Letters

Members of the Emerging Greek Leadership Council working the 2nd Annual Meal Under the Campanile

Volume 2 Issue 4Iowa State University Greek Community April 2012

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Dear Reader,Greek Getaway is an exciting tradition for the Greek Community that is decades old. Each year, we wrap up Greek Week with exciting memories and welcoming new potential members to our community. This year, we welcomed a record number of 662 students to our community. There were 409 women and 253 men present!

The goal of Greek Getaway is for prospective new members of our community to "be Greek for a day" and to truly see what our Greek Community is about. Each of our four pillars, friendship, scholarship, leadership and philanthropy are represented throughout the various events happening during the weekend such as Greek Olympics, Lip Sync Finals and the Greek Pizza Lunch benefitting United Way.

We hope the students who visited during Greek Getaway leave with the best image of our community in their minds. It is our hope that these students will continue on to participate in fraternity and sorority recruitment and become the future leaders of our community.

We would like to thank all of you for opening your homes to the potential new members and for all of your hard work! Greek Getaway would not have been such a success if it was not for all of you!

Sincerely,

The Recruitment TeamKatie H. Joe N.Sam S. Evan T.

Meet the Letters Team

Caleb EversIFC VP of Communications

Sara SchlueterCPC VP of Marketing

Freddy FifieldIFC VP of Marketing

Megan McDonaghCPC VP of Marketing

Greek Relations Executive Council

Katelyn Barker Kappa DeltaAshleigh Belin Pi Beta PhiMary-Kate Burkert Alpha Delta PiAbby Ehrler Sigma KappaMelissa Gofforth Delta Delta DeltaJackie Howell Kappa DeltaChris Lightfoot Sigma Phi EpsilonJoe McConico Pi Kappa AlphaZach Mlcoch Sigma Alpha EpsilonBayley Rustad Kappa Kappa Gamma

Α Dear Reader

Β Contacts

Γ & Δ Spring Break

Ε & Ζ Relay for Life

Η Theta Delta Chi

Θ President Leath

Welcomed

Ι Bull of Arc

Κ Farmhouse

Renovation

Λ Calender

CONTENTS

letters.isu@gmail.com

@ISUGreek

Greek Community -Iowa State University

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Greek Alternative Spring Break

While many students in the Greek Community went somewhere warm for spring break, 18 Greek students agreed to a much different type of spring break. They lived out one of the founding principles that tie all of the Greek Community together: philanthropy, and chose to give back through the Greek Alternative Spring Break program.

After a nine-hour car ride to Indianapolis, the group spent three days volunteering at the Horizon House, a local homeless shelter, Heritage Place, an activity center for active senior citizens and St. Vincent de Paul’s distribution center. “I never do anything for spring break. I wanted to do something different that

would have an impact on other people,” explains Melissa Slagle, one of the undergraduate trip leaders and a member of Alpha Sigma Kappa. She also mentioned how the employees of Horizon House had been asking when the Iowa State kids were going to be back, since the project had been such a success there last year. Sam Behrens, the other undergraduate trip leader and a member of Acacia Fraternity, said that one of his favorite parts of this experience is interacting with the “neighbors.” The word neighbor is common within the walls of Horizon House, where it is used instead of the term homeless. “They didn’t want to talk about anything in particular, they just wanted to talk,” said Sam. The participants on this trip found that they had a lot more in common with the neighbors then they had anticipated. They met doctors, people who have doctorate degrees and even a man who used to play football at Purdue, who all seek services from the Horizon House.

“That could be me. There is nothing really different between us except things have gone right for me so far,” said Slagle.

At Heritage Place, students were given a chance to line dance with the seniors and participate in some demanding chair aerobics. In their free time, the students also visited a few Greek inter/national headquarters in Indianapolis including Delta Tau Delta, Sigma Kappa, Kappa Alpha Theta, Alpha Tau Omega,

BY ASHLEIGH BELIN

Greeks at the Horizon House.

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Greek Alternative Spring BreakAcacia and Delta Upsilon. The students spent some time talking with the people who work for these organizations about leadership, national Greek involvement and philanthropic efforts. The ISU students felt like they had a lot to take away from this experience especially everything involving philanthropy.

They are hoping to make the causes behind each chapter’s philanthropy come to the forefront of their future events as well as doing more things in the community.

*I thought this was a good quote that reflected their trip that we could also put in the article. They also had it up on their blog. The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. -Nelson Henderson

Greeks outside of the Horizon House.

Farah Isheck and Freddy Fifield washing windows at the Horizon House.

From Left to Right: Raina Edel, Rachael Whitehair, Samantha Petersen, Callie Bucha, Freddy Fifield VII and Sam Michael.

The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.

