recalled Sam’s interest in restarting the chapter at RPI. “I don’t think Sam ever stopped trying to reestablish Psi Omega,” he said. “I remember early on that he arranged for a gathering of alumni from the chapter to meet with the re-founders. Most of the guys were from Sam’s era at RPI and you could tell how close he was to them. It made a big impression on us.” Following his graduation from RPI, Sam served in the Air Force and 8 The Deke Quarterly | Summer 2017

then joined U.S. Steel in Pittsburgh before moving to Baltimore, where he worked in the real estate division of McCormick & Co. He helped develop the Hunt Valley warehouses and manufacturing buildings. Jacques Kelly, writing in the Baltimore Sun, observed that Sam was a pilot who flew aircraft throughout his life. In the 1960s, when he would fly into what is now Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall Airport, he took note of the undeveloped aeas around it. He recalled that much of the land was taken up by pig farms and that cows grazed near the runways of what he described as a “sleepy airport.” Sam eventually became a partner in Dickinson-Heffner and began building a series of warehouses, office buildings and retail complexes. In 1977, Sam took on a partner and established Heffner & Weber. Over the next two decades the firm was responsible for the sprawling development that mushroomed around Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Colleagues said Sam would surround himself with talented people and then lead them to one success after another in Maryland real estate. He also donated his time to numerous charitable projects, including the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, spearheading a $54.7 million fundraising campaign. Sam was also a major donor to the hospital. Delta Kappa Epsilon remained close to Sam’s heart all his life. “He would do anything to help his DKE Brothers, and he was beloved in return,” Lanpher said. A skilled golfer and sailor, Sam pursued both hobbies in Maine and Florida, where he lived in recent years. He was also active at the Tralee Golf Club in Kerry, Ireland. Sam, who is survived by two sons, was preceded in death in 2015 by his wife of 55 years, Gail Elaine Porter. “He was a Deke’s Deke who will be greatly missed,” Lanpher concluded.


DEKES U NDE R 30

LEE RUMPF THETA ZETA, ’12 CALIFORNIA DEKE JOINS GEORGETOWN CREW TEAM AS COACH

It took Lee Rumpf, a 28-year-old Cal Berkeley graduate, just one year of working on Capitol Hill to decide that his future might lie in coaching. A skilled member of the rowing team at the University of California, Berkeley, he studied political science and, upon graduation, accepted a position on U.S. Sen. Russell Feingold’s staff in Washington, D.C. “As I worked on the Hill, I thought I’d stay on track to go to law school,” Lee said. But on the side, he kept his hand in rowing, coaching the freshmen crew team at St. Alban’s School. He also coached several Washington, D.C., teams, leading the Thompson Boat Center team to a national championship. “I found myself having a greater impact working as a coach, positively affecting lives, than I did as the low man on the totem pole on Sen. Feingold’s staff.” So, in 2014, he accepted a position as an assistant coach for George Washington University’s crew team. Over a three-year period, Rumpf helped build the Colonials into a national power. Earlier this year, Georgetown’s director of men’s rowing, Lucas Agnini, reached out to Lee. He had coached Rumpf when both men were at Cal Berkeley. Now Lee is coaching Georgetown’s lightweight men’s rowing team, which consists of athletes who are not heavier than 160 pounds. Already, he has proven to be an energetic coach who is having great success as a recruiter. Rumpf can’t offer scholarships to the students he recruits, but he can help them get into Georgetown where they will compete against the elite of college crew teams.

“I served as pledge trainer, helped the social chairman, and then was elected president of Theta Zeta,” he said. “The skills I learned have already helped me and I expect will continue to do so for the rest of my life.”

“So much of this parallels my career as an undergraduate Deke,” Lee said. “Midway through my sophomore year, I had decided to take a break from crew. It was difficult because in rowing you form a close bond with your teammates and you become like brothers. When I stopped rowing, I felt an immediate loss of that camaraderie. But, as luck would have it, a friend who I had known on my freshman dorm called to invite me to a barbeque at the DKE House. After deciding to go, I found the guys to be welcoming, hilarious, and cool.” Lee said he fit right in and soon found himself in positions of leadership at the chapter. “I served as pledge trainer, helped the social chairman, and then was elected president of Theta Zeta,” he said. “The skills I learned have already helped me and I expect will continue to do so for the rest of my life.” As a boy growing up in Arlington, Va., Lee had played goalie on many soccer teams, following in the footsteps of his father, who had been an excellent goal tender at the University of Colorado. “Dad taught me, as a goalie, to observe first, control and then react,” he said. “I guess I was instilled with this ‘manager’s eye’ from an early age.” In high school, he switched to crew, which helped lead him across the nation to California. “I’ve been fortunate to learn important lessons every step of the way,” Lee said, “and I am especially grateful to all the friends and brothers I’ve made through my time in DKE. It seems wherever I travel on recruiting trips, I always connect with DKE Brothers.”

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Meet the DKE BOARD This is the first of a four part special feature profiling the 16 members of the DKE Board of Directors

MICHAEL PETERS,

DELTA DELTA ’90, CHAIRMAN

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ichael, who recently moved up from treasurer to chairman of DKE’s board, has served as a director since 2012. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, he moved back there after years in Chicago, New York, and London. Michael is a 1990 graduate of the University of Chicago, where he was a founding father of DKE’s rechartered Delta Delta Chapter. After getting his undergraduate degree in Public Policy Studies, Michael received a Masters degree in Real Estate Finance at New York University. He spent 20 years as an investment banker, mostly in New York and London, and ran the European and Middle Eastern office for the bank’s real estate investment banking group. He raised over $11 billion in capital for projects around the world. Michael now runs a consulting business based in Cleveland where he is currently focused on innovative ways to finance and structure sustainability projects. Married and the father of two daughters, Michael once spent a year traveling with his wife to 24 countries on four continents. He is past-president of New York City’s University of Chicago Alumni Club, and has won two awards for historical renovations in Cleveland buildings. “Since becoming a Deke over 28 years ago, I’ve been able to remain close to my fellow founding fathers while also becoming friends with new generations of Dekes,” he said. “Some of my closest friends today are Dekes that I never shared the campus with, but because of our connection in DKE we had an instant level of understanding and trust.” Michael believes that DKE is fortunate to have a well-represented group of alumni leaders on the board and a very talented staff. “My goals as board chairman are to reinforce and institutionalize the progress we’ve made over the past several years, support our staff who have made this progress possible, and to prepare DKE for a rapidly-changing university landscape.”

10 The Deke Quarterly | Summer 2017

STANFORD McMILLAN, GAMMA ’89

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tan McMillan’s service on DKE’s board of directors dates back to 1986 when he was elected Undergraduate Director at the Fraternity’s convention in Austin, Texas. He was only 19 years old, but, because of his enthusiasm, energy, and the skill he demonstrated at understanding the needs and wants of his DKE Brothers, he was invited to re-join the board 13 years later. He is fast coming up on two decades of service on

DKE’s board. A native and resident of Spartanburg, S.C., Stan started his professional career as a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley and is currently First Vice-President, Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist, Senior Investment Management Consultant, and Financial Planning Specialist. He serves on the boards of many non-profit organizations in his community and is known throughout South Carolina as a person to call when you need someone to lead an important project. This Vanderbilt Deke served as chairman of Delta Kappa Epsilon’s board of directors from 2008 to 2013, helping to lead the Fraternity through a bleak period and returning it to solid financial footing. The father of two teenage children, Stan enjoys live music and lists offshore angling, water skiing, and landscaping among his favorite hobbies. “I have derived so much satisfaction over the years from meeting other Dekes and sharing the spirit and loyalty they hold for our Brotherhood,” Stan said. “Their stories are captivating and they always energize me to work harder for DKE.” In the coming years, Stan sees Delta Kappa Epsilon making an even greater mark throughout the United States and Canada at academically selective college and universities.


OF DIRECTORS Neilson brown, beta ’67

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he Brothers serving on DKE’s board of directors in 2014 took note of Neilson Brown’s longtime devotion and successful leadership of his beloved Beta Chapter at the University of North Carolina. For years he’s been known at Beta as a builder and communicator who brought out the best in his alumni and undergraduate Brothers. After his nomination to the Board, he took an even deeper interest in the active chapters and alumni brothers, helping to develop and focus on DKE’s mission in the years to come. A retired portfolio manager now living in Chapel Hill, Neilson in 2001 co-founded the Atlanta-based money manager, Cornerstone Investment Partners. He graduated from the University of North Carolina with a bachelor’s degree and then attained his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Married and the father of a son and daughter, he also has a grandson. Neilson was born and raised in Connecticut, but fell in love with North Carolina during his undergraduate years. He follows all UNC sports and is an avid golfer. “I’m convinced that the future of DKE is very bright,” Neilson said. “I am in full agreement with the Board’s focus on risk management via education. We need to help train our undergraduates to assume leadership roles to best serve their chapters and, indirectly, the missions of the respective institutions where the chapters are located. Alumni boards can be of great help to the elected leaders of the chapters. I believe the role of the International Board should be to provide guidance to DKE Brothers of all ages – undergraduate and alumni. We should work to better serve existing alumni boards and to establish new ones where needed.”

MASON MORJIKIAN, LAMBDA ’88

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ason Morjikian has been doing double duty for DKE for years. He serves on Delta Kappa Epsilon’s International Board of Directors and for more than 20 years as a director and leader on the DKE Club Board in New York City. He grew up in Chappaqua, N.Y., and currently resides in Pelham with his wife and son. Mason is the epitome of the saying “If you want to get something done, ask a busy person.” In addition to all the time he devotes to his Fraternity, he also volunteers as a mentor for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of New York. Professionally, Mason serves as U.S. managing director for Tai Ping Carpet, and his career path has taken him through India, China, Nepal, and Thailand. Mason has been devoted to DKE since his undergraduate days at Kenyon, where he served as Lambda’s vice president. “My work for DKE has been very rewarding on many levels,” he said. “The organizations can have their challenges, and there can be moments of frustration, but the benefits are tremendous. DKE International continues to over-deliver on its promise of helping to mold gentlemen, scholars, and jolly good fellows, and as a board we need to honor our rich history and founding objectives while considering the current campus environment. We have to be relevant to a new generation and simultaneously our most passionate alumni.” On his double role for the Fraternity, Mason says: “You get to meet and work with incredible men as you address intriguing challenges for great organizations. Sign me up. I’ll take that job any day!”

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SPECIAL REPORT

DKE BANKS ON EXPERIENCE OF SECOND-YEAR CHAPTER CONSULTANTS

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elta Kappa Epsilon benefit us in so many ways in is blessed that three the coming year.” of the four chapter One of the highlights Dick consultants who joined the remembers well during his staff in 2016 are returning for first year on the road was a a second tour of duty. Turner visit to DKE’s Tau Delta chapSpears, Clayton Trette, and ter at the University of the Craig Dick, by virtue of their South in Sewanee, TN. “It’s a experiences on the firing line, beautiful place, located high have much to offer the Fraterup in the mountains, and the nity in the coming school year. school and our chapter have Spears, 23, assisted so many neat traditions,” he DKE chapters in New York, said. “The Dekes there are New Jersey, Delaware, and a small, close-knit group of Pennsylvania during his guys who belong to a house first year on staff. “Coming that has so much character. up from Tennessee, where I The Brothers were welcoming Clayton Trette, Iota ‘16, Turner Spears, Lambda Tau ‘16, grew up, New York seemed and eager to learn and impleCraig Dick, Phi Alpha ‘16 like a different world, but it ment the new ritual. It was worked out pretty well,” he said. “Not only just a special place with very special people.” Dick, who will soon turn 24, had grown was the region a really cool place to travel, it During his time as an undergraduate at up in Qatar and traveled throughout the allowed me to see how different a Northern the University of Tennessee, Spears worked world before he decided to attend the Unichapter could be from the ones in the South. as DKE’s new member educator. He estabversity of British Columbia. “Pledging DKE’s At the same time, I saw similarities of what lished a committee system that enabled Phi Alpha chapter changed my life, and it led makes a great DKE chapter, and those traits more Brothers to get involved. “We were me to this dream job,” he said. “I’d visited transcend regional boundaries.” trained to standard on how the new member many parts of the world, but in my first year Trette, who is also 23, worked with chapeducation process should be conducted, as a DKE consultant, I ventured to cities in ters in the central and western U.S., as well which helped build continuity for the followthe South, Southeast, and Mid-South, where as Canadian chapters in British Columbia, ing years,” he said. the chapters were located for which I had Alberta, and Manitoba. He showed skills at Spears said that at the beginning of responsibility. These were all places where connecting with chapter officers and leading their first year, he and his fellow consulI had never been. It proved to be quite an them to greater success. “Following our tants had set up recruitment initiatives to experience, and a great one in every way.” Brother Beta Academy in January, Carson help DKE membership grow by 10 percent. DKE Executive Director Doug Lanpher Fick, president of our chapter at Michigan “Through the steadfast commitment by a lot said he’s pleased these talented Brothers State, reached out to ask about the posof people, we ended up growing by nearly have signed on for a second year. “Serving sibility of having a retreat, along with his 20 percent,” he said proudly. “We’ve helped as a chapter consultant is a terrific experiexecutive team, in Ann Arbor,” Clayton said. beef up our ability to educate our members, ence that helps a young man develop his “Seven members from the chapter joined me and have worked to improve communicapersonal and professional skills in so many on a weekend and we set some goals, did tions between undergraduate members and ways,” he said. Perhaps Lanpher was thinksome training, and made plans for the spring DKE headquarters.” ing of his own development as a Deke and semester. The hard work of those Brothers Each of the three consultants will have as a professional during his first year as helped turn that chapter around, which was new assignments for 2017-18, including Trette a chapter consultant for the Fraternity in gratifying for everyone to see. I think that was residing in Ithaca, N.Y., where he will help to 1977. “Turner, Clayton, and Craig learned so one of the highlights of my year.” restart DKE’s Delta Chi Cornell chapter. much in their first year. That experience will

12 The Deke Quarterly | Summer 2017


FEATURE STORY

DEKES ENJOY MEALS THAT TASTE BEST AFTER MIDNIGHT

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or decades, it’s been tradition for Dekes at practically every chapter to head out, after a long night of studying or celebrating, for a bite to eat. Sometimes the choices of cuisine at that hour run to the more adventurous or even to the slightly raunchy, but that’s half the fun. Here is the first installment in a series of Deke Quarterly stories about DKE DINERS, beloved places frequented by Brothers, and why these spots still conjure good memories – even if they occasionally cause a bit of indigestion. We’d like to hear from Brothers of all ages who want share recollections of late-night places frequented over the years by members of their chapters. You can write to us at quarterly@DKE.org.

