Rho Kappa Chapter’s First Newsletter Edited and Designed by James Pickerell and Kameron Sawyer Grand Master’s Report Paul Disselhorst, Grand Master [email protected] The Rho Kappa chapter has seen a surge of activity so far this year. With an active member base of 45, we came into the year with two main goals: improving rush and ritual. Our new Beta class has hit the ground running and we’ve had them doing numerous pledge tasks, including reciting the Star & Cres- cent in the middle of the campus dining commons less than a week from being pinned. Rush chair Duane Lindsay reinvented our rush program and created many new events for us, including a night hike for the prospective pledges and a “Bologna” spaghetti feast. We also revamped our BIA/pledge education program for more structure from day one so the pledges can more easily assimilate into brotherhood. We have started reaching out to local alumni and have begun work on a newsletter to distribute to those in the area. Our ritual committee has been leading numerous studies a week and the race is on for the first ritual master certificate for the chapter. We’re proud to be above the all men’s average for GPA the past 2 years and are looking to make it 3 years straight to win the Silver Bowl Award. This past July I attended Conclave as our chapter’s delegate and was blown away to be a part of such an amazing conference. Meeting brothers from all across the nation, hearing inspirational speakers such as WGMC Derek Marchman and Brother Marcus Engel motivated me to The leadership skills I learned and the fellowship I shared with many brothers from across the nation motivated me to double my chapter’s size by the end of the year. I returned to my chapter with new knowledge of rush, ritual and brotherhood, and in turn doubled our highest rush ever with a pledge class of 34 men for fall. Our ARM Chase Fleetwood was a very big help to us with his visit this semester and is motivating the chapter to complete a second fall rush after his pending visit in October. Our “Beta” class this semester is already extremely advanced in their studies. They are capable of reciting the Star & Crescent, Greek Alphabet, Five Friends and Brothers, Founding Date & Place, Kappa Sigma’s Greatest Man and our colors within 2 weeks of being pinned. Greek Cup James Pickerrell, Grand Scribe [email protected] Each Spring at the CSUMB soccer fields and North Quad lawn, the Greek student body collaborates to celebrate Greek Cup. Sporting events planed my the Multi Cultural Greek Council and Associated Students include football, soccer, dodge ball and kick ball. Sororities Sigma Theta Psi, Theta Alpha Sigma, Kappa Delta Chi, Lambda Sigma Gamma,Lambda Theta Nu, Sigma Omega Nu, Delta Omega Rho and Fraternities Kappa Sigma, Omega Delta Phi, Gamma Zeta Alpha,Kappa Alpha Psi, Nu Alpha Kappa participate in the four sports. What began with an almost combative argument on the gridiron resulted in the only national fraternity on campus to lose the awarded what Kappa Sigma deserves, number one and second to none. The second half of the Kappa Alpha Psi and and Kappa Sigma football game began with a magnificent 40 yard spiral thrown by Zachary LeBeouf, directed to the leaping William Kollmeyer. With the gentlest of hands he cradled the “pig skin” tightly to his body and landed in the end zone. Cheers and shouts arose from the roaring fans, but the Nu Alpha Kappa referee called him out of bounds. A game decided by a touchdown can bring heavy hearts on a team. Especially when not just one, but second in football and third in soccer, the attitude amongst the brothers was cognitive in an approach to win both dodge ball and kickball. Unmatched by any other fraternity, the Kappa Sigs swept the tournament in three games on the blacktop. A life sized football helmet with red Kappa Sigma letters outlined in black was carried by the Alpha class onto the final event, kickball. A late substitution was two touchdowns were reversed on the loosing side. At the end of the game, harsh words were shared amongst the Kappa Sigma Brothers, infuriating each other to the point of combat among themselves. In their huddle, former Grand Master Brendan Toliver silenced the men with his wise words. His message was to remind his Brothers that the utilitarian value of sportsmanship on a playing field is most important. Although the mighty Kappa Sigmas ranked made when Thaddeus McAlpin arrived after a five hour drive from his home in Los Angeles. His swift defensive skills, supported by many other Brothers, including Julian Herrera, James Pickerrell and the offensive boot of William Kollmeyer, the Kappa Sigmas were yet again victorious. The team huddled dancing around and shouting in unison. It was the influence of Alumnus, Brother Toliver, who positively affected the moral of the Kappa Sigma conduct on the playing field and in- spired their way to Greek Cup Champions. The just announced Greek Cup Kappa Sigma champions had their trophy stripped from their hands after an announcement made by faculty advisor Tim Bills. Grand Master Lewis Hall and Grand Procurator Paul Disselhorst competitively argued that the brotherhood won the cup fairly. Unfortunately, the regulations of the Greek Cup stated only fraternities recognized on campus by the Multi Cultural Greek council can earn the trophy. It was Mr. Bills obligation and duty to confrim that Kappa Sigma is an interest on campus and should be rewarded the interest cup. Although the Kappa Sigma Brotherhood did not actually achieve earn the official Greek cup, in their hearts they knew the virtue of their ethics would be well respected. No brother took aggressive action to damage any property or verbalize any insults toward administration. As gentlemen, the Kappa Sigma Brotherhood understood it was Mr. Bill’s deontology which forced him to comply the school rules and regulations. Regardless of the result, a fraternity of great men still stood strong together as Sophisticated, Well Loved, Athletic, Generous Gentlemen...SWAGG. Triatholon student, Michael Kwasny Junior Liberal Studies major, was one of the many members of the Team in Training with the Leukemia and Lymphoma society who participated in the triathlon. This was Kwasny’s first year participating in the triathlon. Once he atAdam Napoletano tended one team [email protected] ing session, he was autoOn the weekend of Sep- matically hooked by both tember 11th, Pacific the rush of the training Grove was taken over by and the devotion for the the intense excitement of cause. the Tri-California TriathThis organization has lon. A few California State gained nearly half a milUniversity Monterey Bay lion people who have destudents and organiza- voted their time to runtions gathered to help ning, biking swimming the brave souls as they made their