-Nelson Henderson

Relay For Life

Relay For Life

BY ASHLEIGH BELIN

Even though Relay was not part of Greek Week this year, 46 Greek teams participated.

Courtesy of blogs.simplyfun.com

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On Friday March 23, over 1,230 people came together to celebrate Relay For Life, an annual event raising money for and bringing awareness to find a cure for cancer.

The night was set in Lied Recreation Athletic Center with many activities for students to participate in throughout the night. By 7 a.m. the next morning, the total amount raised for the American Cancer Society was $89,831. The top fundraising teams were Pi Beta Phi with $2,088, Sigma Kappa with $2,295 and Acacia with $2,395.25, which was the most raised.

Alexis Patinos, a freshman member of Pi Beta Phi was the individual that raised the most money with a total of $1,421.

“Relay [for Life] means a lot to me because it’s a way for me to remember and honor my mom,” said Patinos. “I started participating freshman year of high school in order to help fight back since my mom was battling cancer herself. Unfortunately, cancer claimed her life the following year. I have been even more passionate in my involvement with Relay For Life and The American Cancer Society since then.”

During the night, luminaries were placed around the track in honor of individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer and those who have passed away from it. These names were read aloud as participants walked around the track in silence. Overall, the Greek

Community played a major role in the success of the event, raising a total of $16,382.

“The level of support the Greek Community showed Relay for Life regardless of no [Greek Week] point values made me proud to be a member of the Greek Community at Iowa State and makes me excited for continued Greek involvement in years to come,” said Kourtney Determan, the general co-chair for Relay for Life and a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.

Spencer Holten, a member of Phi Gamma Delta, managed to continue to relay around the track the entire night. “My grandmother died of breast cancer and my grandfather survived pancreatic cancer, which is genetic. I relayed to help find a cure.”

Even though Relay was not part of Greek Week this year, 46 Greek teams participated.

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Theta Delta Chi Chapter House Honored

The Theta Delta Chi fraternity house, also known as the Colonial Club House, located at 217 Ash Avenue, was completed in 1910 and has had three additions over 50 years with the last one in 1966. One of the key reasons for being eligible for the National Register of Historic Places was the architectural design-masonry construction, Colonial revival styling and rich detailing.

Prior to 1910, off-campus student housing and businesses tended to cluster in West Gate neighborhood, a section of the Fourth Ward west of campus. The construction of the new club house at 217 Ash Avenue signaled the emergence of Ash Avenue and its surroundings on the southeast side of the campus as the preferred location for new Greek residences. On February 8, 2012, Theta Delta Chi received official designation at the national level along with their historical designation from the State of Iowa. In order to obtain a thorough history of the building, William Colgan Page, a public historian, was hired. Page prepared the formal documentation and submitted it on Theta Delta Chi’s behalf, the process took about two years to complete.

“This whole project, including a number of sub-projects, involving our members and alumni have brought us closer together,” Ron Hallenbeck, house advisor and president of Theta Delta Chi B^ Realty Company, said. “This idea of obtaining historical recognition and ultimately achieving it has had a tremendous impact on starting to create increased alumni awareness from those who were at B^ in the 1940’s to the present.” Not only will having a spot on the National Register of Historic Places increase alumni awareness, but it makes tax credits available to help with funding for future renovations. “The men will have input as we look at improvements to the facility while keeping with the historical guidelines which will now prevail on any changes we make to the house,” Hallenbeck said. “The Men also view the designation as a rallying opportunity to grow the Charge after a number of years of low membership.” Hallenbeck explained that achieving this goal was a team effort, but it is only the beginning. The fraternity is looking to finalize potential renovation opportunities and put together a fundraising campaign with alumni.

BY MARY-KATE BURKERT

An Early Picture of the Theta Delta Chi House

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The Greek Community Welcomes President Leath

BY ABBY EHRLER

From Left to Right: Laura Wooster, President Leath, Joe Hora, Dr. Tom Hill, and James Dorsett

On Tuesday, March 20 at 6:30 p.m., the Greek Community held a gathering to welcome President Steven Leath to campus. The event was hosted Alpha Gamma Rho. Student leaders within the Greek community were invited to meet President Leath and discuss their roles within the Iowa State Greek community.

The rainy weather didn’t stop Greek students from meeting President Leath. Around three hundred Greek student leaders came to introduce themselves to him, which took him by surprise.

“I was overwhelmed. I thought only 50 people or so would show up,” President Leath stated. “I wish I could have gotten to talk to everybody.”

Students got the opportunity to introduce themselves and their chapters, talk about the amazing things their chapters contribute to the Greek community or just get to know President Leath a little better.