When garbage hits the spot The Dekes at Beta Phi-Rochester never stand on ceremony. For years, they’ve topped off an evening by downing a large “Garbage Plate” at a place called Nick Tahou Hots, which proudly bills itself as “the home of the garbage plate.” So, what exactly is a garbage plate? Well, you start with two hamburger patties and top them

with a choice of two sides – usually some combination of home fries, macaroni salad, and beans. The contents are often laced heavily with ketchup and hot sauce, and mixed together. Then the fun begins. The garbage plate is considered a great late-night snack, and Nick Tahou Hots, a legendary place located near campus, is usually packed on weekends from midnight to 4 a.m. Other restaurants in Rochester have tried to get in on the act, but because the garbage plate is a trademarked name, they’ve had to rename their concoctions. It’s why you come across such dishes as Dumpster plates, Messy Plate, Sloppy Plate, Dog Dish, and Plat du Refuse. But Beta Phi Dekes will tell you they are no substitutes for the garbage plates served at Nick Tahou Hots. The history behind the garbage plates is interesting. In 1918, Alexander Tahou opened a restaurant in Rochester called Hots and Potatoes. On the menu was a dish that included just about everything the kitchen could cook – meat and potatoes with a few sides thrown in to make a one-plate meal that would stick to your ribs. Alexander’s son, Nick, took over the restaurant and updated the name to garbage plate. Nick died in 1997, after running the place for over 50 years. Ask the Beta Phi Dekes and they’ll tell you that the rest is history.

Late-night trips to Mary’s Head south to Tennessee and Gamma Dekes at Vanderbilt of a certain age will rave about “The Q.” That’s their nickname for Mary’s Old Fashioned Bar-B-Que Pit on Jefferson Street in North Nashville, a landmark that’s been in business for more than 50 years. Gamma Dekes would drive over to Mary’s for a pound of delightfully seasoned pork shoulder, made extra hot, and they’d always ask for extra bread. Then they’d go back to the DKE House and fork the barbecue, which is hot enough to set off alarm bells, onto the bread. It was a treat like no other, Gamma Brothers insist. Today, Dekes in their 50s and 60s remember Mary’s with great fondness, although many will admit that their days of eating such fiery hot barbeque in the middle of the night are long gone. Mary’s after midnight is strictly for young Dekes. Mary herself passed away some years ago, and her restaurant, which looks rather unassuming, is now run by her granddaughter and grandsonin-law. Dekes in the 1970s and ‘80s would order their ‘Q’ at old walk-up service windows on the building’s front façade, but they’re no longer in use. You must go inside to order your food. It’s well worth the drive to North Nashville.

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COVE R STory

TWO DEKES DISCOVER JOYS of MAKING WINE by Kevin Cuneo, Gamma ’77

Richard Becker and his wife Bunny in the library of their Becker Vineyards

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ou can tell by our songs and stories that Delta Kappa Epsilon brothers enjoy toasting our Fraternity with a glass of good wine. We even have our own DKE Wine Club. It’s all part of our “jolly good fellow” heritage, you might say. Through the years, several Dekes have become major players in North America’s burgeoning wine industry, and at least two DKE brothers have built excellent reputations for the prize-winning wineries they own and operate. Here is the story of Gene Pierce’s Glenora Wine Cellars in upstate New York’s Finger Lakes region, and Becker Vineyards in the Hill Country of Texas, owned by Dr. Richard Becker. We’d like to hear from other Brothers who make wine, but in the meantime the success of Brothers Pierce and Becker will inspire you to raise a cup to DKE.

Gene Pierce at his Glenora Vineyard

Glenora Wine Cellars Glenora Wine Cellars co-owner and president Gene Pierce, who was raised on his family’s New York grape and poultry farm, said he learned an awful lot from his father. “In many ways you can’t beat growing up on a farm,” he said. “But it was a small farm – too small for the two of us to work after I graduated from Cornell.” So, Pierce and his partners became involved in a fruit farm, selling grapes to wineries in New York State. “Unfortunately, those wineries no longer exist. One of our best customers, the Taylor Wine Co., which was family run, was purchased by Coca Cola and later sold to Seagrams. It was never quite the same after that.” When New York’s Farm Winery Act of 1976 was passed, allowing smaller wineries to sell their products at retail prices, Pierce and his partners seized the opportunity to open the first winery on Seneca Lake. Glenora Wine Cellars received instant acclaim in wine circles when its initial vintage won several Continued on following page

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small café within the winery.” As tourism continued to grow, and the post-World War II motels proved inadequate to meet the demand for upscale lodging, Pierce built the Inn at Glenora. “We’re unique because we have the only inn and restaurant located in a vineyard,” he said. Today, Glenora Wine Cellars, which Pierce owns with his partner, Scott Welliver (the two met at a sailboat race in the early 1970s), produces more than 45,000 cases of wine annually. It offers daily wine tastings and cellar tours, as well as fine dining. The Inn, with its atmosphere of simple elegance, provides stunning views of the vineyards and the scenic rural New York landscape. “I’ve been fortunate in many ways,” said Pierce, who has traveled extensively to South America, Glenora Wine Cellars in Europe and New Zealand to observe wine making New York’s upstate Finger operations. “First, I received a good education on Lakes region. the farm, and then Cornell provided me with an excellent formal education. I also fell in with the Delta Chi Dekes – a diverse group of really good guys. Over the years I’ve come to know a lot of good people through DKE.” Pierce, who remains close to his Delta Chi Brothers, often hosts groups of young Continued Cornell students, who are impressed to get a personal tour of medals at the New York State Fair wine competition. It didn’t the winery by the owner. take long for the farm winery to become a commercial producer A trip through the winery region in the Finger Lakes would and win recognition in Wine Spectator magazine as one of the not be complete without a stop at Glenora Wine Cellars. “It’s world’s top wineries. Today, it’s known for its award-winning a Scottish name that means ‘golden glen,’ and I know Glenora Rieslings and sparkling wines. Pierce, who also owns a winery on sounds a lot better than Pierce Winery,” the proud Deke joked. Cayuga Lake, said his favorites among Glenora’s wines are the But the most impressive thing at this Finger Lakes destination, chardonnay and the brut sparkling wine. besides the president, is the wine, which top experts in the “Fortunately, I know grapes and saw immediately that we industry rate among the very best. have excellent grapes,” said the 72-year-old Pierce. “You can take great grapes and make good wines, but you can’t take good Becker Vineyards grapes and make great wines. Seneca and Cayuga Lakes are the Southern Living magazine describes it best: “The small towns two biggest lakes in the region, and because they are so deep, and two-lane roads that fan out westward from Austin make they rarely freeze. We’re close to water, which moderates the up the heart of the Texas Hill Country. There you will find temperatures in winter and retards bud growth on the vines in unexpected gems such as rivers that wind through stands of spring, so our grapes aren’t adversely affected by a late freeze.” bald cypress trees, shimmering lakes cupped in limestone Pierce originally hired a professional winemaker, who had canyons and rustic German towns.” You will also find Becker graduated from Cornell, and for the next three years, before the Vineyards, an excellent winery with an “old world” feel. winemaker moved on to California, Glenora’s reputation began Housed in a 10,000-square-foot reproduction of a late 19th to thrive. It has continued to grow in the succeeding years, century German stone barn, the winery, established in 1995, thanks in large part to Pierce’s foresight, his intuitive feel for keeps growing at a rapid pace. making quality wines, and solid business sense. “It’s always been Dr. Richard Becker, MD, a 76-year-old Omega Chi DKE a building process, and I think there were only ten wineries on brother, and his wife, Bunny, were searching for a getaway all of the Finger Lakes when we started,” Pierce said. “Today, from their home in San Antonio, when they discovered a 19th there are about 60 wineries on Seneca Lake alone, and between century German log cabin farmhouse in the Hill Country. 130-140 on the Finger Lakes.” Situated on 46 acres of raw land with fallow fields of deep sand In the first decade, Glenora Wine Cellars was not a and Precambrian granitic soils, it sat approximately 1,500 feet destination. “As more wineries became established, we saw above sea level. It was also surrounded by native Mustang grapes, there wasn’t a restaurant in the immediate area or on the which are a time honored and essential component of the wine trail,” Pierce said. “In 1987-88, we expanded to include a 16 The Deke Quarterly | Summer 2017


local German heritage. Thoughts of a vineyard and “maybe” a 1,500-case winery began to take shape. “I’d like to tell you I had a business plan, but the truth is that I just like to grow things,” said Becker, an endocrinologist of more than 46 years. “My wife is a very good cook and we’ve always had gardens, but the growth of the winery is unexpected. I’ve always liked wine, especially French wine because it tastes good. We got lucky with our soil and the climate here, which is very Mediterranean and great for growing grapes and peaches. We have some beautiful flowers, too. Lady Bird Johnson, when she lived down the road, used to visit after we started planting lavender. She was a lovely woman who loved wildflowers. She also enjoyed our chardonnay, and I poured for her a couple of times when she stopped by.” A look inside Becker Becker Vineyards, located about 50 miles from Vinyards in the San Antonio where Dr. Becker has long practiced Hill Country of Texas. medicine, started by producing 1,500 cases of wine in its first year. “Last year we made 125,000 cases of wine,” Becker said. “In the beginning, our winery number in Texas was 29. Today, the state has almost 400 wineries. Texas is a fabulous wine market and we distribute throughout the state.” Texans and other loyal Becker Vineyards customers love what the winery produces, physician specializing in endocrinology, diabetes and and its wines have won dozens of major awards. Becker Vineyards metabolism, he attended the University of Texas Medical School wine has also been served in the stateliest of settings, including in San Antonio and later became a fellow at Yale Medical School the White House and the renowned James Beard House. before returning to San Antonio to become a professor at the “My family and I travel extensively, and I’d developed a taste medical college and to set up private practice. Today, Becker is for wine – particularly French wine,” Becker said. “At the one of the most respected endocrinologists – and winemakers – winery, I’ve experimented with French wine, making blends, in Texas. “I really love medicine and feel fortunate to remain a and we’ve been fortunate enough to hire winemakers who share fulltime physician,” he said. “It’s also great to be a winemaker, our palate. I’ve learned that winemakers are artists, and Robert which adds balance to my life.” Mondavi once advised me that you can cut no corners in making good wine. He didn’t tell me that meant cutting all the profits!” Since first opening, two winery expansions have taken place at Becker Vineyards to accommodate 74 tanks and more than 2,000 barrels. The welcoming hearth just inside the tasting room The Delta Kappa Epsilon Wine Brotherhood is a special wine crackles and pops with warmth on chilly days. And during the club run by Dekes in the industry. DKE Brother Chris Kern, hot summer months, the winery’s Veranda hosts an outdoor Zeta ’97, has put together a club of wines from the tasting bar. The Lavender Haus, a replica of a barn at the Lyndon Paso Robles area of California, and markets it to Deke B. Johnson Settlement maintained by the LBJ National Park alumni in partnership with the headquarters. The limitedService in Johnson City, TX., is used for wine dinners, parties membership club offers hand-selected wines that are and other festive events. The Library contains the recently delivered to your door every quarter. The wines are produced by exclusive boutique wineries completed 20-year collection of the Beckers’ private wine across the Paso Robles region and include selections that can’t selection and single vineyard cabernet barrel program. be found at your local wine store. Every quarterly shipment As you make your way down Becker Farms Road, approaching comes with detailed tasting notes, along with food pairing 46 acres of vineyards, you take in picturesque fields of suggestions. The cost is $99 per quarterly shipment. For more wildflowers, peach orchards, and grassy fields, which add to the information, go to www.pasosbestwines.com/dke.html. visual appeal of the winery. By law, the DKE Wine Brotherhood cannot ship wine to Dr. Becker, who grew up in Abilene, Texas, received his residents in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Kentucky or Bachelors and Masters degrees in English Literature from Mississippi. the University of Texas, where he pledged DKE. A practicing

DKE WINE CLUB

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CHAPTERNEWS Phi-Yale University: No report submitted Zeta-Princeton University: No report submitted Psi-University of Alabama Psi welcomed a record-setting 49 brothers into the fold this fall after a Universitycommended new member program, bringing our total active member count up to 159. These new members represent the most elite gentlemen, scholars, and jolly-good fellows from all across the southeast. Even more outstanding, this new member class attained the second highest new member GPA out of the entire Interfraternity Council at the University of Alabama. We are happy to report Psi excelled in academics overall with a GPA ranked in the top third of IFC. Psi had 36 members on the Fall 2016 Dean’s List and an additional 16 members on the Fall 2016 President’s List. Psi has always been highly involved around campus and in the Tuscaloosa community. This semester, three juniors were tapped to join the Order of Omega National Greek Honor Society. This organization recognizes approximately 3% of Greek students who have attained a high standard of leadership in interfraternity activities. One of the Chapter’s new members was also elected by the student body to represent the College of Engineering in the Student Government Association Senate. This past semester the Chapter proudly hosted its first annual Parents Weekend. A complete success, this two-day event set the

bar for years to come with a resounding 80% parent attendance rate. Activities included evening hors d’oeuvres, an afternoon crawfish boil, live bands, a high-stakes $1200 cornhole tournament, and individual new member class dinners. We look forward to building on this excellent foundation next year. Towards the end of the semester, Psi celebrated its biennial Undertaker’s Ball which began on March 28 and ended with a funeral procession down University Blvd on April 1. The 2017 Undertaker’s Ball honored the life of one of the Psi’s favorite brothers. Psi enjoyed hosting a group of Tau Chi Dekes at the Chapter house for tailgating festivities surrounding the Alabama vs. Texas A&M football game. As always, we encourage other chapters to reach out to us if they’re ever in the Tuscaloosa area. Everyone knows that the Dekes like to work hard and play harder, but not everyone knows how well we play on the court. This semester, Psi’s Slightly Aged Bullz claimed the intramural basketball championship after going undefeated during the regular season. We wish them luck as they attempt to win back-to-back championships next year. Well known for its committed alumni base, the Psi chapter prides itself on the continuous involvement of those who came before us. The Chapter would especially like to thank Ken Brock, Psi ’66 for his generous endowment to the Psi house. Mr. Brock’s benevolence will go a long way in improving the facilities at the DKE house. With such great achievement this semester, one might imagine that there is little room for improvement; however, the Psi’s are fond of saying, “it’s never over,” and we look forward to maintaining DKE’s reputation as one of the top fraternities at the University of Alabama.

