ΑΣΦ – ΒΓ – Black Lantern Spring 2010

Black Lantern Alpha Sigma Phi, Beta Gamma Chapter

BASA April 16th – 18th Bethany College

BASA is upon us! Take everything breakable in the house and hide it for the weekend! The usual attitude of wreck the house is no longer in effect so lets have some fun this year. Many alumni were disappointed in not being able to visit the house last year due to certain

circumstances, while some could not even find it! This year will be different; you will see brothers and pledges with letters on all over campus keeping an eye out for alumni if you see one of us, flag us down…

Continued on… 2

Chapter State of Affairs Following several risk

management violations in the fall of 2008 our house was on

very thin ice…

Continued on page 4

Charter Found

After ten long years she has finally found her way back to us. Bolt that sucker to the wall!

Continued on page 3

LIVESTRONG Find out about our new

philanthropy! We’re the first fraternity in the nation to be

sponsored by them!

Continued on page 2

ΑΣΦ – ΒΓ – Black Lantern

Spring 2010

2

If you haven’t heard, BASA is scheduled for the weekend of April 16th to April 18th this year. Any alumni who are planning to attend should please RSVP for scheduled events found on facebook, if you do not have a facebook account please RSVP via e-mail to jamesbjoseph@gmail.com. We only ask this so that we have a more accurate idea of what amount of food and other goods must be purchased for entertaining over the weekend. Furthermore we must stress that the house has been damaged, albeit slightly, in BASA’s past, we ask that alumni please keep in mind

that all brothers are charged by the school for damages occurred throughout the year. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

On Saturday, however, we will be hosting a barbecue on the back deck (weather permitting) of our current residence on Greek Hill. The event starts at five o’clock pm and will extend throughout the remainder of the evening. Again we would like to stress our excitement for BASA as well as our desire to maintain the current condition of our house. Looking forward to it guys, see you all soon.

BASA Weekend

Alpha Sigma Phi is no longer associated with Canine Companions. As of January 2008 we are signed on as the only fraternity in the nation to

be sponsored by The

Livestrong Foundation. This means that alumni and friends of alumni can now send in donations to LIVESTRONG through the chapter. For further information concerning these donations please contact irawdon@bethanywv.edu.

The LIVESTRONG Foundation Philanthropy

new fan page on facebook

Recently certain brothers have begun dedicating some of their Facebook time to updating and maintaining our new Facebook fan page. The usefulness of this site can hardly be expressed. From keeping in touch with alumni, to posting philanthropy and social events, and even posting photos from those events it has never been easier to keep up with Beta Gamma chapter. Stay tuned because we’ve got plenty coming up to keep you busy reading and flipping through photos reminiscing of days gone by.

Keyword: Alpha Sigma Phi – Beta Gamma

Ian Rawdon

ΑΣΦ – ΒΓ – Black Lantern

Spring 2010

3

Founded 1929 Pictured from left to right: Ian Rawdon, Alex Bauer (visiting nationals rep), Noah Townsend, Greg Garner, THE

Dr. Larry Grimes, Greg Lani, James Joseph, Brian DiCola and Jonathan Brander (not pictured: Ari Dewhurst)

During the Spring Semester of 2009 graduating senior and brother, Eric Hamilton class of 09’ found the Alpha Sigma Phi, Beta Gamma Original founding charter. During the move between the Point Breeze house and the current Greek Hill residence the charter seemed to have made its way into storage in the basement of historic Old Main. After some light cleaning and restoration it is now returned to its proper place in the chapter house. We held a small hanging ceremony following our formal chapter in September 2009 where we all gathered for photographs with the charter, Dr. Grimes, and Alex Bauer (a visiting rep from nationals). To prevent any further issues we used existing

holes in the frame of the charter to bolt it to the wall high in the chapter room on display for brothers and visitors alike, yet still inaccessible. This event could not have been timed more perfectly for there has been a great deal of change in the house as of late and the current brothers have prided themselves on having restored what we believe to be the true way of an Alpha Sig at Bethany College, excelling in every endeavor undertaken whether it be academics, sports, extracurricular, or getting rowdy. Causa Latet Vis Est Notissima.

