1

Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity California State University, Northridge Volume 43, Issue 2 Spring 2015

BETA-RHO BULLETINBETA-RHO BULLETINBETA-RHO BULLETIN

Chapter Says Goodbye to Its Spring Graduates

While officers discussed plans for next fall’s rush based on an expected end to the Greek systemwide induction moratorium, a sizable number of Beta-Rho’s graduating seniors were honored at the final chapter meeting of the semester on May 3. Around 60 members and guests attended.

Members convened at the Lindley House at 6 p.m. in the backyard for a formal introduction of the 13 newest graduates. Most of the soon-to-be graduates and recent alumni stood under a canopy and were given a sendoff by the High Zeta under the direction of Ritualist Vincent Pimentel (BP 676).

The most recent graduates were Zareh Baboomian (BP 641), Daniel Bermudez (BP 650), Corey Davis (BP 596), Justyn De Leon (BP 602), Jacob Holmes (BP 609), Will Medina (BP 629), Eric Planas (BP 630), Glen Probst

(BP 627), Jorge Reyes (BP 618), Charlie Rios (BP 670), Eric Roberts (BP 617), Kyle Shaver (BP 648) and Nelson Tobar (BP 616). Tony Ball (BP 605) and Wesley Lamphere (BP 611) finished their eighth semesters.

Afterwards, the brothers moved to the front of the Lindley House and assembled to recreate a group picture like the one that had appeared on the 2009 membership directory cover. Using a truck, sports car, ladder, two fraternity flags and an American flag, the group reassembled in the same formation as originally photographed by Steve Torres (BP 525).

Rick C

hilds

Déjà vu. The chapter staged a recreation of the group picture configuration that had appeared on the 2009 membership directory to commemorate the final chapter meeting of the spring semester.

Rush Moratorium Update Page 2Jorge Reyes: AS President-elect Page 3Spring Chapter Chronicles Page 4Watermelon Bust Page 6Graduates & New Alumni Page 12Alumni News & Steve Finkle Interview Page 14

SPRING 20152

Greeks Recruitment Moratorium Drags On

Recruitment Moratorium

Greeks Open Forum. High Alpha Jeffrey Perez de Leon was among the crowd in the Matadome on March 26 to hear the proposal to reinstate recruitment for the fall semester.

While reports looked promising for a resumption of recruitment, CSUN’s Greek letter fraternities and sororities coped with a semester devoid of new members. Nevertheless, chapter members still kept a high profile on campus.

After January, news about the recruitment moratorium vanished from the headlines of the Sundial (which dropped the Daily from its title in 2014), and local news media interest waned after an article appeared on March 1 in the Daily News.

According to Daily News reporter Brenda Gazzar, she wrote that until the death of a CSUN Pi Kappa Phi pledge on July 1 last year, the university had “imposed limited, short-term sanctions on fraternities for hazing despite at least one serious injury and student arrests.” The article also revealed that the university “had received about a dozen hazing complaints since the fall of 2009 related to fraternities, ranging from incidents seemingly designed to embarrass or intimidate, to students reportedly being asked to commit minor crimes or risk significant injury.”

But the death of Pi Kappa Phi’s Armando Villa changed all that. Until representatives from CSUN’s Greek system could collaborate to submit a plan to abolish hazing that met the approval of President Dianne Harrison, fraternities and sororities would be banned from inducting new members.

More than 100 students, staff and administrators participated in a campus meeting where a proposal to address the hazing situation was presented on March 26. Chapter leaders worked with the Inter-fraternity Council leading up to a New Member Greek Intake Open Forum to lay the groundwork for ending the Greek system-wide rush moratorium that began in October. Due to the size of the crowd, the meeting was moved from the University Student Union to the Matadome. A Q&A session followed.

Nearly 20 members made up the work group that collaborated on the anti-hazing proposal to re-establish Greek organization recruitment and induction ceremonies. Introductions were made by the committee’s co-chairs, Ashley Mendez, the Panhellenic Council president and a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma; and IFC President Josh Stepakoff of Sigma Chi. Fraternity and Sorority Life Advisor Jamison Keller also took part.

Committee members wrote the recommendations for best practices to avoid hazing based on input from various organizations during Greek Week. Members then met with Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. William Watkins and Shelley Ruelas-Bischoff, the associate vice president for student life, seven weeks later to discuss their proposal.

Among the recommendations brought up in the plan being submitted to Dr. Watkins were mandatory prospective recruit orientations, active participation by chapters in the first Hazing Prevention Week planned for Sept. 21-25 and a revamped version of the current Greek 101 seminar’s agenda that all active fraternity members are required to attend each year.