Beta-University of North Carolina Psi Chapter parades down University Blvd in celebration of the 2017 Undertaker’s Ball 18 The Deke Quarterly | Summer 2017

Our Philanthropy Chairs, Will Breck and Stefano Jacobsen, planned another successful Si Sitterson Charity Golf

Tournament, raising money for Habitat and honoring Si’s legacy. The freshman intramural basketball team made an impressive run, taking home an intramural championship. Zach and Brooks Palmer as well as Will Breck had a successful season with the JV basketball team. Ladd Harrison, a freshman, has enjoyed great success with the UNC men’s varsity tennis team. Finally, we got to have a little fun on Franklin Street after winning a national championship!

Alpha-Harvard University: See Colony Reports Kappa-Miami University: No report submitted Delta-University of South Carolina The Delta Chapter of DKE is proud to report a year filled with success at the University of South Carolina. During our first year as a full fledged chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon, we worked tirelessly to ensure our continuous growth. Throughout the duration of this noteworthy year, we initiated 30 earnest men into our Brotherhood. Brothers of the Delta Chapter can be found in every fiber of student life at the University of South Carolina. Delta has produced campus officials who serve on both the legislative and executive branches of the University’s Student Government Association. We are also home to several Dekes who display athleticism on the Gamecock wrestling team. Additionally, our Brothers have displayed professional ambition by securing jobs with companies that include Clarkson Consulting and Ernst and Young. This year, Delta Chapter successfully bolstered our community through the organization and execution of various service opportunities as well as fundraising initiatives. Delta Dekes volunteered countless hours of manual labor at Habitat for Humanity to benefit the less fortunate and our community at large, and took on various philanthropic fundraising efforts to benefit numerous organizations, including United Service Organizations and Relay for Life. In the spring, we earned third place among USC organizations raising money for Relay for Life and first place among fraternities. Dekes have continued to be very active in other organizations’ philanthropic efforts that include, but are not limited to, Zeta’s Pink Ribbon 5k, the Delta Zeta Turtle Trot,


and Pi Beta Phi’s Laser Tag for Literacy. Among the hard-work and selfless endeavors, our members took time to strengthen the bonds of our Brotherhood through a wide array of social events. These events included many unforgettable functions, most notably, our relaxing mountain weekend, and our classy formal. The Delta Dekes hosted Parents Cocktail and Fathers’ weekend, intended to celebrate our parents and grant them insight into our organization’s social and philanthropic endeavors. Additionally, we welcomed our alumni home for our second annual Lion’s Banquet, an event to celebrate our Brotherhood and congratulate our graduating seniors. As another year comes to an end, the Brothers of the Delta Chapter return to their homes across the country filled with pride. We are proud of the Brotherhood we have built and the positive reputation we have upheld - a reputation that embodies the Gentleman, the Scholar, and the JollyGood Fellow.

Lambda-Kenyon College: No report submitted Eta-University of Virginia It has been quite an eventful year for the Eta Chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon. We had a very successful recruiting process which brought us 24 new members from all over the country. These men have excelled in many ways inside and outside of the classroom. We welcomed four varsity athletes to the new class including three varsity lacrosse players as well as one varsity squash player. This semester has been particularly impressive for Delta Kappa Epsilon because we have celebrated some significant individual achievements. First, we had two of our members inducted into the Raven Society

Eta Chapter celebrates 24 new members

of Phi Delta Theta to discuss Risk Management, Careers in Sports Management, and Continued Education. The program was extremely well received with substantive conversations that were much more productive than most education events. Parker had just come back to Kentucky from England, where he was awarded the Gates Cambridge Scholarship. Along with our alumni’s success, members of the chapter were honored several times at Centre’s Honors Night. Senior William Sarros won the outstanding Sociology/ Anthropology Major Award, while Sean Fannin won the Outstanding Dramatic Arts Major Award. To cap off the night the chapter was awarded the Yerkes Cup for having the highest GPA of any fraternity on campus. This is the third straight year Iota has Iota Brothers at annual Deke Hearts philanthropy event received this award and we look forward to continued success. 2017 was another strong year for Chapter and we look forward to celebrating Iota and we expect even bigger things in the our 165th anniversary at the University of years to come. Virginia this fall! (a society that recognizes outstanding academic achievement). We were also were fortunate enough to have the winner of the prestigious Crowley Scholarship at U.Va. Along with these we also had numerous members elected as new leaders of different clubs at Virginia. We are also pleased to announce that we were able to raise close to $5,000 for the Norma Livingston Foundation and UVA Research Center on Ovarian Cancer. It has been a phenomenal year for the Eta

Iota-Centre College This spring brought another semester of high achievement in and outside of the classroom for the men of the Iota Chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon. After a successful fall and winter recruitment, our chapter brought in a new member class of 14 to begin the semester. Along with the actives of Iota, these new members helped make our annual DekeHearts philanthropy event a great success. We raised over $1,000 in less than a week’s time by selling dates, desserts, and serenades to the school’s population. Iota also teamed up with the women of Alpha Delta Pi this spring to host a talent show that brought all of the Greek community together for the evening. With numerous successful philanthropic events, we were thrilled to accept the Greek Philanthropy Program of the year at the annual Greek Awards night. Along with great Philanthropy and Service events, the chapter was able to host Brent Seabohm, a former associate athletic director at Arizona, Louisville and Wichita State, as well as an award winning chapter advisor Parker Lawson, Iota ’15, for a great member education event. The event brought together Iota as well as the men

Omicron-University of Michigan: No report submitted Rho-Lafayette College: No report submitted Tau-Hamilton College: No report submitted Beta Phi-University of Rochester: No report submitted Theta Chi-Union College The Theta Chi Chapter of DKE is proud to report news of another successful quarter at Union College. The last quarter has led to sweeping changes throughout the house, with our executive board being mainly elected from our newly initiated Fall class. This past quarter, we have recruited six outstanding new members to add to the ten recruited in the Fall. This brings our total recruitment for the 2016-2017 year up to 16, putting us in good standing as we prepare for 23 of our seniors to leave in June. Recently we have also been pushing to have greater communication between our chapter and the Psi Omega chapter of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and have orgaw w w.d ke.o rg

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Theta Chi has long supported The Special Olympics nized events across chapters. We have been active in assisting them when they need more Dekes for events, and we hope that by working together with our fellow Dekes we can benefit both chapters. This past quarter, at the Special Olympics Capital District Winter Regional at West Mountain, Brothers made posters, cheered on participants, assembled and disassembled race courses, and set up rest and nutrition tents for the athletes. Theta Chi continued our long lasting relationship with Special Olympics New York by helping with the basketball skills event on May 13th. We helped set up the campus Pride Walk, acted as crossing guards, and participated in the walk. Many Brothers helped out at after school programs for local kids at the Kenney Center. We also received first place awards in three categories for Union Colleges Chapter of Excellence Competition: Brotherhood, Housing, and Philanthropy. Our ongoing dedication to the qualities of a Deke is easily seen by looking at our community accomplishments. On top of our outreach programs, we also currently have three Brothers serving in different judicial positions around campus. These positions include Vice President of Judicial Affairs on IFC, Co-Chair of the Greek Judicial Board, and a member of the Greek Judicial Board. By continuing to expand our presence on and off campus, we hope to grow our chapter and spread good news about the Brothers of DKE.

Zeta Zeta-Louisiana State University: No report submitted Phi Chi-Rutgers University: No report submitted Gamma Phi-Wesleyan University The spring semester at Wesleyan brought fresh weather and new initiated Brothers to 20 The Deke Quarterly | Summer 2017

Gamma Phi. The sixteen new Brothers are the kind of guys that each subsequent class will be compared to. With their help, Gamma Phi hosted a Dodge Ball tournament where teams donated funds to multiple charities that raised awareness and fund research grants to combat childhood cancers. We competed in a competitive intramural soccer league and hosted “Softball with DKE” on the baseball diamond each Friday afternoon. Our spring varsity athletes carried heavy loads for their respective teams. Chad Malinowski ’19 and Eric Meyreles ’18 were part of the best Wesleyan Lacrosse team in program history. With a record-breaking win streak and an exhilarating run through the NESCAC tournament, they hoped to make it all the way to the National Tournament. Pitchers Nick Miceli ’17 and Ryan Earle ’19 enjoyed a solid season for the Wesleyan Baseball team. Earle boasted a team leading 4-0 record, with 4 saves, and an ERA of 2.62. Senior Miceli whiffed 35 batters on the year and ended his outstanding career with a strong run in the NESCAC tournament at the end of May. Gamma Phi hosted DKE-A-Palooza at the beginning of May, an all day music concert for student bands to perform and the greater campus to get involved with Greek Life. We had our annual spring formal and enjoyed an eventful summer.

Eta Alpha-Washington & Lee University: See Colony Reports Psi Omega-Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute: See Colony Reports Delta Delta-University of Chicago: No report submitted Phi Gamma-Syracuse University This semester, the Phi Gamma chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon showed not only growth, but excellence in various areas of fraternal life. The chapter was able to maintain and improve its strong social ties and good standing with the University, and worked extensively to improve its scholarship, recruitment, and philanthropy. The results were put brightly on display, as the chapter was able to win academic awards, gather a formidable 20-man new member class, and raise over $10,000 at their new-soon to be annual philanthropic event. Led by president Will Zeitler and vice president Tom Austen, the

Phi Gamma’s successful Dick Clark Gala chapter is now in a position to build and grow on these new strengths. At the Syracuse University Greek awards, a ceremony hosted each semester to highlight various chapters’ excellence in Greek life, Phi Gamma DKE was awarded Gold in the accreditation section. This is the highest possible award a fraternity can achieve at SU, measuring scholarship, involvement, and service. Additionally, the award marks the vast academic improvement that the chapter has achieved in the previous year, as our Brothers performance in the classroom finally matches the work they do outside of it. Led by recruitment chair Jimmy Connor, the house was able to recruit 20 individuals who embody what it means to be a member of DKE. Of the 20, four new members have already been elected to positions on the executive board, with others eagerly awaiting the opportunity to follow. This was the largest new member class the Phi Gamma chapter has seen in nearly 5 years. The chapter’s biggest improvement came philanthropically, where after years of failed attempts, the Brothers of Phi Gamma were finally able to host the Dick Clark Gala. The event, a charity talent show that pits the best talents in the Syracuse Community against each other, is in honor of the chapter’s most prominent alumnus, Dick Clark. Led by Jonah Nielsen and Connor Layden, the chapter’s two philanthropy chairs, the show was able to draw a crowd of nearly 300 people and raise upwards of $10,000 for the Say Yes to Education Foundation- the largest philanthropic donation in the chapter’s recent history. Additionally, the chapter partnered with the Brothers of Phi Beta Sigma, one of Syracuse’s many multicultural fraternities.


This partnership added another meaningful aspect to the event- as it now stands as a landmark for the future of true diversity within the Greek community. Overall, the first annual Dick Clark Gala embodied all that made Brother Alumnus Dick Clark such a great man- it brought people together for a night of entertainment while giving back to the community.

Theta Zeta-University of California at Berkeley The Spring semester at UC Berkeley has been a highly successful time for the Brothers in the Theta Zeta Chapter of DKE. We have initiated 8 new Brothers in this time, one of the largest spring classes for our chapter in many years. We were able to support our community through a feeding the homeless event. The Brothers packed lunch bags with other helpful materials, and distributed them to the homeless throughout the Berkeley community. There has also been a major change for us in the realm of University relations. The IFC connected to Berkeley has reformed. As a part of this reformation, our chapter has reaffiliated with the IFC after several years apart. This will open us up to more recruits, larger philanthropy events, and a closer connection with the University and the other fraternities connected to the school.

Phi Epsilon’s alumni grill out Phi Epsilon-University of Minnesota The Phi Epsilon Chapter is proud to report a year of growth and excitement at Minnesota. Membership stands at its largest in the past 10 years as we initiated five new members this Spring. With only 3 Seniors leaving the house, Phi Epsilon is in a great position to meet our goal of 50 members by Spring 2018. A shared idea of the outgoing and incoming Exec Board this year was to host high profile speakers at chapter meetings. As a

result we had the distinct pleasure of hearing from Jacob Franklin, (a recent alumni and current project manager), Howard Schultz, (an involved DKE alumni and businessman), Jeff Greiner (founder of his own private equity firm, former Group Head of Minneapolis RBC, and a mentor to many in the house), Ron Atkinson (assistant director of the UMN office for Fraternity and Sorority Life), Alan Fine (Professor at the Carlson School, accomplished concert pianist, and published author), and Abby Honold (a speaker on sexual assault and how we can prevent it). The speakers taught important personal development skills across a wide variety of life topics. We look forward to continuing the tradition next semester. Dekes continue to perform well inside the classroom, utilizing our new in-house study room funded by our Alumni. Outside the classroom, Brothers rose to senior leadership positions across campus. Previous participants in Student Government now hold Senator and Overall positions at the largest University college. Social events brought the Jolly Old Fellow out in true fashion. Our External VP and Social chair worked to host a Brotherhood event for the chapter every week. These included bowling, paintball, a comedy show, and many others as well as a planned camping trip over the summer. The Chapter traveled out to Lakewood’s Resort for a memorable Spring Formal and was paired with PIKE and Kappa Kappa Gamma for Spring Jam, where we hosted an enjoyable, albeit rainy Fish Fry. Our sincerest thank you to our alumni, without whom we would not have a house to build upon. We celebrated our history together with a grill out just before the end of spring semester and would like to extend our appreciation for all the donations received. The house looks forward to a summer remodel of dated bedrooms and an upgrade to the outside masonry as a result. As classes wind down, and finals gear up, the gentlemen of Delta Kappa Epsilon look to grow further. With internships at top tier firms and high profile public offices, the Chapter is excited to prove what Dekes can do.

Sigma Tau-Massachusetts Institute of Technology: No report submitted

Alpha Phi-University of Toronto: No report submitted Delta Kappa-University of Pennsylvania: No report submitted Tau Alpha-McGill University Once again, another successful and enriching year has passed at the Tau Alpha Chapter of McGill University as we initiated a record setting 23 new Brothers. Kicking off the year was our inaugural chapter retreat, hosted by an alumnus at his cottage for the weekend. Brothers spent several nights by the river, enjoying campfires and barbeques. Our Betterment Committee, led by Benjamin Sheers, ensured the chapter held regular potlucks, house study sessions and skills building workshops. Our Jolly Fellows went on to host universally enjoyed social events throughout the rest of the year. Beginning in the fall, our new members organized a Halloween Party, Tau Alpha’s most well run and attended event yet. Later in the semester we hosted a grand scavenger hunt mixer with the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority. Our Alumni Relations chair, Brother Dylon Gould, organized an Alumni dinner, with esteemed Brothers from as far back as the late 1970s in attendance. This was followed by a Super Bowl tailgate and party at the start of the winter semester, raising money for our partner charity FACEs. In addition, Brother Benjamin Butz-Weidner wrote a play titled “The Mixer: A Fratire in One Act”, which opened in the McGill Drama Festival on March 6th and ran for two weeks. Over the year we established two philanthropy partnerships with Les Petits Couer and FACEs (Foster a child to excel in society) both Montreal based NGOs. The intent is to continually engage our Brothers in giving back to our community in a productive and positive way.