James Joseph

ΑΣΦ – ΒΓ – Black Lantern

Spring 2010

4

We had officially lost our house and were to be moved out by the beginning of next semester and were facing having our charter removed. After several weeks of appeal letters and hard work by the brothers we managed to sway the schools position and, along with many stipulations, were granted access to our house for the next semester. Following this decision it was decided the chapter needed to start looking in directions other than partying. Several members of chapter leadership at the time including the president, president elect, vice-president elect, and treasurer elect all travelled to nationals the first weekend of our winter break to become re-educated as to what being an Alpha Sig really means. The trip was a tremendous success; brothers were re-educated on ritual, proper pledging, parliamentary procedure for chapters as well as new rush tactics. Following winter break motivation and attitudes were at an all time high for the house. We gained several new brothers and enjoyed the luxury of

going through two semesters without any risk management violation, a first for as long as any of us have been students at Bethany. The house was fixed up some, the charter was found, plans for a new website were set in place and house finances began to be addressed properly for the first time in years. I am pleased to say that now in the third semester of our house revitalization plan we are enjoying tremendous progress. Rush is going very well with well over ten men showing genuine interest in pledging for this semester and next, finances and chapter debt is at a ten year low, dues are being paid in full and within acceptable periods of time, ritual is being conducted properly, and most importantly we are still here and upholding the five virtues set forth by our founders. As we are coming to a close of this semester there are several things I wish to reiterate to our alumni. First of all we are still here and are still a viable chapter. Second, we are not slipping back into our old ways. It has become more and more apparent over the years that Greek life is changing

all across the nation, chapters that wish to hold true to their pasts of partying and mistreatment of women are quickly becoming a thing of the past. While we still have plenty of fun, we do so responsibly. This chapter is now in the business of producing well-rounded gentlemen and scholars, not partiers and under-achievers as so many other fraternities exceed in. Beta Gamma is on the right track. Academically all brothers are exceeding, Last semester we had a cumulative house GPA of over 3.4. More than 90% of the house participates in varsity sports, recently we have even signed on with the Gordie Foundation, an anti-alcohol hazing organization, and begun promoting its message around campus. Overall we are doing quite well and look forward to our alumni’s continued support.

James Joseph

ΑΣΦ – ΒΓ – Black Lantern

Spring 2010

5

Undergrad Brothers: Ian Rawdon – Junior – Biology Major– President

Ari Dewhurst – Junior – Education Major – Vice President, Social Chair

Greg Garner – Sophomore – Biology Major – Treasurer

Jonathan Brander – Junior – Social Work Major – Alumni Relations, House Manager, Marshal

James Joseph – Senior – Political Science Major – Editor

Noah Townsend – Senior – Environmental Science Major – Secretary, Scholarship Director, Risk Management

Brian DiCola – Senior – English Major – Pledge Master

Logan Kowcheck – Senior – Economics Major – Philanthropy Chair

Pledges: Sterling Adler – Freshman – Psychology Major – Soccer Player

Christion Summerlin – Freshman – Undecided – Football Player

Dawit Schifera – Freshman – Bio Major – Soccer Player

Adam Lowe – Freshman – Visual Art Major – Soccer Player

ΑΣΦ – ΒΓ – Black Lantern

Spring 2010

House Donations Go to: P.O. Box 398 Bethany, WV 26032

As always the brothers welcome all donations of any size, the help is always appreciated. For several years we have been drowning in debt incurred by past brothers who have forgone their commitments to the house. NO LONGER. We are nearly debt free and after slight issues are no longer initiating new members until they have started a payment plan with nationals. This leaves us able to start funneling house funds to a variety of needed items. Pool tables need re-felting, we need a foosball table, the back deck needs re-finished, speakers need replaced, furniture needs to be bought, we need a new grill, the list goes on and on and you can help!