News 23 New Brothers Spring Update Features Dik Calendar Summer Party '97 Homecoming '97 Alumni Notes Updates ...continuously... Chapter Eternal Directory E-mail Links Archives 1996 fall 1996 spring

Beta Theta DATA Spring 1997 Volume 45 Number 2 2 Oct 97 News & information by the alumni association of the Beta Theta Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity at Cornell University Beta Theta Welcomes 23 New Brothers Chris Weldon '98 cjw11@cornell.edu Alumni Relations On Monday morning, April 28th, the Beta Theta Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha initiated twenty-three new members into our brotherhood. As expected, the ceremonies went very well. We were helped this year by a newly purchased set of regalia, which made the ritual that much more amazing and memorable. Many of the new members were very emotional, showing that they were truly happy to be initiated into our bonds of phi phi kappa alpha. The actual initiation started around 1:30a.m. and did not end until 6:00a.m. It was a late night, but well worth it. The initiation was followed that afternoon by a brotherhood barbecue which was cooked on the newly made, 10' x 4' cinder block grille, which happened to be the pledge project. Fortunately, it was well built and we all had an enjoyable afternoon. This pledge class is a group of quality guys, as usual, and we look forward to their leadership in the future. They've already shown their commitment to the house by participating in our intramural events, volunteering more than 850 combined community service hours, and keeping the house in its newly renovated shape. Included are five new athletes: two lightweight football players, a track man, and two rugby men. It's pretty exciting to get some fellow athletes into the house. We were very successful during rush, relative to results posted by other houses on the hill. The sizes of the recent Beta Theta classes are presently 23, 14, 22, 23 in descending order. Everyone is excited about our new brothers. [Return]

Spring Update

cjw11@cornell.edu

The semester started with an intense formal rush period during which numbers for the entire greek system were down once again. In spite of this, brothers were practically overwhelmed at the first smoker when more than 200 rushees walked through our doors, far more than any other house. When the week ended, 23 men had signed their bids and one of the strongest pledge classes in recent memory was formed.

A visit in February from Mike Margolin, our national consultant, reaffirmed the brotherhood's commitment to striving toward a Smythe Award. Using a weighted scale of 1 to 5 (a 5 means that the chapter program "far exceeds standard expectations"), Mike assessed all chapter programs. Beta Theta received all 4's and 5's. In a letter to the chapter, Mike wrote, "It was a pleasure to work with such an enthusiastic group of Pikes that are so personally driven toward making Beta Theta simply the best." The Smythe application is due May 15th and is being prepared by Dan Hest, fall President Will Rukin '97, and incumbent President Dave Becker '98.

Under the guidance of External Vice President Andrew Fabian '97, Beta Theta became the leader among all Cornell fraternities in community service man-hours this Spring. Along with the contributions from the first semester, the chapter has far exceeded its goal of compiling over 2,000 hours this year, through a variety of programs and events.

While talking with other Pike chapter presidents at the North Atlantic Regional Conference in Boston, it became apparent to me that one of the areas in biggest need of improvement for each of our chapters was communication throughout the brotherhood. A few weeks later, Beta Theta established 272-PiKA, an automated information hotline for meals, social and athletic events, and brotherhood events. The message is updated weekly, and so far, it has been a valuable addition to the chapter.

Thanks to the work of newly elected Alpha Theta undergraduate trustee Larry Klecha '99 and Alpha Theta treasurer Steve Amador, Beta Theta made improvements to the chapter house by adding new curtains in the chapter room and the library, a new dishwasher in the kitchen, and new chairs in the dining room. In addition, for its pledge project, the newly initiated pledge class built an enormous grille in the back lot to replace an aging one. Upon first sight of the new grille, Mark "The Cook" Wagner's eyes lit up and he exclaimed, "I can get more than 50 hamburgers on that thing!"

Beta Theta recently celebrated its 80^th anniversary with a weekend formal in Toronto, Ontario. Thanks to the diligent work and planning of Jason Pechet '99, brothers headed up north to the Sheraton Four Points Hotel for the event. On Saturday, many brothers ventured into Toronto to catch a game at SkyDome, while others took in the many sites of the city, including the CN Tower. Saturday's events gave way to a classy and emotional formal at the hotel, during which the younger undergraduates paid their respects to the graduating seniors.