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CHAPTER NEWS We expanded our work with FACEs, a group with which our Philanthropic Chair, Benjam Smit, initiated a long term partnership, into a weekly volunteering initiative in which Brothers tutored underprivileged teens at a local high school, a rewarding and humbling experience. In addition, we organized an extremely successful poppy flower donation drive for Remembrance Day, raising over $1000 Delta Phi wins $250 for “Best Chapter Report over two days to support the Royal Canadian Legion. Beyond the chapter, Brothers continue to During the term, the Chapter was incredexcel on campus. Brothers Soud Kharousi ibly active within our community as leaders and Yannick Leblanc currently hold the highand philanthropists. Every Friday morning, est social positions within McGill’s Science Brothers would take time to feed breakfast to and Management Undergraduate Societies. the less fortunate. This proved a great opporBrother Jonah Silverman is the new executunity for our Brothers to gain perspective. tive editor of the Bull and Bear, a large on In February, the Actives planned a Gender campus newspaper. Based Violence Training Seminar which was This was a year of many firsts for Tau attended by a large percentage of the Greek Alpha: 2016-17 marks the first full year Tau community. Here in Alberta, the snow can Alpha has spent with a chapter house. It’s become a bit of a nuisance for the commualready been subject to numerous improvenity. Delta Phi pitched in and won a competiments, including the installation of speakers tion for keeping our walks cleared during and an overhead projector. the winter while also clearing the neighborWhile this was a year full of achieveing Sorority houses’ walks. ments for the Tau Alpha Chapter at McGill This Winter semester was full of fun and University, it holds particular significance exciting events hosted by Delta Phi. Our because April marked the anniversary of our end of semester party went extremely well rechartering. considering miserable weather and three

Sigma Rho-Stanford University: No report submitted Delta Pi-University of Illinois: See Colony Reports Omega Chi-University of Texas: See Colony Reports Alpha Tau-University of Manitoba: No report submitted Delta Phi-University of Alberta Delta Phi Chapter is proud to report yet another successful semester. During the winter term, 10 deserving young men were initiated into our fraternity. We are pleased to note the newly initiated Brothers are already showing ambitions within the community. Delta Phi found great success during the IFC elections as newly initiated Bro. Nick Pellegrino won the position of Public Relations and Bro. Rory Storm was elected IFC President. 22 The Deke Quarterly | Summer 2017

competing events. The Chapter not only maintained its popularity but found unique ways to increase the reputation of Delta Phi. At Delta Phi, we are blessed with a tremendously loyal Alumni Association. James Day, Delta Phi, won our Alumni of the Year Award due to his constant leadership and hands on participation within the Active Chapter. We would also like to recognize is Dwight Bliss, Delta Phi. Dwight has been a constant supporter of the Delta Phi Chapter and has recently decided to take it upon himself to raise funds for our new roof. Paul Gil, Delta Phi also deserves recognition from the Active Brothers. Paul has been the President of our Alumni Association for the past six years and without his guidance the chapter would be nowhere near where we are today. Paul constantly challenges the Actives to continue to strive for greatness and for that we are forever in his debt. Overall our Chapter could not ask for more exceptional Alumni and we are looking forward to Scotch and Cigar in November to bring them all together.

Clearly, the past four months have been incredibly successful for Delta Phi and we are looking forward to going yet another step further in our success.

Phi Alpha-University of British Columbia This year, Phi Alpha has accomplished the largest philanthropic initiative in its chapter’s existence, raising over an impressive $43,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society. The 6th Annual Scott Trapp Stick-it to Cancer Memorial Tournament is a daylong ball hockey tournament dedicated to Scott Trapp, a Brother who lost his courageous battle with cancer during his time as an active member. Phi Alpha prides itself in its charitable objectives, having an extensive list of dedicated and generous alumni to thank, as well as the UBC community at large. DKE’s presence on campus was extremely impactful this year at UBC. Winning numerous intramural and philanthropic tournaments, DKE’s strive for excellence was felt throughout the term. Victors of 3 on 3 basketball (AEPi), Anchor Splash (DG), Diamond Ball (ADPi), and The Gammies (GPB), the Brothers competitive nature was a key benefactor of their strong Brotherhood. Individual recognition is to be duly noted as well. Augmenting sorority relations, Brothers Starko, Shelling, and Chance all won corresponding sorority sweethearts this year! Academically, we’d like to congratulate Brother Torres for placing 1st place in his degree concluding Capstone project. After

Phi Alpha Brothers gather in Chapter Room meeting with the Dean of Engineering, his plant design is now looking to be featured in commercial development, as well as a recipient of a cash prize. Phi Alpha champions itself with alumni communication via our own local newsletter


called The Lion Tamer. This quarterly report acts as a transparent looking glass into the features and accomplishments of the chapter. For information on how to get on this mailing list, please email dkeubc@gmail.com

Tau Delta-University of the South: This year at the Tau Delta chapter has been one of impeccable success, the culmination of the past four years of both dedication and hard work within our fraternity. Four years ago, we placed an increased emphasis on recruiting, with a strict attentiveness towards the acquisition of outstanding young men - both qualitatively and quantitatively. This spring, we initiated ten of the most exemplary gentlemen that the Tau Delta chapter has seen, and we are incredibly proud to have them as members of our chapter. These Brothers come from all across the country - be it New York State or Texas - and they all possess an unwavering passion for DKE and the Brotherhood that we share. Besides this incredible Spring Class, we have also made leaps and bounds in improving our house, which has been on the agenda for our chapter for as long - if not longer - than our recruitment goals. Over the course of this past year, our house has been noticeably cleaner, well decorated, and genuinely welcoming. This enhancement is accentuated by the addition of a new set of double doors, of which we are especially proud. Tau Delta Brothers have continued to excel in other areas on campus as well: with starting roles on both the Tennis and Football teams, and holding offices in organizations such as the Sewanee College Republicans. We are considerably excited about one of our Brothers winning Greek Man of the Year - an award given to the male student that contributes the most to the Greek community that year. All in all, it has been an exceptional year to be a Tau Delta Deke. We have seen the fruition of improvements that our senior class implemented four years ago; we have been able to improve the space we call “home;” and we have been able to excel within other social circles on campus. This year has made us all a little bit more proud to be DKE.

Psi Delta-Wake Forest University As the 2016-2017 academic year closed, we reflected on another strong year for the Psi Delta chapter. First and foremost, it is with

mixed emotions we congratulate our 20 senior members upon completing their higher education. As friends from the heart, forever, we do not bid them a goodbye, simply a ‘see you later’ to a group of Gentlemen, Scholars, and Jolly Good Fellows, who personify the values of our Brotherhood. They have left a lasting impact both within our chapter, as well as the Wake Forest community as a whole, in the name of our late Brother, Jordan Bayer. A charismatic and genuine young man, Jordan’s name bears a scholarship fund totaling over $35,000 -$15,000 of which was raised this year in the inaugural Jordan Bayer Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament. While proud of this accomplishment, we are looking forward to beating that measure in the coming years. Our philanthropic effort has also taken strides in other ventures. As a chapter, we raised $8,768 (2nd amongst fraternities) towards cancer research during our school sponsored 12-hour dance marathon: Wake N’ Shake. Despite this $3,000 year-over-year increase, we look towards next year to meet our $10,000 goal. Our philanthropic success has only been made possible due to our extremely impressive membership. Over 70% of our members are involved in non-Greek leadership positions throughout our campus. Their outstanding work in academic, bureaucratic, and recreational activities has given our name an impactful and far-reaching association in the Wake Forest community. With a new member class of 24 young men (85% increase from last year) we only expect to see ourselves build upon our presence. The entire Psi Delta Executive Board is very proud of the continued progress and accomplishments we have made. We enthusiastically offer an invitation to all DKE Brothers, both past and present, to connect with the Psi Delta membership.

Sigma Alpha-Virginia Tech University The Sigma Alpha chapter of DKE is thrilled to report another successful year at Virginia Tech. Our numbers have continued to grow, as we have successfully initiated 19 new Brothers, 7 of which are legacies. These fine young men wholeheartedly exhibit the qualities of a DKE and we’re honored to have them among our ranks. It is with heavy, yet proud hearts that we wished 20 of our seniors good luck and farewell as they graduated from Virginia Tech and

ADPi loves DKE at Virginia Tech moved on to the next stages of their lives. The beginning of this year marked our chapter’s 75th anniversary since our founding back in 1941. We dedicated an entire weekend to the anniversary and invited alumni from all over the country. On Friday night, we hosted a banquet at the VT Inn where Brothers from as early as the 70’s shared old DKE stories and joined with the active Brotherhood around tables filled with food and drink for a night that was truly an unforgettable experience. The rest of the weekend was filled with tailgates, football, and a rousing good time at the DKE house. The weekend of the 75th fell in the middle of a 3-month fundraising campaign where Brothers from our chapter teamed up with Mickey Hayes, Sigma Alpha, and Virginia Tech’s Hokie Club to raffle off tickets to win a one-of-a-kind VT customized Harley Davidson. In total we raised over $24,000 to be split between our chapter and the VT Hokie Club. With funding and guidance from Sigma Alpha DKE Alumni Association, the Active Chapter has made great strides to improve and maintain our historic home. This spring, with the help of Alumni Brother Dan Johnson , we installed 8 security cameras and automatic locks on the doors. Over the course of the next few months, with the money we raised from the Hokie Bike raffle and the help of our alumni, plans have been set in place to repave our driveway and to complete the last section of our front porch. The DKE house will soon be looking better than ever.

Pi Beta-Troy University Spring 2017 began with the Pi Beta Chapter 34 strong, a number which has been steadily growing with each semester. Pi Beta, from the outside looking in, may seem stuck in the rebuilding phase. However, since the New Year we have made great strides within our chapter, the university, and Trojan Comw w w.d ke.o rg

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CHAPTER NEWS munity as a whole. Our chapter was newly refounded in 2011, one result of which is our first experience needing to adjust with a mass exodus of Brothers due to the graduation. Yet, our chapter is extremely proud to congratulate Brother Zachary Adams, Brother Kyle Maxwell, Brother George Moore, and Brother Kody Sikes for leaving their everlasting mark and laying a solid foundation for the future Brothers of Pi Beta. While looking back on the key moments of the Spring Semester, it is nearly impossible for us to forget the extreme effort displayed by our intramural basketball team this season. We showcased a winning season in front of the entire student body making it all the way to the Intramural Finals, a first for this group of Brothers. Pi Beta’s philanthropic efforts of last year were surpassed by the donation of fifteenhundred dollars to Habitat for Humanity this past March. Pi Beta continues to seek out individuals that represent “quality over quantity” and are searching for people who want to continue the future successes of DKE in not only while in college but in their lives afterward.

Epsilon Rho-Duke University It has been an exciting semester in Durham for the men of Deke. A snowy January recruiting period posed many difficulties for our small group, but aggressive planning meant we had some great events in store for the young men of Duke. Although strong recruitment efforts did not produce the results like we hoped, Epsilon Rho added three great men to our Brotherhood. Subsequently, we made several big changes to our recruiting process which we are excited to incorporate in the future. With elections just concluding, we have hit the ground running with plans for the Fall, and we can’t be more excited about what is coming next! As part of this recruitment effort, we have worked hard to improve our section on campus. Recent modifications include a new bar, a new audio receiver, lights, and fresh grass outside, and our improved cleaning habits have left our space looking more welcoming than ever. The chapter also worked hard the last two semesters to improve our chapter GPA. We now sit comfortably at a 3.572 cumulative 24 The Deke Quarterly | Summer 2017

GPA, the highest of all Duke IFC chapters. We also partnered with Duke’s Chi Omega chapter and Keep Durham Beautiful to help clean one of the neighborhoods in Durham. We have seen quite a bit of success from individual Brothers, as well. One of our seniors was recently accepted into Duke’s Sanford School of Law as well as business schools at Northwestern and UVA, and another isn’t leaving us entirely since he will be pursuing his PhD at the school down Tobacco Road. Other Brothers have received offers from industry-leading companies such as General Motors, Chevron, and Amazon for this coming summer. Epsilon Rho will also have two Brothers serving on the IFC Exec Board next year, one as an Assistant VP of Recruitment and another as a Member at Large. The new year offers many opportunities for our small chapter to begin flourishing again, and we feel more prepared than ever to capitalize on these possibilities!

We are all sad to say our president Diego Caro will be leaving us and graduating this semester. Diego has been one of the faces of this fraternity at Pace and he recently won Greek Man of The Year! As the semester came to an end, all Brothers are very busy with finals yet looking to come back in the Fall year stronger and better.

Theta Upsilon-Arizona State University: No report submitted

Phi Sigma is now 35 members strong Nu Zeta-Pace University Wrapping up the 2017 Spring semester, Nu Zeta Chapter had a phenomenal quarter. Locally, we conducted various fundraisers and partook in community service sessions while also hosting communal events throughout the semester. We started off the semester with a 50/50 raffle ticket fundraiser which ended up having a great turnout and was well received by all. Although it has been a positive semester, Nu Zeta Brothers remained rigorously busy throughout. Diligent recruiting efforts brought a huge class of 12 new members. Newly initiated Brothers’ eager to be in the Brotherhood energized the entire chapter. Nu Zeta completed various community service hours with Captain Lawrence Brewery and the local Little League Association. We also hosted our second annual DKE-end this past weekend. During the Saturday event, open to the community, attendees were able to traverse slip and slides, play various water park games, and hang out with the Brothers of DKE! The following day, Nu Zeta hosted our annual DKE Pig Roast event, which had a remarkable turn out. There were several other organizations represented along with a large number of DKE alumni. It was a great weekend and we are really looking forward to next year’s annual DKE-end.

