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Spring 2001 Volume 49 Number 2

News & information by the alumni association of the Beta Theta Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity at Cornell University

SMC Report

Anthony Nardi '01
ajn9@cornell.edu

Spring 2001 was an exciting semester for the brotherhood. On April 1^st, Beta Theta initiated fourteen new members into our brotherhood. These new members embody the virtues of our fraternity and truly stand as scholars, leaders, athletes and gentlemen.

This semester has been Beta Theta's most active on campus. Brothers Michael Swartzon and Rich Goldman both secured seats on the Inter Fraternity Council. A strong brotherhood showing at the elections greatly aided in their success and we appreciate the work that they do on behalf of the entire Greek system at Cornell. The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs recently honored Richard Goldman as Cornell's Most Outstanding New Member. As a chapter we were recognized for contributing over five hundred hours community service to On-Site volunteer services of Ithaca.

Beta Theta enjoyed the honor of hosting the Pi Kappa Alpha North East Regional conference, which served as a valuable learning experience for the brotherhood. International President H. King Buttermore III was very impressed with our brotherhood and was in awe of 17 South Avenue. He suggested we create a tribute to Elbert P. Tuttle in our chapter room in order to honor Beta Theta's most illustrious alum, something that could be a topic of discussion at this year's homecoming. Reid Orth won the award for outstanding chapter advisor, a testament to the dedication that he has shown our chapter.

Led by senior Craig Shapiro, sophomore Conner Gillen and the genius of coach Andrew Towbin the Pike basketball team made it to the semi-finals. Unfortunately our semi-final game was scheduled during one of Connor's prelims and the team was unable to win in his absence. After a long Ithaca winter the softball season finally got underway in mid-April and the team has won all of its regular season games by more than twenty points. We stand ready for the challenge of the playoffs and are looking to bring home a championship.

After being initiated our newest pledge class organized our first pledge class basketball tournament. The seniors proved their supremacy by going undefeated in the tournament. After their defeat Sophomore Daniel Greenwald proclaimed, "These guys are unbeatable right now, we had no answer for the prolific play of Marc Lachs ". Everyone had a great time and it looks like a new tradition has started at Beta Theta.

As the semester draws to a close the leadership of the chapter is being placed in the hands of Michael Swartzon our newly elected president. As a graduating senior I am confident in the brothers to continue the excellence that is Beta Theta and look forward to seeing everyone at this year's homecoming festivities. After all the improvements made last year we are confident that this year's homecoming will be more heavily attended. Finally Jeremy Geller would like everyone to look at the new Beta Theta website that he has created this year, www.pikecornell.com.

Senior Update

A brief capsule of the immediate future for this year's graduating class:

Marco Boyce
Will be looking for a job after graduation in a landscape architecture firm either on the east coast (NYC, Philly, Boston) or west coast (LA, San Fran).

Nicholas Dyner
Working for Glidden Paints in the research division studying the effects of eating paint chips.

Daniel Fabian
Working for Credit Suisse First Boston as a financial analyst.

Andrew Finklestein
Will not be at Cornell next year.

Jeremy Geller
Working for JP Morgan Chase in Asset Management.

Andrew Goodman
Working for Deutsche Bank as a financial analyst.

Brett Katz
Working for Bear Stearns as a financial analyst.

Marc Kim
Remains undecided.

Marc Lachs
Remains undecided.

Anthony Nardi
Working for JP Morgan Chase as an analyst in the Global Markets division.

Joshua Peck
Working as a test subject for a pharmaceutical company.

Scott Pobiner
Remains undecided.

Jeremy Schein
Working for JP Morgan Chase as a financial analyst.

Craig Shapiro
Working for Credit Suisse First Boston as a financial analyst.

Jarret Slepian
Attending Georgetown University Law School in the fall.

Andrew Towbin
Attending New York University in the fall.

Bryan Weiss
Porn... and lots of it.

