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THE GREEK VINE
The Newsletter of the Brown Greek Community: Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Delta Phi, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Delta Phi, Delta Tau, Kappa Alpha Theta, Phi Kappa Psi, Sigma Chi, Theta Delta Chi, Zeta Delta Xi
Alpha Delta Phi Writing Competition
The Alpha Delta Phi co-ed literary society is holding a new competition, Pen Ultimate. One page-works of nonfiction, fiction, poetry, and visual art will all be considered for up to $1000 in cash prizes generously funded by the chapter's alumni. Members of the society will not be eligible, and the house hopes many people in the Brown community will enter the competition. Submissions can be sent as an attachment to PenUltimateCompetition@gmail.co m, and should include in the email itself the entrant's name, class, mailbox #, category (nonfiction, fiction, poetry, or visual art), and title.
As a new member of the Brown Campus, finding your of Wriston that includes all of the houses and their
Having trouble finding your way around Wriston?
way around Wriston can be a challenge. Above is a map location. Thanks to Ben Rome (’10) a brother of AEPi.
Save the Date!
Greek Olympics
October 15
Greek Houses compete for their house pride!
th
Surprise!
End of Oct.
AEPi will be hosting a surprise event at the end of October so get ready!
KATwalk
November 19 th
Kappa Alpha Theta hosts a fashion show to benefit CASA!
Poet John Hodgen speaks in the Alpha Delta Phi Society lounge last Spring.
Come watch the
THE GREEK VINE
OCTOBER 2008
Cynthia Bui ’09 Kappa Alpha Theta President Goes to Grand Convention
This past summer, Kappa Alpha Theta hosted its national Grand Convention in Miami! The presidents of each of Theta's 128 chapters had the honor of attending the convention as their chapter's delegates. Consistently thought of as one of the top Theta chapters, the excellence of Brown's Theta chapter once again shined through at the awards banquet. Alpha Epsilon received an award for "Improvement in Risk Management" for our innovative risk management programming, which included entertaining modules about everything having to do with risk: social safety, fire safety, and more. Thank you to our Risk Managers, Alissa Cerny and Gena Gonzales for their outstanding work. Alpha Epsilon was also recognized as a "Bronze Kite" chapter!! Kites, which are one of the highest honors for a Theta collegiate chapter, are given to Theta chapters who show outstanding overall performance in all areas, varying from finance to education, to everything in between! Congratulations to all of the sisters of the Alpha Epsilon Chapter! This recognition could not have happened without the dedication of each and every sister. Hopefully our streak of excellence will continue, and we will come home with even more awards from convention in 2010!
Sigma Chi starts of the year with a charity walk for Big Brothers of Rhode Island
The other weekend the brothers of Sigma Chi participated in a walk for Big Brothers of Rhode Island. They raised over $600 for the local charity that provides role models for father boys. Many of the brothers are actively involved in this charity including George George (’10) and Ruben Izmailian (’09).
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THE GREEK VINE
OCTOBER 2008
Zete Euro-Style Spring Break!