Phi Sigma-Bryant College The Phi Sigma chapter is very pleased to report a very good year at Bryant University. We are proud to announce the initiation of nine capable, young men into our brotherhood. Thus far, they have proved to be excellent additions. With the addition of these nine new brothers, our chapter is at a total of thirty-five - the largest we have been in years. In addition, we have been heavily involved in campus affairs. One such endeavor was helping a management group on our campus run a 5K to benefit the Dare to Dream Ranch which is a non-profit organization geared at helping veterans through the usage of equine therapy. Brother Matthew Early placed 3rd in the race. The chapter also helped to coordinate a Driving Range Target Competition at Button Hole Golf Course in Providence, Rhode Island. Button Hole is a nonprofit that donates charity proceeds toward disabled children and veterans, in addition to hosting golf clinics for both. We are extremely grateful we were able to help out and donate to two great causes! Brothers participated in a Bystander Intervention training program, where they learned how to act whenever they see or sense a sexual assault occurring on campus. Lastly, Andrew Picard was inducted into the Order of Omega this semester, a Greek Life Honor Society. A


highlight of the year, per usual, was Spring Formal where we were fortunate enough to have over a dozen recent graduates return to Phi Sigma and bond with actives. All in all, it has been a great year here at the Phi Sigma chapter and we look forward to growing as Gentlemen, Scholars, and Jolly Good fellows in the coming semester.

Phi Rho’s alumni weekend Phi Rho-Pennsylvania State University The Phi Rho Chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon is persevering through tough times at the Pennsylvania State University. Despite strict restrictions put on Greek Life by the University recently, we are thriving in new ways! We had a huge Spring class of eleven young men. They seem to be striving for leadership positions quickly; many even ran for executive board positions. Our Scholarship chair, Anthony Giunta, reserved rooms for us to study during finals. And House Manager James Guzzo is making aesthetic improvements inside and out of our house. With all these blessing upon us we do have some negatives. As the Spring semester came to an end we had to say goodbye to five graduating Brothers. Although they may no longer go to Penn State, we take comfort in knowing they will be with us tailgating again in the Fall for football games! We are very excited for the direction of our chapter after elections resulted in Christopher Dreyer, a new member in the Fall, being elected Vice President. With his guidance we hopefully will accomplish great things!

Zeta Chi-Bentley College The Zeta Chi Chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon is happy to report that the 2017 year was a great success. In March, we initiated 12 highly qualified individuals into our Brotherly Order. These new Brothers have already

begun promoting the values of Delta Kappa Epsilon on campus and in the community. Our Chapter has placed a great deal of focus on bolstering our presence on campus and reengaging the Bentley community. This past December, we hosted the 2nd Annual Karaoke for the Kids event to benefit Boston Children’s Hospital. Thanks to extensive fundraising efforts by our Brothers, we were able to raise almost $6,500 for Boston Children’s Extraordinary Needs Fund. We are also happy to share that we participated in the 3rd Annual Fraternity Hockey Classic to benefit Team Impact, a charity that matches sick children with college sports teams. Zeta Chi has significantly increased efforts to connect with alumni through various different events. Our annual alumni golf tournament had the largest showing in the history of the event. Fun was had by alumni and active Brothers alike. 2017-2018 promises to be a very exciting year for our chapter as we look to continue to grow and improve.

Zeta Chi raised $6,500 for Boston Children’s Extraordinary Needs fund Beta Gamma-New York University: No report submitted Sigma Kappa-Michigan State University The Sigma Kappa chapter has had a very successful year in terms of growth and image on campus. This spring semester we initiated 5 new gentlemen, scholars, and jolly good fellows, bringing our total active Brothers to 34. We would like to congratulate our 8 graduating seniors, who will be dispersing all over the country from Louisville, to Seattle, to Palm Beach, to San Francisco, doing

Sigma Kappa’s 1st annual Deke Ducky Derby raised over $2400 anything from Production Controls/Logistics to being U.S. Army Engineering Officers to being Junior Associates at a private equity. The Sigma Kappa chapter thanks you and looks forward to witnessing your careers take off, and seeing your names on the list of prominent Dekes in the future. Congratulations are in order for Sigma Kappa’s new alumni board for the 2017 year: Alex Gravlin, Sigma Kappa, Ian Hildebrandt, Sigma Kappa, Hayden Moore, Sigma Kappa, Tobi Grantham, Sigma Kappa, JC Kibbey, Sigma Kappa, Shaun Freiman, Sigma Kappa, Nicholas Gonzales, Sigma Kappa, David Casaceli, Sigma Kappa, William Crandall, Sigma Kappa, RJ Jackson, Sigma Kappa, Joseph Hwang, Sigma Kappa, Eric Wehner, Sigma Kappa, and Caleb Marker, Sigma Kappa. The active Brothers look forward to working with you, especially with the upcoming 20th anniversary of the chapter’s chartering. House improvements include this semester’s new member project to build a sign for the house to hang on our balcony. We believe it will greatly improve our recruiting and provides an improved image on campus. Taking note from the success of Tau Chi – Texas A&M, we utilized the infamous Red Cedar River running through Michigan State’s campus to hold our own 1st annual Deke Ducky Derby. Over 150 ducks were purchased and $2,400 was raised for the Flint Child Health and Development Fund. We would like to thank Spartan basketball superstar Miles Bridges for signing the jersey that was awarded to the 1st place winner, and all alumni who showed up to

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CHAPTER NEWS witness the historic event. This year, ΔKE was paired with several other Greek life organizations, for Michigan State’s annual Greek Week. Brother Austin Eggleston represented us in well in Songfest, a dancing competition between teams, getting 6th place out of 14 teams. Our team placed 4th in all fundraising for McLaren Hospital of Greater Lansing. Plans for the fall semester include surpassing past recruiting results, and making at least one trip to another chapter, as well as having our annual alumni tailgate on September 30th vs. Iowa. We would also like to start doing smaller philanthropic events at local businesses and volunteering at a soup kitchen.

Delta Psi-Indiana University: No report submitted Mu Chi-Maryville College The Mu Chi chapter had another successful semester. On top of welcoming in six new Brothers, we had three other major highlights this semester including our philanthropic, our campus involvement, and our Brotherhood initiatives. Philanthropically we wanted to achieve two big things. Mu Chi’s goal was to do things that truly made a difference while experimenting with some new opportunities. In February we had the chance to help out after a bad storm knocked down a lot of trees on our campus. We teamed up with our school’s Sustainability Club to replant trees across the college grounds. Another philanthropy event we are participating in for the first time is the Scots Trot. We are assisting the Maryville College football team with their annual walk against Muscular Dystrophy. On top of these two events we also continued our philanthropic relationships with Keep Blount Beautiful and the Blount County Habitat Build. Campus involvement is always something which is very important to our chapter and this year we put a lot of emphasis on our members getting elected to on campus positions. We now have three Brothers in the school’s Student Government including the Sophomore Class President and the Junior Class Vice President. Our current chapter President, Brian Bonanno, also received the honor of being elected as the school’s Chief Justice of the Judicial Board. Coming into this semester we knew we 26 The Deke Quarterly | Summer 2017

wanted to start having more official Brotherhood events to help strengthen our already close chapter. We began by creating a Brotherhood Chair which did not formally exist previously. This served as a catalyst to start many other programs within the chapter, including weekly Bible studies and outdoor trips such as hiking or kayaking. The Spring semester treated Mu Chi chapter well, and we are looking forward to using this momentum in the Fall.

entails. Our beloved Rho Beta Chapter is entering a new phase of its tenure which we confidently believe is a time of expansion with wider and positive recognition from every facet of the University of Richmond campus.

Tau Chi-Texas A & M University No report submitted

Rho Beta-University of Richmond 2017 has been an exciting and progressive year for the Rho Beta Chapter of DKE. This Spring brought eleven new members, the largest new member class in the history of Rho Beta. As a Chapter which traditionally focuses on the quality of our recruits over quantity, we remain confident that as we grow in volume, we will maintain the standard of excellence on which this Fraternity prides itself. Our current Brotherhood stands at 35 members, who hail from Boston to Jacksonville, Oregon, San Diego, and even Taiwan and the Philippines! 
In addition to our success in recruitment, Rho Beta has overcome major hurdles in becoming an officially recognized Chapter by our school’s administration. We are happy to say we are further into the application process than at any previous time. We plan on using our momentum and effective strategy to carry on and hopefully close out the recognition process when we get back to campus in the Fall. The paramount update from this semester, however, is sending off our 13 graduating seniors. Though it is with heavy hearts that we say goodbye, we know that they will represent the leadership qualities imbued to them by Delta Kappa Epsilon. Our seniors are moving on to new endeavors such as Consulting, Investment Banking, teaching English abroad, medical and law school, and so much more. We are excited to see our Brothers take the next step in their lives and represent the values of our Chapter both nationally and abroad. The future path for the men of Rho Beta is one of progress. This commitment endows us with the opportunity to be equally represented as the other Greek organizations on our campus, and moreover, a future to grow and flourish. We eagerly await the coming of the next academic year and the possibilities that it

Beta Tau’s post initiation banquet with alumni

Beta Tau-University of Victoria Beta Tau finished the year with a continued sense of pride, created by the success of individuals and the chapter as a whole to paving the way to success for years to come. With just one year left on the lease in our current 21 bedroom house, the Brothers are tasked with finding the next DKE house for Beta Tau this summer. Due to the generosity of our alumni, most notably the late Brent Tynan, we are in a position to buy a house and have long standing chapter equity. Working with alumni Brothers Drew Gilmore, Beta Tau, Andrew Brown, Beta Tau, Michael Siemens, Beta Tau, and Taylor Verrall, Beta Tau, the chapter will be creating an alumni corporation to put Beta Tau in a position to complete a purchase. Following an impressive new member education process, 14 newly initiated Brothers have been quick to step up and have already been playing a key role in chapter operations. After a hard fought campaign in the student election we have two Brothers serving in student government. Carl Haynes, Brother Beta, was elected to the senate and will be working with the university president and all university departments. David Stevanovic


was elected to a director position on the board of the student society. Willing to take on Beta Tau Recruitment Chair for next year in addition to being elected to his director position, David is just one of the new members showing huge promise for the future of Beta Tau. Alumni involvement and interaction with Beta Tau has always been outstanding. The Chapter is so very fortunate to have an active young alumni base paired with older alumni such as Grant Burnyeat, Beta Tau ’65, Kevin Beourgeois, Beta Tau, Andrew Scurrah, Beta Tau, Drew Gilmore, Beta Tau, and Tim Kettyls, Beta Tau, who are only ever a phone call away. Over the summer and in the coming year, new Alumni Relations chair, Jakob Brandstrom has committed to further fostering this relationship so that actives and alumni can get the most out of their experience with Beta Tau. We have moved our newsletter from a quarterly bulletin to bimonthly, and will be hosting two large alumni events a semester, encouraging alumni to talk to new members during meetings. This will help keep alumni involved throughout the year. Last year we changed our dues to include funding for Brothers to go to international convention.

Omega Mu Brothers at Greek Town Grill Down Over the past dozen weeks, our chapter raised over $500 dollars for charity, strengthened our relationship with the school staff and faculty, branched out into different clubs and organizations, and became a dominating social club on and off campus. Our alumni, including recent graduates, have kept close with their chapter, and have even donated to our causes for hosting social and fundraising events. Sigma Xi has active members currently holding executive positions in other on campus clubs, including Campus Activities Board, Kappa Mu Epsilon, Project Sunshine, Greek Council, and Student Veterans of America. Presently, we are focusing on Formal 2017 and a huge summer philanthropic event we will be cohosting. This event will be mainly for adults and will consist of a wide variety of different cultural dishes that people can taste while enjoying a live concert and other types of live entertainment.

Omega Mu-Oklahoma State University

Sigma Xi actives at St. Josephs’ Spring Fling Sigma Xi-St. Joseph’s College Reviewing Spring semester, it started strong with multiple recruiting events, including a videogame night, Applebee’s half priced apps, bowling event, and a parent meet and greet. New member education lasted only 6 weeks this year producing eight solid new members, six of whom won positions for the upcoming year.

Delta Kappa Epsilon at Oklahoma State University has been thriving ever since Omega Mu began. The Spring new member class initiated 11 men. These Gentlemen, Scholars, and Jolly Good Fellows are showing more and more every day how to represent our fraternity and grow it to new heights. They were a closely bonded group from different portions of the country. This semester’s activities included our annual philanthropy, Greek Town Grill Down. This is a huge cooking competition between the Greek communities to help raise money for the Stillwater United Way. Enjoying live

music and yard games, Omega Mu paired up with Sigma Alpha Epsilon for a successful cookout. We raised over two thousand dollars and more importantly helped a charity that uses its donations well. Alumni, including Justin Laub, Omega Mu, judged some of the competition and reconnected with other alumni. Omega Mu also got its Adopt a Highway up and running this spring. We have a two mile stretch of road that we are responsible for and take care of for the community. We are saying goodbye to three Brothers who are on their way to bigger and better things. Mitchell Meyer, Omega Mu ’17, Mathematics major, is on his way to begin his graduate school at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Ryan Stout, Omega Mu ’17, an entrepreneur major, has found an opportunity to graduate a semester early and start a promising internship this summer. Daniel Woods, Omega Mu ’17 is graduating OSU with a Bachelors of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management and is currently looking for a job in quality engineering, systems engineering, and procurement in supply chain. Omega Mu finished off our semester with a retreat of all members and some alumni, catching an Oklahoma City Dodgers baseball game after touring the OKC Museum of Art to view the amazing Dale Chihuly, Kappa Epsilon ’65, glass art exhibit. This art exhibit was extra special to us knowing that one of our Delta Kappa Epsilon Brothers created these masterpieces.

Phi Mu-Manhattan College This past semester, Phi Mu chapter worked on various improvements and enhanced its w w w.d ke.o rg

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CHAPTER NEWS are not limited to: Google, JPMorgan Chase, Merck, and Turner Construction.

Chi Beta-University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Phi Mu Brothers at campus Relay for Life event foundation for the future. With newly implemented standards and goals, the chapter produced a successful recruitment, effective fundraising events, a large new member class, improved relations with school administration, and a new alumni association. Kappa class produced nine new members, who exemplify what it means to be Gentlemen, Scholars, and Jolly Good Fellows. The chapter is excited to see what social and philanthropic events they will plan for the upcoming year. The two fundraising events from this spring, Flowergram and Pie-a-Deke, produced a fair amount of funds and were enjoyed by students and faculty alike. All fundraising was dedicated to the American Cancer Society and their Relay for Life event on campus. Next year, Phi Mu will be focusing on a new philanthropy, Team RWB, whose mission is to enrich the lives of American veterans by connecting them to their community with physical and social activity. Phi Mu Brothers are always making positive contributions on campus! This past year, Brothers have served in executive board positions in the following organizations and honor societies: Residence Life, Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, Green Club, Psychology Club, Lasallian Collegians, the Lasallian Outreach Volunteer Experience, Phi Sigma Tau, Tau Beta Pi, Pi Tau Sigma, Psi Chi, Epsilon Sigma Pi, Beta Gamma Sigma, and Omicron Delta Epsilon. To help make Manhattan College safer for everyone, the chapter worked with the on-campus Green Dot team to organize a training session to educate fellow Greek organizations on effective bystander intervention strategies. In addition, all graduating seniors have secured positions in a variety of industries. These companies include, but 28 The Deke Quarterly | Summer 2017

The Chi Beta Chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon is currently in a time of incredible growth. We have added 24 new members in the last two semesters and now have 49 active Brothers. After this current semester, we will have officially paid off the debt our Fraternity accumulated through the early years of our existence. We have big plans for the future and if we stay on track, we hope to be included among the top three fraternities on campus in total number of active Brothers. Chi Beta won the Bradley Cup Award this semester which recognized us as the best Fraternity on campus in the school’s eyes. The one aspect of our fraternity that has not changed through this period of growth is our strong sense of Brotherhood, noticed even by the school and students not involved with our organization. As long as our organization keeps our ultimate goals in mind and we continue to operate like we have over these past two semesters, the future looks very bright for the Chi Beta Chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon.