After about 45 minutes of chatting with students, IFC President, Joe Hora, introduced President Leath to a few exemplary Greek leaders on campus. These leaders represented the Interfraternity Council, Collegiate Panhellenic Council, Multicultural Greek Council, National Pan-Hellenic

Council, Dance Marathon and other campus organizations.

This gathering allowed Greek student leaders to come together to welcome President Leath as a community. Executive officers from each chapter on campus were present, as well as leaders from groups such as the Emerging Greek Leadership Council, Greek Week and the Greek Leadership Class.

President Leath commented on this community effort by saying, “It must be pretty neat to get all of the sororities and fraternities together, because I’m sure that probably doesn’t happen very often.”

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Fraternity Band on the RiseBY CHRIS LIGHTFOOT

Bull of Arc performing during a show.

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One step at a time, the fraternity band, Bull of Arc, is striving to make it big.

For guitarist Chris Turner, pianist Justin Moser, bassist Henry Smith, singer Abhi Pant and drummer Ben Dennis, playing music evolved into much more than just a fun hobby.

Bull of Arc is now starting to take flight. The alternative rock group is influenced through a wide array of musical genres such as rock, blues, classical and pop.

Chris Turner, lead guitarist and member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, began playing music together with Abhi and Justin earlier this year.

“We live with each other, and we all knew each of us played an instrument, so we decided to start playing music together,” said Chris a freshman Pre-Med major. “And that is how it all got started.”

Abhi, a freshman in industrial engineering, and Justin a freshman in chemical engineering began working collaboratively with Chris to create music. Henry, an engineering major and classmate of Abhi, was asked to join the group. Slowly but surely, a band was formed. Then Ben Davis, marketing major and member of Pi Kappa Phi, answered the call for a drummer.

“We all desired a means of expression. Whether it be vocally through our lyrics, or instrumentally. Each one of us had an incredible passion for the music we made and we decided to put it all together,” said Abhi.

The band played their first show at the M-Shop during Dance Marathon this year, to a crowd bobbing their heads and tapping their feet to the melodic sounds of the group.

The band plans on booking more shows in the spring, and recording quality tracks to try to get a spot on a label company. A few bands that resemble the sound of Bull Of Arc are Coldplay, Young the Giant and Foster the People.

Expect to see Bull of Arc at local venues around Ames in the spring, enticing their listeners with their music. Check out the Bull of Arc Facebook page to learn more about this group.

FarmHouse Gets New Technology RoomBY KATELYN BARKER

A member of FarmHouse studying in the technology room.

The perfect setting for group projects.

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Ronald Eugene “Raz” Raikes, of Ashland, Nebraska, was a 1962 initiate of the Iowa State Chapter of FarmHouse Fraternity. He was a dedicated student and also served as chapter president. After graduating he became a faculty member at Iowa State until he returned home to direct his family farm. While home, he was fatally injured in a farm machinery accident over Labor Day weekend in 2009. Duane Harris, a close friend and brother of Ron, came up with the idea of “Project Raz.” Ron was a firm believer in using technology for the betterment of farm management. Therefore, the chapter’s association board, alumni and current members believed Harris’ idea to transform the chapter facility’s computer lab into a state-of-the-art technology center. Several monetary pledges were made to make the remodel a success.

In the fall of 2010, the planning committee of Project Raz decided to include Iowa State interior design students in the remodel. After

contacting the College of Design, many different ideas were submitted and last spring the design of Cassie White and Maria Giles, members of Pi Beta Phi, were selected.

During the summer of 2011, many contributors began working to bring the design to life. Helland Construction Inc. headed the project, while Nelson Electric worked on all electrical updates, and several other providers built cabinets, desks and set up several new computers. The grand opening of the Ronald E. Raikes Technology Center took place on October 22, 2011 during the Iowa State homecoming celebration.

“They took a room that was barely used, updated it to honor one of our brother’s, and now it is one of the most common study areas we have,” said FarmHouse member, Drew Brown. Many other FarmHouse members agree, and are proud to have the updated addition in their chapter facility.

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APRIL

DZ Dogs at Delta Zeta 9pm-1am

FarmHouse Powder Puff Game 10am-

2pm

ATO Stickfest at Alpha Tau Omega 5pm-

8pm

SAE Slices for the Kids 7pm-

12am at Sigma Alpha Epsilon

Chi O Cones 9pm-12am at Chi Omega

Tau Kappa Cookies and Cream 8pm-12am at Tau

Kappa Epsilon

Dunk Tank at Adelante

Dunk tank at Adelante

Cookies for Casa 8am-5pm

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Homecoming Game against

Texas A&M

VEISHEA Week

Dead Week

Finals Week

Pi Phiesta 5-8pm at Pi

Beta Phi

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