INTERFRATERNITY COUNCIL The Quarterly Newsletter of Winter 2011

PRESIDENT’S WELCOME On behalf of the Interfraternity Council, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read our first IFC Quarterly Newsletter. The goal of the Interfraternity Council is to promote our organizations to the larger UCI Community and foster relationships within our council members. The Interfraternity Council has been a presence on campus since its inception back in 1973 and currently has over 800 members in 13 chapters.

The goal of this newsletter is to promote the values of friendship, leadership, service, and scholarship held within our community. Our organizations are involved in every facet of student life and deserve recognition to showcase their efforts.

This past Fall over 270 new members joined IFC fraternities during formal recruitment. The decision to join a fraternity is a life long com-mitment that is unique and empowering.

So far this year, IFC has worked to hold the All-Greek Conference, sponsor the Greek Leadership Retreat, improve our new IFC website, clarify our judicial processes, start reassessing our sports policies, and institute collaborative programming incentives. We are proud that this year’s Homecoming King, Ernie Chen, is a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.

This past quarter has also challenged us to assess the congruence be-tween our values and our actions. We are taking active steps to improve the cultural awareness of members and improve relations between our organizations and the campus at-large.

As we approach the end of the quarter, we are excited to see the growth we have achieved in the beginning of our Executive Board’s term and look forward to Fall Quarter. It is inspiring to see Greek Leaders will-ing to take initiative in addressing issues and promoting our commu-nity.

Thank you for your support and I appreciate your continued support of our Council.

Warm regards,Aaron BrynildsonPresident, Interfraternity Council 1

The IFC Quarterly Newsletter

The newsletter that provides you with the most recent events and achievements of UC Irvine’s Fraternal World.

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Simon Pun Vice President of Public Relationsifc@uci.edu

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IFC Executive Board members at the Greek Leadership Retreat.

BETA THETA PI by IFC Delegate Kurtis LeeThe gentlemen of Beta Theta Pi will be hosting its annual philanthropy, Dragon Skate Race (DSR). They first established Dragon Skate Race because they wanted a philanthropy that would appeal to more than just the Greek Community but to all of UCI. In Dragon Skate Race, they take highly competitive long boarders and have them skate down a hill, for those who are familiar it is the hill next to the arc on California. The competitions are opened to anybody. The best part of the race is being able to see the skaters crash into a stack of hay bales after they complete the steep hill. The skater with the fastest time will win the event. Money iearned by the event byselling raffle tickets in which raffle winners can win prizesthat include long boards, apparel, and much more! All proceeds would go towards the Free Wheelchair Foundation that makes wheel chair for underprivileged countries. They tried to create an atmosphere very similar to a block party in which there would be a DJ constantly playing music with many vendors that come out to show off their products. Beta also serves the community at Think Together where brothers tutor underprivileged Santa Ana students at an afterschool institution.

SIGMA NU by IFC Delegate Patrick Tsuchihashi The Lambda Omicron Chapter of Sigma Nu has very much remained active throughoutthe Greek Community during the 2011 Spring Quarter. Sigma Nu have been actively volunteering at Restore Habitat Warehouse, where profits of merchandise are donated to the Habitat for Humanity foundation. Sigma Nu has also taken part in Alpha Chi Omega and Kappa Sigma’s philanthropy, “Le Carnival” and placed 2nd in Gamma Phi Beta’s philanthropy, “Crescent Classic.” On April 30th, the Gentlemen of Sigma Nu will be taking part in Relay for Life in order to raise money for the American Cancer Society. Sigma Nu is also working towards having a successful Songfest year along with partners, Sigma Kappa and Beta Theta Pi. Sigma Nu would be actively participating in Pi Beta Phi’s weeklong philanthropy, “Arrowdaze”, which takes place during week 6. While the majority of our year of hard work is coming to an end, they are still looking forward to finising this year strong. Sigma Nu would like to wish everyone the best of luck for the remainder of the school year and with fall recruitment!

Sigma Pi by IFC Delegate Corey Somarriba Sigma Pi has seen many positive changes throughout the last year. With an increase in chapter size from 49 to 85, the chapter is thriving better than ever. The nearly 50% increase in membership has shown that brother of Sigma Pi are doing a great job in recruiting motivated men who have desire to contribute to the community. Sigma Pi highly values philanthropy. Spring quarter 2011 will surely be one to remember with Sigma Pi’s national philanthropy, and the ACE project. Another philanthropy is also currently in the works to benefit the Orange County Humane Society, which benefits local pets that are in need of care and shelter.

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Alpha Epsilon Piby IFC Delegate Kevin HekmatSpring quarter marks the busiest quarter for Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi). The chapter was recently awarded the IFC Scholastic Achievement Award at last quarter’s Greek Awards, for the fourth year in a row. AEPi has been fundras-ing to benefit Stand Up to Cancer. This organization has a special place in our hearts as our very own brother Ben Teller, is a two-time cancer survivor. Alpha Epsilon Pi continues its involvement with the Jewish community with brothers participating in organizations such as Hillel of Orange County, Chabad, and Anteaters for Israel (AFI). They look forward to cosponsoring AFI’s annual “I-fest” events as well as continuing our quest for the IFC sports trophy!