Gamma Iota-Gannon University The end of the 2016-2017 Academic Year for the Gamma Iota Chapter at Gannon marks one of the best years for our Brothers yet. We improved relations with other chapters, set a new record for service hours, initiated eleven new men, and won Greek Week! These eleven new Brothers are excited to be part of our organization and anxious to help it grow more on campus. We are now thirty men strong and working on becoming one of the biggest fraternities on campus. We have several Brothers working as RA’s in

Gamma Iota’s newest members-Iota class

dorms next year, which helps us in prospecting for potential new members. During the Relay for Life event to help fight the battle against cancer, two of our Brothers had a friendly competition, putting their head hair and facial hair up in a bet. Whoever had the most money donated towards them would have to shave their long head of hair or long beard off. By the end of the event we raised $2,020 and both men had to trim up, which was one of the funniest and popular events that night. This year’s Greek Week ended with Gamma Iota on top of all other fraternities. We worked hard, competing in events such as a Jimmy John’s sub eating contest, volleyball, soccer, Jeopardy, Lip Sync, and many more, with the final event being the team dance with ASA. We were able to pull ahead to first by donating hundreds of canned goods to an event at Gannon called Golden Harvest, securing the first-place trophy for Greek Week for the first time. We are a very young chapter, but we are full of leaders that can take on all responsibilities. We hope to have an amazing time with good food, recreational activities at Peak and Peak, and much more in the months ahead.

Zeta GammaHampden-Sydney College Colonized in 2012 and chartered in 2015, the Zeta Gamma Chapter of DKE has grown steadily throughout the years. We are excited to move onto the Hampden-Sydney Fraternity circle in the next semester. At 22 active Brothers strong, Zeta Gamma enjoys volunteering with the FACES food bank in Farmville, Virginia and works to better the community with different service opportunities. The largest philanthropy project of the year is the Annual Shriner’s Catfish Festival in Farmville where all money raised during the festival is used to help the families of youth burn victims. For the Spring 2017 semester, ZG has a combined service totaling over 330 hours. Some recent awards and positions for a few of the Brothers include Chi Beta Phi Biology honors fraternity, Student Senate, and volunteer fire-rescue lieutenant. Recently, Zeta Gamma has won the application for a much larger house on Fraternity Circle. We will have 15 live-in Brothers compared to just 5 in the original house. With only 5 seniors graduating in


May, we are looking forward to increasing our chapter size with a strong fall recruiting given the more central location of the new house.

Pi Alpha-University of Missouri It was another great year for the Pi Alpha Chapter of DKE, including the results of some hard work during Mizzou homecoming, which saw our chapter’s pairing finishing in fourth place, scoring extremely high in the blood drive and service categories. Pi Alpha initiated fourteen new Brothers into the chapter this fall. Each of these new members exemplified the strengths of Delta Kappa Epsilon and will be valuable members to our chapter. Former Brother Beta, Devin Tarantino, secured the position of IFC President this fall. We are extremely proud of Devin and we believe his position in the community will be valuable to the chapter. The members are also extremely proud of our fundraising this semester. This winter we raised money for the Alzheimer’s Association a cause that impacts many members of the chapter. The New Year was an even more exciting time for our chapter. Pi Alpha chapter will be moving to a new house at the beginning of the upcoming Fall Semester. We are excited at the recruitment advantages this new house will provide along with the opportunity to build new bonds among Brothers. Spring recruitment brought 11 new members, currently learning the principles of our fraternity and becoming Gentlemen, Scholars and Jolly Good Fellows. This year we spent more time than ever involving and rewarding the parents of our 67 active Brothers. We had a fantastic Dad’s weekend that included grilling out and a Mizzou football game. Mom’s weekend was even better when over 55 moms came to see their sons for the weekend. Countless memories were created with all the parents that visited us over the past year as they got to see the impact their sons were making on the future of the Pi Alpha Chapter of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. It has been a busy, but rewarding year for the members of the Pi Alpha chapter and our Brothers are making an impact all over the community. We hope to continue our exponential growth and cement the place of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the University of Missouri.

COLONYNEWS Alpha-Harvard University It has been an interesting yet productive semester here at Alpha. Despite the university’s sanctions, we have been uniting together as a colony to increase our presence on campus. Rush was successful, and we recently held initiation during a brothers retreat in Cape Cod. Throughout the semester, we organized

The colony’s intramural basketball team went 3-1, with high hopes for the upcoming playoffs. Eta Alpha helped Jamie Axelrod, Xi ’14, organize an event on Washington and Lee’s campus to promote his growing clothing brand, Pkok Pants. Additionally, active Sam Wilson, Eta Alpha ’17, will be working in Richmond for Private Advisors starting this June.

Psi Omega-Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute The Psi Omega colony of Delta Kappa Epsilon had a successful semester of recruitment, philanthropy, and social events. The colony started off the semester with a strong recruitment program, rolling into a pledge program that, ten weeks later, ended with the initiation of five awesome new brothers. The addition brought the total size of the colony up to 25 active brothers.

Alpha Brothers etiquette dinner at Harvard Club of Boston various events for the brothers, including an etiquette dinner at the Harvard Club of Boston and a Social Cultural Roundtable on Virtual and Augmented Reality. We have also planned ahead for next semester, the first semester during which the sanctions apply to new members. Rush events, budget, and social calendar are already established so we can hit the ground running come September. Communication with other Greek organizations has also increased, in hopes that the collaboration will strengthen the Greek community on campus and will enable us to be more effective and efficient moving forward. As Teddy Roosevelt, a former member of Alpha once said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Our university may be putting an immense pressure on our brothers, but we will not be going anywhere – we will continue to grow and make our presence known.

Eta Alpha–Washington and Lee University The Eta Alpha colony performed 100 hours of community service, building homes for Habitat for Humanity and helping out a woman on her farm in North Carolina.

Psi Omega Brotherhood in letters Philanthropically, Psi Omega continued its relationship with the Albany Regional Food Bank and Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority. At the food bank, the brothers participated in the sorting and packaging of food for the Albany community. With Alpha Gamma Delta, the brothers hosted three separate food stands to help raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Psi Omega also participated in the annual Relay for Life event, where the brothers set up a Super Smash Bros gaming booth! Preparations have already begun for a successful Fall semester, with recruitment being the top priority.

Delta Pi-University of Illinois The Delta Pi colony of Delta Kappa Epsilon is pleased to report an incredibly successful w w w.d ke.o rg

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COLONY NEWS Spring 2017 semester at the University of Illinois. U of I Dekes are, externally, building a serious reputation on campus and are, internally, building the foundations to a strong lifelong brotherhood. We had the pleasure of initiating five new members into the Bonds this semester, bringing our young colony to a healthy size of forty-three members. The newly initiated Dekes are absolute gentlemen and an excellent fit to our brotherhood. We look forward to watching them shape our colony as we expand. At the same time, however, we are wishing farewell to the majority of our Alpha (founding) class. This is the first significant graduation this chapter has experienced. Using funds raised during a Mom’s Weekend silent auction, the brothers organized a “Senior Send-off” consisting of a banquet and semiformal event. One graduating brother, Gabriel Gonzalez, was awarded the University of Illinois Senior 100 Honorary award, which recognizes students for outstanding academic achievements and leadership. We wish all graduating brothers the best of luck at their jobs and graduate studies. Delta Pi also showed significant involvement in Philanthropy this semester. Our “Dunk A Deke” event towards the end of the semester raised money for the Illini Service Dogs organization, which gives students the opportunity to help train and donate service dogs that assist those with physical disabilities. The event was set-up on the main quadrangle of the University of Illinois, and allowed students to soak one of many Dekes in a dunk tank. In addition, many brothers participated in the annual “Relay for Life” event, which honored cancer survivors and raised money for the American Cancer Society. We have had an incredibly successful semester, and the future certainly looks bright. The current Delta Pi Dekes would like to encourage any Delta Pi alumni to reach out to us at alumni.dkeuiuc@gmail.com. We would love the opportunity to forge a bond with any alumni who are interested in meeting the brotherhood we’ve built revitalizing Delta Pi in the last 3 years.

Omega Chi-University of Texas: No report submitted Kappa Chi-University of Delaware The past year at the University of Delaware has been full of growth and major developments for the Kappa Chi Colony. The Colony had become stagnant and involvement 30 The Deke Quarterly | Summer 2017

Kappa Chi Brothers at annual Harvest Fest philanthropy event, Fall 2016 on campus was limited entering the fall of 2016. With a large class of seniors soon to graduate, doubts about our future at Delaware were starting to arise. However, with guidance from our Chapter Consultants and the full efforts of the Brothers, the past year has been one of the most exciting yet. Updating our recruitment practices was a key step in improving our pledge class size. By taking a more proactive approach and relying less on structured rush events, we were able to recruit a pledge class of 20 men this past spring. The largest pledge class our Colony has ever had. These 20 eager young men have proven to be worthy of the bonds of Delta Kappa Epsilon and have already shown initiative and ambition to become leaders within the Fraternity. Many have joined committees within the Chapter and are seeking positions within the IFC. Throughout the year we have been raising awareness and funding for UDance, University of Delaware’s largest philanthropic event. UDance is a 12-hour dance marathon that benefits the The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation and the fight against childhood cancer. We are proud to have donated $14,388 and to have helped spread awareness for this important cause. In addition, we have established two annual philanthropic events of our own with Sororities on campus. Harvest Fest, which we host with the sisters of Alpha Delta Pi in the fall and Sur-Phi-vor, which we host with the sisters of Pi Beta Phi in the spring. Each of these events ran smoothly and had tons of participation from other Greek organizations. Now 60 men in size and actively involved on campus, the Kappa Chi Colony at the University of Delaware is enthusiastic about receiving a

Charter in the near future. With the application currently underway we are in high spirits and look forward to another year of growth and success.

Tau Beta-Simon Fraser University: No report submitted Lambda Tau-University of Tennessee: No report submitted Iota Chi-Ithaca College Iota Chi Colony at Ithaca College has been working towards the same goals it has since its founding: to improve our personal presence both on campus and in the greater Ithaca Community, and to foster a strong and organized Brotherhood internally. This year was very important for us in building a strong foundation for the future. Since graduating all but one of our founding fathers last May, Iota Chi has rebuilt its membership and looks forward to starting the Fall of 2017 with 24 active members, which is as large as we’ve ever been. Our continuing relationship with the International Students Club has been a great way

Iota Chi building strong foundation


for us to have a positive presence on campus. For the past three semesters, brothers of Iota Chi have assisted them in the production of their semester event. This, along with budding connections with club sports programs, has helped to grow our presence on campus, while remaining unaffiliated with the college itself. We await the return of 3 brothers studying in programs through I.C. in Iceland, Los Angeles, and New York City. Brother Lucas Jacisin spent the semester doing course work and research on climate change in Iceland this semester and will continue into the summer. In Los Angeles, Brother Chris Serrano has been able to further his experience in video production and will be working full time as a Producer/Editor for a Digital Media production company, CreatorUp. Brother Tim Obzud spent the semester interning at Technicolor Postworks and taking classes at the Cornell ILR School through the ICNYC program. Iota Chi Brothers have grown a strong connection with local Alum Carl Mazzocone, Delta Kappa, who owns the historic Inn at Taughannock. This relationship has greatly improved our overall alumni relations, and has even given jobs renovating the hotel and in the restaurant to some Brothers. One of our major goals we hope to achieve in the near future is to own a house in Ithaca that we could call our own from year to year. We look forward to a year of growth and successes ahead of us.

Alpha Omicron-University of Colorado The Alpha Omicron Colony at the University of Colorado, Boulder is pleased to report its first year on campus was a success. We began the fall semester with 11 members, growing to 22, with our largest pledge class yet. This increased to 23 with the arrival of Brother Lucas Herbert, a transfer from Zeta Zeta. This spring we took on four more worthy men to join our ranks and bring us to a total of 26 active members (after having 1 member go inactive), all making waves here in the Boulder Community. One of our largest achievements this past year was the induction to CU’s independent IFC as an associate member. This past year we also had a string of successful social functions that put us on the map in the Greek community. We hosted our first formal in the beautiful Aspen, CO. In our first Greek Week, we were paired with Delta Gamma and under great coaching from the ladies, our team took home 1st in Songfest, a song and dance performance competition.

Alpha Omicron Brothers at the Boulder Reservoir after organizing their impounded shipyard This spring semester, we made a point of being involved in the Boulder community early in our colony’s youth. In April, we assisted Boulder Parks services in cleaning up the Boulder Reservoir, by picking up trash around Boulder Creek. On May 5th, our colony set out with a local group to clean up graffiti and beautify “The Hill”, the local student neighborhood, just in time for CU’s graduation. Currently, we are teamed up with Boulder’s own Boss Lady Pizza to raise money for the local Planned Parenthood between April 16th and May 12th. While the event is not over yet, we expect this to be a huge success! Following the fall ’16 semester, we rounded out the top five in the IFC’s GPA ranking with a cumulative 2.91, beating the all fraternity men’s and tying the all undergraduate men’s GPA averages. We would like to thank Brothers Darren Kelly, Delta Phi and Clarke McKinnon, Phi Gamma, for serving as our local Alumni Committee and for all their support, from the initiation of the founding fathers to their steady guidance today in ensuring this colony develops into an upstanding chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon.