Upon our return to Ithaca from Toronto, the brothers of Beta Theta were presented with an award for "Outstanding Chapter" from the Cornell Interfraternity Council, one of four given out to all fraternities.

As of this writing, our softball team is currently 4-0 and hopefully on the way to a championship. We reached the semi-finals in both volleyball and bowling. Floor hockey is also very satisfactory in that we are 3-0 with a total of one goal scored on us in all three games combined.

Other noteworthy items:

Calendar

July 19, 1997	Summer Party
September 27, 1997	Homecoming vs. Colgate
Nov 1, 1997	Fall 1997 Beta Theta DATA deadline
May 1, 1998	Spring 1998 Beta Theta DATA deadline
October 17, 1998	Homecoming vs. Bucknell
November 6, 1999	Homecoming vs. Yale

Summer Party '97

July 19^th
Stewart Park

party later at 210 College Avenue

contact Seth Martin
for further info regarding details, donation requested, & RSVP.

Homecoming '97

Homecoming Chair
Eric Cagner
17 South Avenue
Ithaca NY 14850

RSVP

Our undercover reporter has checked the registration desk of the sleaziest dives in Ithaca, and found the following alumni confirmed to be back this fall:

Alumni Notes

Jeff Lowe '86 [parkeryan@aol.com ] reports that "wife, Maribeth, and I have a 14-month old son named Parker. I've been back in the US for about two years now after doing a stint with Mori Sogo Law Offices in Tokyo, Japan. I'm back with Hogan & Hartson L.L.P. in Washington, D.C. doing mergers and acquisitions."

"Wife Jennifer Brooks Trachtenberg (CU '89, MD '93) and I live in Manhattan. We were married August 1994. She is a pediatrician in private practice at Mount Sinai Hospital (anyone need a baby doctor?)."

Jennifer & David are happy to announce the birth of their first child Noah Jacob Trachtenberg in December of 1996.

"I keep in touch with Mark Podgainy '88, and we try to play pool every so often at the billiards club on E. 86th Street. Mark still tries to rattle me whenever I shoot. He's manager in a retail clothing company and remains (blissfully) a bachelor."

Other Pikes seen recently include Brian Goldin, a rheumatologist, who works at Bellevue sometimes, and Howard Ross, who was doing a surgery fellowship at Cornell Medical Center.

"Also bummed two days food & lodging from Chuck Baker '75 -- nice house & good food. Recommend to all in the Philadelphia area."

"Am settled with wife & two children in Friendswood TX, doing engineering-type work for Parsons. Stop by if in the area."

In the meantime, he's heard from lots of other brothers who supported related effort to raise money for the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship by completing the marathon. In the end, friends and family donated $5060 to the NCCS, including brothers Ian Brown, Victor Blas, Evan Cagner, Sean Carey, Rob Claypoole, Lowell Figur, Greg Gordon, Scott Ising, David Kim, Peter Lamoreaux, Carlos Medina, Ray Merza, Tony Prentice, Penner Schraundenbac, Nate Schreiber, Mike Sloan, Lowell Taub, and Art. Thanks, guys. Peace.

Chapter Eternal

Gus Dammin '34

Robert H. Flack '43
March 25, 1996

C. Douglas Repp '48
November 11, 1996

Directory

term	Alpha Theta Director (interim)
1996	Mike Greenberg
1997	Ian Brown, Vice President
1998	Steve Amador, Treasurer
1999	Tim Cole, President
2000	Neil Cantor, Alumni Relations

Fall '97 Undergraduate Exec Board
President	Dave Becker '98	drb16@cornell.edu
Internal VP	Larry Klecha '99	lrk3@cornell.edu
External VP	Dan Switzer '00	dms46@cornell.edu
Treasurer	Nelson Anderson '99	dna5@cornell.edu
Secretary	Jon-Paul DiMauro '00	jpd15@cornell.edu
Rush Chair	Mike Mihalakis '98	mjm24@cornell.edu

Go to Beta Theta E-mail Directory

Other Links

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