Priority Mail

Tom Sporney '75
neYmo@pikas.com

Just when you think that the U.S Postal Service might deserve those increased rates for its hard work, here's an account to the contrary.

On January 12, 2001, I dropped a package of dues checks off at a local Indianapolis Post Office, sending it Priority Mail to Steve Amador. Now, if you remember the USPS marketing of this product, it's supposed to get a package of up to two pounds to anywhere in the United States in about 2 to 3 days for a flat rate ($3.95). Two weeks later, Steve called and said he still hadn't received the package. On the day that I had prepared a Mail Loss Report to file with the Post Office, Feb 2nd, Steve called me to tell me that he had just received the package that day in New Jersey, just 21 days after it left Indianapolis.

Calendar

June 7-10, 2001 Reunion Weekend Reunion dates thru 2005

October 13, 2001 Homecoming vs. Harvard Homecoming dates thru 2001

November 1, 2001 Fall 2001 Beta Theta DATA deadline

May 1, 2002 Spring 2002 Beta Theta DATA deadline

Reunion 2001

Welcome to Reunion Weekend 2001!

The brothers of Pi Kappa Alpha invite all returning alumni and their guests to a Wine and Cheese Party reception at the Pike House, 17 South Avenue, on Saturday, June 9th, from 3:00 to 6:00 PM. Your hosts will be David Miles '66 and Ken Hull '64 .

The Reunion Weekend at Cornell is June 7^th through the 10^th. There will be Pike activities taking place on Friday and Saturday at the house on 17 South Avenue.

Homecoming 2001

Dear Brothers,

On behalf of all of us at 17 South Avenue, we would like to cordially invite you to join us at Cornell for Pi Kappa Alpha's Homecoming Weekend 2001! The big event will be taking place from October 12th through October 14th, when Pikes from the past will join the current brotherhood to celebrate the tradition and spirit of our Fraternity.

In particular, this year the brotherhood is excited to boast new renovations on the basement and bar room. With the new carpeting and the shining wood finish, the house is looking as good as ever!

We hope that you will take the time to travel to Cornell to witness the growing strength of our chapter. Not only will this year's Homecoming serve as a great way to revive old friendships, but it will also give us a chance to make new ones. The doors of 17 South Avenue are open to Pike alumni, and your presence will ensure this year's event will have the enthusiasm that has made past Homecomings so great. The life and brotherhood of our house is based upon the overwhelming involvement of both active brothers and our alumni. A great turnout this year will only reinforce this as we celebrate Phi Phi Kappa Alpha!

We hope to see all of you in October!

Sincerely,

Zachary Resnick '03
Homecoming Chair 2001

Jordan Karlik '04
Assistant Homecoming Chair 2001

Friday, October 12^th
8-9pm	Wine & Cheese	Pike House
9pm-TBD	Open house	Pike House
Saturday, October 13^th
8:30-9am	Bagels, coffee & juice	Pike House
9-10:30am	Alpha Theta Meeting	Pike House
10:30-11:15am	Open Forum/Other Issues	Pike House
11:15am-12:30pm	Alumni BBQ	Pike House
1pm	Cornell vs. Harvard	Schoellkopf Field
TBD	Homecoming Formal	Pike House
Sunday, October 14^th
11am-1pm	Farewell Brunch	Pike House

If you have questions or would like to place your reservations in advance, please use the linked form to RSVP , or e-mail Zach & Jordan
.

Go to List of Hotel Accommodations

Alumni Notes

Go to

Updated Alumni Notes

Members of the Pledge Class of 1981 got together to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of their initiation, during the weekend of March 15, 2001, at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas - and boy did they look old! The group included former Pledge Class President, and Rastaman-Wannabe, Ed Conti '83; Master ('Where are the Slot Machines') Bates '84; Andy ('We need a bigger Sports Book') Smyth '84; Chun ('The man with the very long and straight driver') Oh '84; Kevin ('We need an Irish band - it's St. Paddy's Day') O'Connell '85; Todd ('That house never looked as good as when I was House Manager') Tobias '84; Mike ('the Horse's Ass') McCoy '84, and former SMCs Barry ('No one calls me Thrax anymore') Lawrence '84 ; and David ('No one calls me Snuz anymore') Susnitzky '84.