Aviad Haimi-Cohen ‘09 In early January of 2008, I packed my bags and waved goodbye to the West side of the Atlantic pond. Entering the heartlands of Europe, fear struck as I realized I'd be living down the street from a fraternal order more pompous than any on Wriston - the Catholic Church. They wouldn't recognize the letters I was wearing and had probably never even heard of St. Wile E (Zete's mascot)! So overnight, the gambler in me took the draw of a stranger in a foreign land. Leaving behind the fraternity for a semester was a trial of Brotherhood much like living in house, but with different lessons to be learned and different risks at stake. And distance does make the heart grow fonder – I didn't realize what a good thing we have until I was gone.Yet despite time zones and calling cards, I was able to skype into meeting and wave hello to the brotherhood. Oh, what a world we live in! Still, being apart from my Brothers made me realize how much I missed their presence. What a heartbreaker… But chance struck and love found a new way to survive even in the old world. Through gchat and a shared time zone, my big brother's big brother, Eileen Pappas ('05), and I started chatting because – well - we're Zetes and we were both in Europe. Chatting soon grew into long, deep talking, and before we knew it we'd found European soul-mates – brothers separated
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Al Carter(’09) and Eileen Pappas (’05) reuniting on the other side of the pond
at birth. I discovered how timeless life at Zete can be. Every brother shares this memory of a House with me, a memory to build meaningful friendships with people all over the world. And so, in true Zete fashion, what did we do? Al ('09), Eileen ('05) and I headed East and had the first ever ZETE EUROSTYLE SPRING BREAK. And while I know that Brown is an open-minded community, there is no way I can write about those 10 days we traveled through Budapest, Bratislava and Praha together. It was Epic. Leaving from and returning to Zete has been a wild ride. When gone, I felt as though I had stepped into elder shoes - no longer a physically present part of the House, but ever still feeling a part of it. Upon my return, with 17 new faces to meet and pledge, there was not a single moment in which I did not feel at right at home with the brotherhood. Amazing.
THE GREEK VINE
OCTOBER 2008
Dear President Simmons, Today was the day that E Cubed Academy visited Brown University. It was a perfect day in every way. The Delta Phi's were the most gracious hosts. They went out of their way to show us around, to create the perfect schedule and to make us feel welcome. The speakers were generous with their time and information and the students had a feast at the Ratty. Spending a day at Brown allows our students to see what is possible in life. I wanted to give them the gift of hope and I think we did that, and more. . . . It was a day filled with friendship and self discovery. Thank you for sharing your Brown community with us. . . . Today, you opened the Van Winkle gates in the minds and hearts of our urban children. I am certain that it is a day they will always remember. Sincerely, Betsy McNeil – Teacher
Delta Phi hosts E-Cubed Academy at Brown
University’s Swearer Center, Elisha Anderson from the Office of Admissions, and VicePresident of Campus Life Russell Carey. The day culminated with an amazing lunch at the Ratty (see pictures below) where the students not only feasted on a wide assortment of refectory offerings, but also discovered that Delta Phi brothers eat cereal for lunch. It was an amazing experience for all concerned, further cementing the fraternity’s relationship with a school starved of resources and community assistance. Echoing this, student Stephanie Luner wrote that “this was an incredible opportunity for me. I was able to get a feeling of college lifestyle. After this trip I was much more motivated to try even harder in my academic areas because I know that I am working hard for a reason.” Student Linda Bertholdt adds
that what she remembers most about the day were “the big library and the great tasting food. Last but not least, the real cute guys!”
This past April 23, Delta Phi gave community service a whole new name by hosting 30 students from E-Cubed Academy, an urban high school, in a college visitation day. The day began on Thayer Street with a tour conducted by guide extraordinaire Mike Miller ’10, house vice-president and the event’s coordinator. The tour included the athletic center (a stop on the rooftop practice field is pictured on the left), the campus, the List Art Center, Rockefeller Library and Keeney Quad before moving to Wriston Lounge. It was there the students were treated to presentations by Rosanna Castro from the 4
THE GREEK VINE
OCTOBER 2008
The Spirit of Greek Week
by Toby Cohen (’09) Greek Council Vice Chair
With ten different Greek houses residing on Brown’s campus, many people find themselves focusing on what separates one from the other. Every Greek knows the history and ideals of their own organization, and often believes that it’s these types of things that make his or her house unique, but we usually don’t stop to realize that many of our organizations have extremely similar histories and are working towards similar ideals: loyalty, honesty, honor, and being upstanding members of our community. We find ourselves often competing against each other (whether it be who can raise the most money for charity, throw the best parties, do the most community service, have the largest chapter, have the most connected alumni, or host the most lavish formal) even though we’re really all working towards the same things, just approaching them from different angles. This is what makes Greek Week so special. While we are often working together, it’s still very clear that we are from separate houses collaborating on a project. Greek Week is one of the few times when we really portray ourselves simply as “Greeks” and not members of one house or another. The climax of this will be the Thursday of Greek Week, when the 500+ members of Brown’s Greek community will all be wearing Greek apparel. The thing is we won’t be wearing our own house’s apparel like many students are used to seeing around campus. Instead, we will all be wearing our Greek Council t-shirts to show that we are indeed part of one community that is working towards developing a better world by developing better leaders for the future. That being said, all bets are off during the hours of 8-10pm on Wednesday for Greek Olympics. Will Theta Delta Chi repeat as champions, or will Delta Tau, with the spirit of Houston, TX behind them, regain the glory they once had in 06-07?