transitions from each section of the races a lot easier to handle. Up and early, racers and volunteers started to gather at 6:15 in the morning while the participants to prepare for the and evening walking to day. Each group of peo- help accumulate over $1 ple volunteering their billion towards Leukemia time was sent to differ- and Lymphoma research ent sections throughout nation-wide. the course. Many groups On Sunday morning, were sent to handle the the participants and voltransitional stages for unteers stood up and the triathlon racers (this had a moment of silence could be from the swim- to remember the 10th ming stage to the biking anniversary of the Sepstage, then on to the run- tember 11th, attacks on ning stage). the World Trade Centers On Saturday, Septem- in New York City then ber 10th, California State enjoyed the sounds of University Monterey Bay the Star Spangled Ban- ner being sung. Once the crowd was ready to go, a group of runners participated in the “5k Fun Run” where they could get their juices flowing while being helped by the volunteers who provided them with water and snacks, if they needed it. Fifteen minutes into the “Fun Run,” the first wave of the “Sprint Triathlon” racers began by diving into the ocean for a quarter mile. Once they were out of the water they, with the help of some volunteers, would have a few seconds to prepare themselves to hop on their bikes to ride a 12.4 mile bike course and then finally top off the race with a two mile run towards the finish line. The day before, Saturday September 10th, the racers participated in challenging Olympic-styled Triathlon. These racers went through 1.5 kilometers (.93 miles) of chilly ocean water, 40 kilometers (24.8 miles) of an intense Olympic-styled bicycle course, and, finally, topped off the day with a 10 kilometer (6.2 miles) running course to the finish line. On the second day, the racers did a “Sprint Triath- lon” where they raced or relayed half of an Olympic-styled triathlon. To be able to complete these races with excellent times, these participants had to go through months worth of intense training to be able to cross that finish line. That meant eating right, daily exercises and a lot of mental preparation for this event. Though many of the racers were in this to score high and make an impact, many came to race to be a part of the rich and diverse community that would come out and support them, even if they came in last place. These people made a huge impact on the volunteers that helped out with this annual event. Even CSUMB’s very own Science, Media Arts and Technology Senator, James Dunn, (Junior, Biology-Pre Med major), couldn’t help but to feel the excitement that was running through the racers’ veins. “I just got so excited watching and cheering on the racers going through the finish line that I just wanted to get out there and run with them!” Having students from CSUMB helping out at this event really shows how much they want to help out within the community and especially to help out at a huge event like this really shows their commitment. Warf Association Praise Letter Letter Provided By Kevin Liebenow [email protected] To Whom it May Concern, The Fisherman’s Wharf Association and I are so very pleased with the performance and commitment to community service that Kappa Sigma members and pledges displayed. I requested their services for an important event at Fisherman’s Wharf that showcased all of the wonderful things the Wharf has to offer, and also the work of local artisans and musicians – it was a serious economic booster for our community and for the Fisherman’s Wharf Association. Active brothers from Kappa Sigma made every effort to have pledges come to the event and volunteer their time. Many active brothers came to volunteer their time as well. As volunteer coordinator, I was more than satisfied with the performance of both the pledges and the active brothers. They were extremely helpful, efficient, productive, and absolutely willing and able to complete any task that was asked of them. Our event, “Art on the Wharf,” could not have been possible without the help of the gentlemen associated with Kappa Sigma. The Association and I are terribly grateful and are looking forward to having members and pledges of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity lend their services to our Fisherman’s Wharf Association and the city of Monterey in the future. I am sure that they are going to continue to be a very important asset to our community. I would also like to add that although many of the volunteers were “pledges,” they were exemplary volunteers and offered many suggestions and innovations that ended up making our event not only beneficial for our community, but also for the pledges. They were all wonderful team-players, hard workers, and each gladly stepped into leadership roles when it was necessary. Thank you for instilling such great values in these gentlemen, and thank you for your time. Sincerely. Mary Alice Fettis, Fisherman’s Wharf Association Chair Meredith Carnazzo, Volunteer Coordinator In-N-Out Flash Mob taurant there. Held in the parking lot of Target and Best Buy, participants were encouraged to wear either red or yellow clothing to represent the main color scheme of the company. The gentlemen of the Rho-Kappa ChapSteven Burschinger ter of Kappa Sigma were [email protected] in attendance as well as On September 24, 2011 sporting their best red the city of Marina held and yellow. The event its very own flash mob was being overseen by to show how much the Marina mayor Bruce Delcommunity wants the gado. He was in total burger company In N control of the growing Out to build its next res- crowd, speaking through a megaphone and giving information about the future plans to finally put an In N Out in the city. People were organized based on whether they were wearing red or yellow and told to stand in spots designated by tape. An aerial shot was to be taken of everyone forming a live human In N Out logo, yet this plan was changed due to excessive fog cover that day. Instead, pictures were taken from the top of a tall crane. Raffles had lucky people winning In N Out t-shirts as well as hats. The atmosphere at the event was extremely positive, spirited, and hopeful; you could tell that these people truly enjoy this company’s food and would benefit from one being in the area. Time will tell whether or not In N Out decides to make Marina its newest home, however they will know from this event that they will be becoming a part of a great community. Upcoming events MGC Meeting - Wed. October 12, at 8 PM Sorry For the Wait Dance - Sat. October 15, 9 - 12 PM CSUMB’s Open House - Sat. October 15, 10 AM - 2 PM National Service Day - Sat. 22 Andrew Lam: Writing In Two Hemispheres - Thu. October 27, 7 - 9 PM