In addition to golf, gambling and watching NCAA hoops games, a grand time was had by all reminiscing about the old times as pledges (like when we stole the television from the brothers when there was only one TV in the house, renovating the dining room, and harassing Kenji, Amador and the other pain-in-the-ass-brothers), and exchanging remedies for hair loss and impotence.

We're looking forward to another reunion in five years. So, all other interested class members should make email contact with Ed Conti sometime before then.

Paul Ostrowski '75 was selected Engineer of the Year for 2000 by the Department of Veterans' Affairs. He was elected a Fellow of the Engineering Society of Detroit this year also.

Neil Best '82 says he was sorry to miss Homecoming, but glad that the actives put on another good show for the alumni, especially by attending the Alpha Theta meeting. "I was very impressed by the attendance at the 1999 meeting. I noticed that the most well-represented class on the list of donors was the class of '79. No surprise there. They recruited my class, and they remain the best class in house history. The class of '82, my class, was also well-represented on the Honor Roll."

"I was disappointed to learn the house manager plan did not work out, but it was worth a try. I guess there was only one Gibber."

"I see Paul Wessel '83 and my brother-in-law, Mike McCoy '84, regularly. We had Steve Amador '83 over for dinner last summer. I think he might have scared my 3-year-old, but my wife wasn't intimidated by him. He was a pleasant dinner guest. We both enjoy our grilled steak blood rare, so at least we agree on something. Politics are another matter."

Lowell Taub '96 reports several class of 1996 weddings this past year:

May 27^th - Michael Wirtheim & Amy Bartolo (Cornell alum)
September 2^nd - Matthew Kaufer & Hillary Bailin
November 12^th - Lowell & Rebecca Purow (Cornell alum)

All are very happy & healthy.

Alfredo Martel '87 has been out of touch for quite some time.

"I've been married for four years to Tomie Castillo and we have a three year old daughter named Tomie Marie. My wife is of Japanese descent, and our daughter is the apple of my eyes. After all those crazy years of partying and skirt chasing, I guess God has revealed that He does have a sense of humor. Last week we moved into our new house and while very hectic and busy, we are happy in our new and roomier digs. I am the GM of D'Jesco Inc. a food distribution company that represents a multitude of name brands such as Nestle, Sara Lee, Hillshire Farms & Kahns and Unilever's Country Crock.

San Juan, PR is beautiful during the holiday season; sunny (80 degrees), festive and full of tourists. Very good golf courses, as Tim Cole can attest, as he was GM at one of the best resorts on the island: The Westin Riomar which features the Greg Norman designed 'River Course'.

Any Pikes who want to escape to the warmth of the Caribbean Islands be advised that you have two brothers down here in PR, Juan Luis (Pijuan) Ramos and myself. Hope to see ya' soon."

They say that you should only make one major life change per year. Unfortunately, ZuLu Rosenberg '86 is deaf in that ear. He is engaged to be married to 'the most wonderful woman in the world', fiancée Colleen Price. In addition, he's taken a new job as General Counsel of Hagemeyer North America, as well as renovating his house.

"If you think I'm getting soft, you're wrong. She said yes even after I showed her pictures of me riding the House."

Chapter Eternal

The brothers of Beta Theta Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha extend their sympathy to the families and friends of the following brothers:

James R. Morgan, Jr. '50

Jim was a graduate of the college of Electrical engineering in 1950. He was an active member of our fraternity in those days and led our House to the All-Sports Trophy in 1950.

June 7-10, 2001	Reunion Weekend	Reunion dates thru 2005
October 13, 2001	Homecoming vs. Harvard	Homecoming dates thru 2001
November 1, 2001	Fall 2001 Beta Theta DATA deadline
May 1, 2002	Spring 2002 Beta Theta DATA deadline