Delta Rho-North Carolina State University

potential and are already coming up with ways to ensure our success during fall recruitment. This spring we continued our partnership with the Boys Club of Raleigh. We had many brothers go to their facility on a weekly basis to help the kids complete their homework and engage in physical activity. Our second annual Dunk-A-DKE philanthropy was a major success this April and helped us raise almost double last year’s donation. We would like to extend a big thank you to the alumni that came out to our first Alumni Cookout. The new members really enjoyed the chance to meet the men who started our colony as well as the ones who have come and gone before they joined. Our goal next year is to close in on 100% of the alumni base to come out for the event. This spring we began the process of having study hours each week in hopes of raising our GPA. This process seems to be having a positive impact, but we will know more about the results after final grades are in and the grade report is produced. It is with much sadness that we watch six Delta Rho Dekes graduate this semester, the majority of whom have held executive board positions for multiple terms. We are excited to see what they do when they get out in the real world and are confident they will excel.

As the 2016-2017 academic year concludes, the Delta Rho colony is excited to wrap up the spring semester and start looking ahead to the fall. Our spring recruitment did not turn out to be as successful as we had hoped, but the large class from the fall has stepped up and filled multiple positions. These young guys have a lot of Delta Rho presents philanthropy check to the Boys Club of Raleigh

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Forgotten Greats of DKE

FILM COMPOSER AND SONG WRITER

C OLE P ORTER A FAVORITE OF MODERN VOCALISTS, HIS MUSIC LIVES ON By Kevin Cuneo, Gamma ’77

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he passage of time might have obscured the memories of some of our greatest Dekes, but for many their best works continue to live and prosper. Such is the case with the great composer and songwriter Cole Porter, whose music can be heard in recent films such as Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris,” and whose songs are performed today by such artists as Harry Connick Jr., Michael Bublé and Sting. Porter, a beloved Yale Deke who wrote songs about his fraternity brothers and put on dozens of shows at the Phi House, died more than 52 years ago at the age of 73. Yet his music continues to entrance and entertain young listeners who are charmed by his well-crafted, often witty lyrics. “A Cole Porter song is special,” Frank Sinatra told Time magazine in 1982. “They stand the test of time, sounding as moving and graceful today as they did when he wrote them 50 years ago. He’s the best.” Sinatra recorded dozens of Porter songs, including “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “Night and Day,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Let’s Do It,” and “It’s De-Lovely.” Bing Crosby turned a spoof song, “Don’t Fence Me In,” which Porter often played at parties for laughs, into a million seller. The biggest stars from the 1920s through today, including Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, Lena Horne, 32 The Deke Quarterly | Summer 2017

Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, and Ethel Merman, all recorded Porter songs, making them chart toppers. When Artie Shaw and his orchestra started playing “Begin the Beguine,” it quickly became the band’s theme song. Born in the small town of Peru, Indiana, in 1891, Porter was the only child of a shy pharmacist and a strongwilled mother whose ambitions for her son were supported by her father’s lumber empire. Schooled by private tutors at home, Cole showed amazing skills on the violin and at the piano at an early age. His grandfather insisted that Cole study to become a lawyer, and he was sent to Worcester Academy in Massachusetts where his classmates took note of his ability to write and perform entertaining songs. Then it was on to Yale, where he pledged Delta Kappa Epsilon and wrote two of the most famous of all college songs, “Bingo Eli Yale” and the “Yale Bulldog Song.” Porter regularly put on musical shows

at the Deke House, inspiring his brothers and classmates to sing all over campus. The Cole Porter bar at Morey’s, given in memory of Henry Becton, features an engraved plaque with the words “to provide a gathering place for Yale singing.” Acquiescing to his grandfather’s wishes, Porter enrolled at Harvard Law following his graduation from Yale, and he took an apartment with his DKE brother, Dean Acheson, who would go on to become Secretary of State. But another dean, head of the law school, was so impressed by Porter’s musical skills that he encouraged him to transfer to the Harvard School of Music, which he did. In 1919, Porter married Linda Lee Thomas, widow of a prominent banker and publisher, and they moved to Paris. The New York Times reported: “The glossy opulence of the scores Mr. Porter writes for Hollywood and Broadway are a valid reflection of his own manner of living. He and his wife are active in a partying international set that gathers in Paris, the Riviera, and Venice. Their home on the Left Bank in Paris has platinum wallpaper and chairs upholstered in zebra skin. Mr. Porter even hired the entire Monte Carlo Ballet to entertain his houseguests.” Amazingly creative, Porter wrote dozens of songs for the biggest shows of the day. “He was a careful craftsman whose work won the admiration of his peers,”


according to The New York Times. Richard Rodgers said, “Few people realize how architecturally excellent his music is. There’s a foundation, a structure and an embellishment. Then you add the emotion he puts in and the result is Cole Porter.” Described as a “trim, slight, dark man, groomed in subdued, elegant taste, Porter usually sported a boutonniere in the lapel of his well-tailored suits. His speech was

quiet, reserved, almost clipped.” In the summer of 1937, Porter was horseback riding when his horse slipped, threw him and then landed on top of him, breaking both of Cole’s legs and damaging his nervous system. Over the next 20 years he would endure 30 operations to relieve the constant pain of a chronic bone disease called osteomyelitis. Eventually, in 1958, his right leg had to

be amputated, and for the rest of his life Porter lived in severe pain, ending his previously active partying life. In his final years he withdrew from friends as he divided his time between his Manhattan apartment, his estate in the Berkshires, and his California home. “He died in 1964,” Sinatra said, “but because he left us so much wonderful music, Cole Porter will always be with us.” w w w.d ke.o rg

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Alumni Profile

HELVERSON HELPS LEAD REVIVAL OF DELTA PI

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ave Helverson likes to say that, as an infant, he was scratched by DKE’s diamond pin. That’s because the 57-year-old Delta Pi Brother is the true son of a DKE, Alan Helverson, Delta Pi 56, who met his wife at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Illinois chapter. “Mom proudly wore Dad’s DKE pin often. I still remember that as if it was yesterday,” Dave said. The recent re-chartering of Delta Pi brought back all those good memories for Helverson, who’s played an instrumental role in helping to restart the Illinois Dekes. “When Doug Lanpher sent me an email three years ago, asking me to meet a group of young guys who were all fired up to be Dekes, I wasn’t so sure,” he said. Dave had assisted with the re-chartering of DKE’s Delta Delta chapter at the University of Chicago in 1989, but had not been active with his own Delta Pi. Helverson was already serving on several charity boards and he was busy in his job in Chicago as an investment adviser for Wells Fargo. But he finally agreed to meet with the group, and what he found took him back to his happiest days in DKE. “I met a wonderful group of young men, always appreciative and polite, and they got along so well. You know, Millennials have come in for their share of bad press, but these guys were genuine and they seemed to be having a great time in an exciting part of life.” They reminded Dave of the close bond he formed with his Delta Pi brothers in the late 1970s and early ’80s. “The year I served as president of our chapter, we spent the summer going to garage sales, buying dressers, beds and furnishings for the DKE House. It was great fun. Then, a few years ago, as I watched these young guys become immersed in the Fraternity’s values and ideals, my interest in DKE was rekindled. It’s been impressive to see how the undergraduates have embraced the tenets of the Fraternity.”

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L to R: Current Chapter President Nick Rodriguez, ’19; Immediate Past President A.J. Schroeder, ’18; Past President and current Chapter Advisor Dave Helverson, ’81; Refounding Colony President Gabriel Gonzalez, ’17.

He went to the hospital to visit his dad, who was very ill. “I whispered in his ear, Dad, Delta Pi is back. He opened his eyes, smiled, and asked, ‘Who’s in the boxcar?’ ” It was a joke between Deke Brothers, father and son. Alan Helverson referred to the original, stately Delta Pi house from 1922 through 1964 that was shaped like a boxcar.

Helverson said he became convinced the young Illinois Dekes were for real after he was invited to attend a summer retreat at the Champaign-Urbana campus. “They called it ‘Dekend,’ and they got right down to business,” he said. “Charlie Cubberly from DKE headquarters was there, and I was amazed at how well everybody got along. They had a lot of work to do – starting from scratch. They created a budget and outlined plans on how to run the house, hammering out all the details. I

remember thinking as the weekend came to a close that this could really work.” Helverson and other Delta Pi alumni began working together to assist the fledgling chapter, which is now headquartered in a house on the Urbana campus. “It comfortably holds 20 or more brothers, but we’re always on the lookout for a house that’s right in the center of all the activity,” he said. “Real estate changes quickly I always tell the guys, and they’ve done their part by recruiting and molding quality Brothers. I think we’re on pace for a pledge class of about 20 men, which would be great for Delta Pi. Historically, our chapter has always been on the smaller side, but now it seems the sky is the limit.” The revival of the chapter became personal to Helverson in the early days of the mission when he went to the hospital to visit his dad, who was very ill. “I whispered in his ear, Dad, Delta Pi is back. He opened his eyes, smiled, and asked, ‘Who’s in the boxcar?’ ” It was a joke between Deke Brothers, father and son. Alan Helverson referred to the original, stately Delta Pi house from 1922 through 1964 that was shaped like a boxcar. “That was the last conversation I had with my father,” Dave said. “He passed away two weeks later, and when I thought about it, DKE and family all seemed to come together for me. One of the great benefits of being a Deke is that for all of us it’s like family. It’s been my family by blood, as well as the family I chose in college.” Helverson plans to remain involved with his young Delta Pi Brothers. “Serving as their alumni adviser has been a highlight of my life,” he said. “This is not something that one person can do alone, and we don’t have a huge group of alumni, but more and more of our Brothers are coming on board. And we’re convinced that great things are in store for Delta Pi.” The former Delta Pi Colony was awarded their DKE Charter in June 2017. Read more about their journey in the Delta Pi-Road to Charter article in the Fall DEKE Quarterly.


DEKES GIVI NG BaCK

TAU CHI INJECTS NEW ENTHUSIASM INTO DUCKY DERBY

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exas A&M’s Tau Chi chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon is having so much success with its Ducky Derby that the event might soon start to rival the Kentucky Derby in popularity. Well, that’s a slight exaggeration, but the Ducky Derby – which is the chapter’s annual rubber duck race – proved triumphant once again when it took place in April. The event, which is similar to a raffle, with participants buying numbered ducks, benefits a local children’s museum. The ducks were entered in a river race, supervised by DKE Brothers, at Wolf Pen Creek Amphitheater. Once participants adopted a duck, names were assigned to each duck. Prizes were awarded for first, second and third place finishers, and a grand prize of a $1,000 gift card to a store of the winner’s choice, was awarded. The second-place finisher received a $250 gift card, while the third-place finisher received free food from Chick-fil-A for a full year. Tau Chi assumed organization of the event after the Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley decided it had grown so large that it was too much to handle alone. Zach Henry, Tau Chi’s previous philanthropy chairman, seized on the idea as a perfect project for his DKE Brothers. They teamed with the Children’s Museum to revive the contest, and it turned out to be one of the most successful in years.

Henry rallied the chapter to support the event by raising nearly $10,000. When new elections elevated Weber Massengale to chapter president, and Steve Black to philanthropy chairman, the Dekes worked to make the Ducky Derby come off without a hitch. Donations poured in not only from Texas, but from all over the nation, including checks from Tennessee, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and Georgia. Brother Black hopes to expand the Derby and make it bigger and better than ever. “We want to improve the event so that it can grow into a huge project for the community,” he said. “We’re convinced that if we keep working at it, word of the Ducky Derby will attract

more sponsors, increase community awareness, and expand its presence on campus.” The Children’s Museum is the ideal benefactor for proceeds of the event, Brother Massengale said. “As the proceeds go directly to the museum, we’re helping to support the mission by providing kids with fun, educational playgrounds,” he said. “Interacting with local businesses in this manner also provides our chapter with a unique and valuable opportunity to connect with the community.” The chapter garnered some great publicity through an interview on KTBX TV, which can be viewed by going to: www.kbtx.com/content/news/Ducky-Derby--417008853.html

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Guest Column

No Easy Answers, but Don’t Cast All of Greek Life in a Negative Light By Jay Paterno

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his spring, in response to a tragic story, the Greek life system at Penn State has justifiably come under scrutiny. The discussion has even escalated to question the very need for and existence of fraternities and sororities at Penn State. On the face of it, it is easy to render judgment when we see these distressing news stories. But should we, in judgment, apply the actions of the few to an entire group of people? First, be sure that this column is not to judge or assign blame for what happened in February. Due process should afford a deliberate review of the facts under the law. This column is focused on repeated condemnation of the Greek system at Penn State and across the nation. The coverage often reports statistics about the higher prevalence of alcohol use and sexual assaults committed by members of fraternities. Without reporting the methodology, these survey results have been given the weight of “statistics” and stated as indisputable fact. Survey “statistics” are not scientific facts and reporting often omits context. Several years ago Sports Illustrated published an article stating that 7 percent of all college football players on teams in the Top 25 had been charged with a crime. That number was used to hammer home the idea that college football was overrun with bad kids given a pass by coaches and universities. Within minutes we located FBI crime statistics showing college-aged men in America were being convicted of crimes at a 50 percent higher rate than college football players were simply being charged with crimes. Facts and context matter. Shaping the picture of a story to fit your premise is at best not fair and at worst reveals a deeper agenda. The word agenda is important, because it appears that we are using this tragedy to vilify the majority in the Greek system. To be sure, like all human institutions, the Greek system is not perfect. But it is also not all a dark, shadowy world of elitism, alcoholism and misogyny

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that some would have you believe. Recently I was reminded of the underlying purpose and strength of the Greek system. The brothers of Penn State’s Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity were hosting a golf outing to honor a brother who’d lost his battle with brain cancer. Their brother Andrew Garwood (at left in the photo) died while he was still a Penn State student. In his time at Penn State his leadership spoke to the character of many fraternity brothers. As a junior he became DKE president. While undergoing treatment for his brain cancer and against the advice of his doctors and family, he danced all 46 hours in Penn State’s Dance Marathon to raise money for others with pediatric cancer. But this story is also about the fraternity. After Andrew’s diagnosis, the brothers of DKE put together schedules of shifts to make sure they would be there to help him when he had treatments, or when he was studying or whenever they just didn’t want him to be alone. During the last days of his life, many of them flew out to see him at their own expense. What a true testament to brotherhood. But we’ve become a cynical society. All of us have a tendency to jump on our worst beliefs about people we don’t know or groups to which we do not belong. We readily believe the worst rumors, yet

demand irrefutable proof to accept the good in others. We overlook stories like the DKE brothers. We overlook the kind of people the Greek system attracts. We hide behind survey statistics that may or may not be accurate to point the finger at a whole group of people. Certainly the success and the impact of the Dance Marathon is an example of what the Greek system can accomplish. But it runs deeper. At its most basic level the Greek system provides young people in a new school with a home base. At large schools new students can become overwhelmed by the size of the school. A fraternity or sorority is a place where students can downsize college in a smaller community with others who help them find their social niche. Through shared experiences and the help of others going through the same ups, downs and emotions, they lay the foundations of their college career. The Greek system also anchors them to the campus, giving them a sense of place they return to visit for years to come. For as the weeks after graduation turn to years and into decades many of their enduring friends and memories of college are rooted in their college fraternity or sorority. But given recent events, what comes next? To be sure there are no easy answers, but we must resist the urge to only see them simply through the prism of the negative light. Weight must also be given to the good that is done. But just as surely as it is not perfect and there are flaws to be addressed, powerful reasons remain to see the value of what these institutions have been and can be for the future. State College native and Penn State graduate Jay Paterno is a father, husband and political volunteer. He’s a frequent guest lecturer on campus and at Penn State events and was the longtime quarterbacks coach for the Nittany Lions.