Phi Kappa Psi
Between our Saturday afternoon tailgate and our Saturday evening cocktail, Phi Kappa Psi had a great time with our returning alumni during Homecoming weekend.
Delta Tau
During the fall semester the brothers of Delta Tau held a Showtime at Dtau featuring the Brown Derbies, Brown BBoys, Brown Standup, Phil Kaye performing Slam Poetry, and the DTau House Band. All proceeds from this evening of a cappella, breakdancing, standup comedy, slam poetry, and a live band, went to the Developmentally Disabled Literary Program. In addition, Delta Tau threw an event called Date-A-Delt to raise money for Hurricane Ike Relief. We raised $850 for the Greater Houston Community Foundation, providing relief to the Gulf Coast. As a result of this event, the brothers of Delta Tau were made Honorary Houstonians by the Mayor Bill White of Houston. We hope to continue raising money and awareness for those who need it 5
THE LOREM IPSUMS
FALL 2012
The Brothers of AEPi raise $17,500 for Environment for a Cure
On April 16th, 2007, the brothers of the Beta Rho chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi engaged in a bold endeavor." They challenged themselves, and everyone around them, to bring all of the Providence community together in a silent auction to benefit the Pediatric Oncology Center at the Hasbro Children’s Hospital." The auction, which was held from 5-7 pm on Wriston Quad at Brown University, drew between 300 and 400 community-members, and raised over $2500." A gala event, which followed the auction and was held downtown at the Hotel Providence, raised another $6000." With $8500 raised, the brothers celebrated and danced the night away, only to find out on April 17th that an anonymous donor offered to match the amount raised to date, which brought the grand total raised for the renovation of the Pediatric Oncology Center to $17,500. Once the brothers of Beta Rho heard that the Pediatric Oncology Unit at the Hasbro Children’s Hospital was in desperate need of an update, they immediately came together to found The 1st Annual AE! Benefit Silent Auction: An Environment for a Cure." Starting at the grassroots level, the brothers of Beta Rho first solicited friends and family for donations, and then moved to Thayer Street and downtown Providence to acquire donated items for the silent auction." By the time April 16th arrived, over 50 items had been collected for the auction, 30 of which came from local stores and companies." The other 20 items were donated by corporations from across America." Generous companies such as THQ, The New York Giants, Estee Lauder, Tiffanys, and BC Sports donated items ranging from sports memorabilia to purses to video games. Perhaps the event’s success can be attributed to the chapter’s avid desire to spread its fervor for supporting local hospitals to other chapters of AE! across the country." Environment for Cure succeeded to bring the entire city of Providence together in 2008, and will better the lives of innumerable pediatric cancer patients for years to come." On behalf of Beta Rho, we simply cannot wait to see what 2009 has in store. -Devin Cohen ‘09
Alpha Chi Omega honors Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Alpha Chi Omega rang in October by commemorating domestic violence awareness, the sorority’s national philanthropic cause. Domestic Violence Awareness Month is important in remembering those who have suffered and also promoting resources and open dialogue to help those in need and prevent further tragedies. AXO held a luminary event on the night of October 2, lining Wriston Quad with tea-lights in honor of all domestic violence victims. Fliers with domestic violence facts are posted on dorms and magnets with related resources are to be distributed across campus. Look for purple ribbons on the sisters and please join AXO in promoting domestic violence awareness. Silence Hides Violence. Spread the Word. Support the Cause.