Pi Kappa Alpha by IFC Delegate Jeff GibsonThis quarter Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike) hosted its annual Founder’s Day football tournament at the ARC, in which all proceeds went towards helping Japan. $1,000 was raised and sent to Japan. The donation served as an aid to the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear catastrophe. They invited Pike chapters from all over the state including San Jose State, Fresno State, and more to participate. Some of Pike’s goals for this quarter are to get higher than a 3.03 all-chapter GPA since they have gotten 3.01 the past two quarters and are seeking to do better. “We want to abide by SLAG, our motto of scholars, leaders, athletes, and gentlemen.”, says IFC delegate Jeff Gibson. “We are striving to win Songfest with our partners Alpha Epsilon Phi and Kappa Kappa Gamma. They want to get over 1,000 community service hours and participate heavily in Relay for Life.” Aside from involving on campus, they are planning a brotherhood retreat and a formal later on this quarter. Pike utilize brotherhood events to emphasize and stick with its ideal of TBBM “together becoming better men.”stick with its ideal of TBBM “together becoming better men.”

Phi Gamma Delta by IFC Delegate Mark MastromonacoFiji holds its annual Fiji Island philanthropy during Week 4. The philanthropy consists of daily island-themed activities and events, which include a limbo contest, scavengwwer hunt and a coach makeover. On Thursday April 21st, Islander Week comes to an end with celebration of the hard work participants have put into the philanthropy as well as to announce the FIJI Islander Princess. The philanthropy will be raising money to assist those tragically affected by the earthquake in Japan and the tsunami in the Pacific. So far, the disaster has taken the lives of 12,690 individuals and injured 4,224. Fiji expects to donate approximately $3000 to the American Red Cross this year. 3

Sigma Phi Epsilonby IFC Delegate Tylor Santos-MatsonEvery year, Sigma Phi Epsilon pairs up with Alpha Phi to collaborate a joint philanthropy, Camp Kindle Day. Camp Kindle is a non-profit summer camp aimed at nurturing and de-stigmatizing those affected by Youth AIDS, over the summer. This event includes inviting these kids into our community, offer them fun and excitement, and in doing so, banish the misconstrued image of these special and enlightening kids. In the morning, Sigma Phi Epsilon would greet these kids with signs, personal name tag, flower leis and cheers, before beginning the assortment of activities. These activities include water balloon toss, relays and tug-o-war, watermelon and pie eating contest. Moreover, kids can also win prizes from winning. Sigma Phi Epsilon and campers shared everything from hobbies and jokes to life experiences and thrills of college. After a long day, good byes were exchanged and wishes were granted. All those kids wanted to do was be treated like any other kid. SigEp and Alpha Phi gave them that and more. Those who attended the Picnic Day will have been broadened regarding youth AIDS. Hopefully, as result of this event, more youths will be able to attend Camp Kindle knowing their stories and perspectives make a difference.

Sigma Chiby IFC Delegate Ryan Pham This spring quarter, Sigma Chi holds the biggest annual philanthropy project on campus in a weeklong series called Derby Days. Its fame stretches from coast to coast thanks to the motivated participation of the Greek and local community. Throughout the week, participants become involved with different activities and events to raise money for the UCI endowment fund, which will ultimately provide scholarships to incoming UCI freshmen. Last year, the philanthropy raised an outstanding $7,500 - $8,000 and plan to exceed those numbers this upcoming year. In addition to Derby Days, every yearour fraternity and Alpha Epsilon Pi team up to sponsor an “I-Fest” which is held during Week 7. The proceeds will go to the Stand Up to Cancer Foundation. Sigma Chi is also actively participating in Songfest and raising money for the Habitat for Humanity. Sigma Chi’s goal is to fundraise more moneythan they ever had for each philanthropy in our Eta Sigma Chapter’s history, and to consistently raise the bar each year.

Triangleby IFC Delegate Kurt FortunatoThis past weekend, Triangle Fraternity at UCI celebrated its National Founder’s Day by joining together and dining at the Bistango Restaurant in Irvine. Planned by Brother Andrew Nguyen, the event was an intimate get together, seating in a room private from the rest of the restaurant. Guests enjoyed their meals while listening to heartfelt speeches from former president Alex Lopez as well as notable alumni Stuart Masuda and Jon Okunaga. The event was capped off with a beautiful dessert of dark chocolate and sweet cream cheese cake and the presentation of awards. These awards include the Triangle Award, for the most exemplary member, the Daniel Paulson Award, for the member who has developed the most in the past year, and the Bob the Builder Award, for the brother who was most instrumental in the fraternity’s building projects. This year, Triangle Fraternity has added three new honors: the Stuart Masuda award for the member who has put the most time and effort into the fraternity and the Stuart J. Masuda award, named after its first recipient, for the most exemplary alumnus. 4