MYSTIC CIRCLE JAMES L GIBSON, Ph.D. IOTA ‘57 1935-2017 Dr. James L. Gibson was equal parts Gentleman, Scholar and Jolly Good Fellow. A contemporary of the legendary Iota Dekes J. David Grissom and Jim Evans, Brother Gibson’s enthusiasm and commitment to the fraternity began at Centre College and spanned seven decades. After completing graduate study in economics and management at the University of Kentucky, Dr. Gibson returned to Centre College as faculty member and, for a brief time, chair of the economics program. The majority of his career, some 31 years, was spent at UK where he became chair of the department of management and director of graduate studies. Dr. Gibson authored or co-authored eight books and textbooks during his career, many of which became required reading for students of economics and management. His books sold more than two million copies around the world. In recognition of his outstanding career in academic teaching, publishing and advising, and his generous support of his alma mater, Dr. Gibson was named a Distinguished Alumni of Centre College in 2012. Though his career flourished in Lexington, Brother Gibson was a passionate and committed supporter of the Iota Chapter throughout his life. When the chapter was in the process of recolonizing in 2010, Jim was a dedicated advocate, patiently yet persistently lobbying college officials to permit the chapter’s official reintroduction on Centre’s campus. Mentoring the young leaders of the reinvented chapter was more than a hobby to Jim: it was a service he pursued with vocational intensity and near unabated energy. Never one to shy away from a good party, Jim was known to invite the undergraduate Dekes to his Danville condo during Centre’s Homecoming so that they could get to know

many of the “Granddaddy” Dekes who made the chapter so famous around campus. The connection was not only fraternal, but generational, too. Jim’s granddaughter, Lisa Pascuzzi, was an Iota Chapter Sweetheart, and took pride in wearing the letters that defined much of her grandfather’s life. Brother Gibson’s investment in the chapter paid significant dividends in short time. After two years as a colony, Iota’s charter was granted in the spring of 2013 and the chapter moved into 850 Walnut Street that fall. The chapter study rightly bears Jim’s name, further affirmation of his sustained support of the chapter, not to mention his insistence on intellectual excellence. Jim was overjoyed when the Iota Chapter hosted the 170th DKE Convention and he joined dozens of Iota alumni at Churchill Downs for the closing banquet. He would have been thrilled to know that chapter has won dozens of awards since its refounding, including the Lion Trophy in 2013 and 2015. More importantly, though, Jim took courage knowing that the Iota Chapter thrives now just as it did in the 1950s.

CARL ECKERT OMICRON ’55 1934-2017 Carl Eckert, 83, who had lengthy, successful careers in teaching and in banking, died Feb. 24 in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan. Carl attended the Detroit University School and Culver Military Academy before enrolling at the University of Michigan, where he pledged the Omicron chapter. After graduation, Carl honored his obligation to serve his country as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army, leading an artillery unit stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany. He returned to earn his law degree at the University of Michigan and later a master’s degree in education. Carl began his teaching career at his high school alma mater, Culver Academy,

teaching economics, coaching baseball and counseling students. After 10 years, he returned to Grosse Pointe to work at Detroit Bank & Trust as a trust officer, spending the remainder of his career assisting local families with their estate planning. After retiring in 1999, Carl took leadership of the Alice Kales Hartwick Foundation, forwarding its philanthropic efforts to support a broad array of local charities. Carl enjoyed gardening, writing his memoirs and playing with his children and grandchildren. Mr. Eckert is survived by Mary Jane, his wife of 53 years, and two sons (both Omicron Dekes, Carl A. Ekert ‘92 & Thomas Ekert ‘95), and a daughter.

THOMAS FULLILOVE, JR. ZETA ZETA ’60 1938-2017 Thomas Fullilove, Jr., a successful real estate developer and construction company owner in the Shreveport, LA, area, died May 28 in Waveland, Mississippi. Born and raised in Shreveport, he attended Oklahoma Military Academy and Louisiana State University, where he pledged Delta Kappa Epsilon. He owned the Fullilove Construction Company and was a longtime member of the Shreveport Yacht Club.

DR. FRANK OSER ZETA ZETA ’74 1952-2017 Dr. Frank ‘Rusty’ Oser, who served as Chairman of the Neurology Department at New Orleans’ Ochsner Clinic Foundation Hospital following Hurricane Katrina, died July 9. A fifth generation New Oleanian, Rusty was a graduate of Louisiana State Univer-

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MYSTIC CIRCLE sity, where he was a proud member of Delta Kappa Epsilon. After his undergraduate years, he enrolled at Louisiana State University’s School of Medicine and then served an internship at Ochsner Foundation Hospital. He completed his residency in Neurology at Charity Hospital in New Orleans and then served on the staff of several community hospitals, focusing his primary practice at Southern Baptist Hospital. Rusty was honored many times during his career and was a Diplomate of the American Academy of Neurology and a Fellow of the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine. He was also an assistant professor of Neurology at Tulane University School of Medicine. He is survived by Lisette, his wife of 38 years, and two children.

JAMES KELLY TAU LAMBDA ’54 1932-2017 James Kelly, an awardwinning faculty member for 35 years at the University of Virginia’s Nuclear Engineering program, died June 9 at the Colonnades in Charlottesville, VA. Born and raised in New Orleans, he attended Tulane University where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering in 1954. During his Tulane years he was active in intramural sports, a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and a member of the Army ROTC. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1954 and served the next two years on active duty with The Engineer School at Fort Belvoir, Va. During those two years he met on a blind date and married Aileen Wilson, from Tampa, Fla., who was attending R-MWC in Lynchburg, Va. After his military service was completed, he and his bride moved to Baton Rouge, La., where he worked in the aluminum industry for three years, then enrolled in the graduate program of chemical engineering at Louisiana State University, and received the Ph.D. degree in 1962. In

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1964 he joined the Nuclear Engineering faculty at the University of Virginia, where he taught for thirty-five years, retiring as Professor Emeritus in 1999. During his faculty years, he received several honors and awards, including the Mac Wade Award, membership in the Raven Society as well as the Raven Award, and membership in the ODK and Tau Beta Pi. He was also awarded the University of Virginia Alumni Association Distinguished Professor Award. He was Dean of Undergraduate Programs in the Engineering School for five years. In addition to the graduate research that he supervised, he taught over twenty different engineering courses. After retiring, he enjoyed life with his family and close friends, reading, traveling, exercising, napping, and complaining about Democrats. James is survived by his wife, Aileen, two sons and two daughters.

DAVID BRADDOCK SIGMA TAU ’58 1936-2017 David Braddock (Walter David Braddock III) Age 80, passed away on Saturday evening March 11, 2017, at his home in Springfield IL, after a long but brave battle with cancer. David was raised in Chicago and spent his high school years in Barrington IL. He had an eclectic education and career. He attended MIT where he pledged Delta Kappa Epsilon and earned a BS in Chemical Engineering in 1958. Afterwards, he attended the University of Chicago and earned an MBA in 1960. Additionally, he received graduate degrees in Mathematics and a PhD in Economics and Finance. After college, he worked for the Standard Oil Company as a fuel chemist but spent the majority of his career working as a college professor. He enjoyed teaching and was dedicated to instructing young people regarding the intricacies of mathematics and other science and finance subjects. His joy of teaching spilled over from his professional life into his subsequent

volunteer work. David loved computers. He developed and utilized some of the first software to study the populations of (then endangered) wolves and their migratory patterns in the 1960’s. He was an inventor and pioneer in the use of computers for stock transactions, and was issued the first patent for a computerized stock exchange. His volunteer work included membership in Kiwanis in Chatham IL, and the private tutoring of mathematics to junior high and high school students. A lover of nature and the outdoors, he lived on Lake Springfield for approximately 45 years. David relished hiking, caving, canoeing, sailing, swimming, and skiing. He loved animals, poetry, art, history, classical music, dancing, travel, fine food, wine, good journalism, and the art of thoughtful and provoking conversation David asked that friends and family remember him by re-dedicating themselves to lifelong learning and the pursuit of truth. He is survived by his spouse Zoé, and his three sons, Davind, Tom, and Chris

GEOFFREY MacGLASHAN PI, ’52 1930-2017 Geoffrey MacGlash, a prominent musician who performed with several big bands and who served Delta Kappa Epsilon as a trustee, died July 23. He was active in the fraternity all his life. Born in 1930 in Dayton, Ohio, Geoffrey grew up in St. Louis where he attended the John Burroughs School, He later attended Dartmouth College, Columbia University and the Business School at the University of Michigan, from which he earned a master’s degree. An accomplished cornet player, Geoffrey performed with his mentor, Wild Bill Davison, when they played at New York City’s famed Eddie Condon’s. He cut several recordings and was nationally known for his musical skill. .He was a bird lover, a gardener and always had a beloved cat or dog in his home. Mr. MacGlashan is survived by his wife, Nancy.


CHAPTER ROLL 2017-2018

SCHOOL

PHI Yale University ZETA Princeton University PSI University of Alabama BETA University of North Carolina ALPHA Harvard University KAPPA Miami University DELTA University of South Carolina LAMBDA Kenyon College ETA University of Virginia IOTA Centre College OMICRON University of Michigan RHO Lafayette College TAU Hamilton College BETA PHI University of Rochester THETA CHI Union College ZETA ZETA Louisiana State University PHI CHI Rutgers University GAMMA PHI Wesleyan University PSI OMEGA Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute DELTA DELTA University of Chicago PHI GAMMA Syracuse University THETA ZETA Univ of California, Berkeley PHI EPSILON University of Minnesota SIGMA TAU Mass. Institute of Technology ALPHA PHI University of Toronto DELTA KAPPA University of Pennsylvania TAU ALPHA McGill University SIGMA RHO Stanford University DELTA PI University of Illinois OMEGA CHI University of Texas, Austin ALPHA TAU University of Manitoba DELTA PHI University of Alberta PHI ALPHA University of British Columbia TAU DELTA University of the South PSI DELTA Wake Forest University SIGMA ALPHA Virginia Tech University PHI DELTA University of Western Ontario PI BETA Troy University EPSILON RHO Duke University NU ZETA Pace University THETA UPSILON Arizona State University PHI SIGMA Bryant College PHI RHO Pennsylvania State University ZETA CHI Bentley College BETA GAMMA New York University SIGMA KAPPA Michigan State University DELTA PSI Indiana University MU CHI Maryville College RHO BETA University of Richmond TAU CHI Texas A & M University BETA TAU University of Victoria SIGMA XI St. Joseph’s College OMEGA MU Oklahoma State University PHI MU Manhattan College CHI BETA Univ of North Carolina, WiIlmington GAMMA IOTA Gannon University ZETA GAMMA Hampden Sydney College PI ALPHA Unversity of Missouri Kappa Chi University of Delaware Tau Beta Simon Fraser Lambda Tau University of f Tennessee Iota Chi Ithaca College Alpha Omicron University of Colorado Delta Rho NC State

DKE ADDRESS

73 Lake Place, New Haven, CT 06511 Uses university facilities, Princeton, NJ 946 University Blvd, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401 132 S. Columbia Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Colony Status, Cambridge, MA 325 E Sycamore, Oxford, OH 45056 Uses university facilities, Columbia, SC Old Kenyon dormitory, Gambier, OH 173 Culbreath Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903 600 W. Walnut Street, Danville, KY 1004 Olivia Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 719 Sullivan Trail, Easton, PA 18042 Uses college facilities, Clinton, NY 597 Fraternity Road, Rochester, NY 14627 N. Wing Fox dormitory, Schenectady, NY 13 Dalrymple Drive, Baton Rouge, LA 70808 78 College Ave., New Brunswick, NJ 08901 276 High Street, Middletown, CT 06459 Colony Status, Troy, NY Uses private facilities, Chicago, IL 703 Walnut Ave, Syracuse, NY 13210 2302 Piedmont Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704 1711 University Ave. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55414 403 Memorial Drive, Cambridge, MA 02139 157 St. George St, Toronto, ON, Canada M5R2M2 307 S. 39th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 Uses private facilities, Montreal, QC, Canada Uses university facilities Stanford, CA 713 W. Ohio St., Urbana, IL Colony status, 715 Graham Pl., Austin, TX Uses private facilities, Winnipeg, MB, Canada 11003 87th Ave., Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G0X5 #8 2880 Westbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T253 735 University Ave, Sewanee, TN 37383 1101 Polo Road, Winston Salem, NC 27106 302 E. Roanoke Road, Blacksburg, VA 24060 Colony status, London, Ontario, Canada 414 Fraternity Circle, Troy, AL 36081 1708 Pace Street, Durham, NC Uses private facilities, Pleasantville, NY Uses private facilities, Tempe, AZ Uses private facilities, Smithfield, RI 328 E. Foster Ave., State College, PA 16801 Uses private facilities, Waltham, MA Uses university facilities, NY, NY 505 Albert Ave., East Lansing, MI 48823 518 E. 1st Street, Bloomington, IN 47401 Uses private facilities, Maryville, TN Uses private facilities, Richmond, VA 3200 Callie Circle, College Station, TX 77845 Uses private facilities, Victoria, BC, Canada Uses College facilities, Patchogue, NY 11772 1225 W. Third Ave., Stillwater, OK 74074 4513 Manhattan College Pkwy, Bronx, NY Uses private facilities, Wilimington, NC 109 University Square , Erie, PA Uses college facilities, Farmville, VA 912 S. Providence, Columbia, MO 65203 Colony status, uses private facilities Colony status, uses school facilities Colony status, 1828 Fraternity Park Dr., Knoxville, TN Colony status, uses private facilities Colony status, 881 19th St., Boulder, CO Colony status, 18 Maiden Ln., Raleigh, NC

ACTIVES

NEW MEMBERS

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D e lt a K a p p a E p s i l o n F r a t e r n i t y 3 0 0 1 P ly m o u t h Rd . S u i t e 2 0 5 A n n A r b o r , MI 4 8 1 0 5 Add r e ss C o r r e ct i o n R e q u e st e d

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