Following Villa’s death and an alleged pledge class hazing incident in October that prompted the removal of CSUN’s Pi Kappa Alpha chapter, a third fraternity was suspended, according to an article in the Daily News on Feb. 18. After a lengthy investigation, Tau Kappa Epsilon’s suspension, effective Jan. 21, resulted from alleged hazing and sexual misconduct incidents that were reported by members of their pledge class.

Speaking by phone from his parents’ house in Napa during the June 10 corp. board meeting, High Alpha Jeffrey Perez de Leon reported that President Harrison had yet to respond to the Greek work group’s list of recommendations.

Nevertheless, he said he had been meeting with the recruitment officer, Devin De Leon, to plan their strategy for fall rush in anticipation of its likely reinstatement over the summer.

“We’ll be having some kind of a rush idea before school starts,” Brother Perez de Leon said.

Greek Intake group leaders. Ashley Mendez listens as Josh Stepakoff addresses the audience.

Rick C

hilds (2)

Jorge Reyes’ (BP 618) passion has driven him to a new job title at CSUN: Associated Students president. He, along with his vice presidential running mate Sevag Alexanian, won the general election after the votes were tallied on April 2.

Brother Reyes had spent the previous year as the AS chief of staff and was a former senator for the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media and Communication. He has also been actively involved with the university’s California State Student Association.

All this, and he worked for more than a year as the chapter’s treasurer (High Rho).

A formal induction ceremony was held on June 8 in the Grand Salon of the University Student Union before the regularly scheduled AS senate meeting at 9 a.m.

Brother Reyes becomes Beta-Rho’s third AS president after Josh Lodolo (BP 459) and Adam Salgado (BP 518). Brother Lodolo’s term of office was in 2002-03 and Salgado’s was 2006- 07. Also, Brother Reyes is the chapter’s first graduate student to

hold the office.Besides Brother Reyes,

two other Beta-Rho undergrads ran for office in the Strength In Unity slate, and both of them won. Jeffrey Perez de Leon (BP 660) won his AS senate seat for the Mike Curb College of Arts, Media and Communication. Bryan Martinez (BP 674) won one of the two seats for the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Strength In Unity ran against another slate known as Student Voices. As in many previous AS elections, Brother Reyes and some of his fellow candidates were drawn from Greek letter organizations while their opponents’ campus affiliations were not. His presidential and vice presidential opponents were Luca Fehring and Vlad Arutyunov, respectively. Not surprisingly, the Greeks vs. non-Greeks student contrast

between slate candidates wound up becoming a wedge issue.“The opposing slate did not have a clean campaign and were

bashing on our slate because half of us were Greek and they were not,” he wrote on Facebook. “Also, they wanted to get rid of a lot of AS programs like Big Show and other events, so it was frustrating when debating those issues.”

Dividing his time between his final semester of undergraduate studies in broadcast journalism, working for AS and serving as the High Tau made it difficult to campaign for office.

Volume 43, Issue 2 Version 1.7Editor, reporter, designer & photographer: Rick Childs

The Beta-Rho Bulletin is the official publication of Beta-Rho Zeta of Lambda Chi Alpha, Inc. at California State University, Northridge. Article ideas, directory revisions, weddings, anniversaries, births and career info should be snail mailed, e-mailed or sent via Facebook to the editor. His mailing address is 44044 Engle Way Apt. 65, Lancaster, CA; 93536-6660. Email: eaglerick@twc.com. All other correspondence to the corporation should be sent to P.O. Box 280311, Northridge, CA 91328-0311. Made on a Mac Mini with iWork Pages ’09 v.4.1. Originally published on Aug. 5, 2015. Last revised on Oct. 23, 2015. Editor’s phone number: (661) 948-3260

Spring 2015 House Corporation Board of Directors:

President Spencer SchmerlingVP, Communications Rick ChildsVP, Activities Tim PenaSecretary John BonillaTreasurer Scott PressAlumni Director Rob PressAlumni Director Hamid JahangardChapter Advisor Kevin MojaradiHigh Alpha Jeffrey Perez de LeonHigh Tau Jorge ReyesHigh Rho VacantHouse Manager Christian Anderson

On the Web: Headquarters LambdaChi.orgBack Issues Issuu.com/beta-rho_83Facebook CSUN Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha, BP AlumniInstagram CSUNLambdaChiAlpha

3BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

Student Leadership

Jorge Reyes Wins AS Presidency; 2 Other Brothers Join the Senate

Strength in Unity candidates. Jorge Reyes and his running mates took their official portraits on the steps of the Valley Performing Arts Center on Feb. 7.

First day on the job. AS President Jorge Reyes takes his seat for the start of the first senate meeting of his term on June 8 in the USU Grand Salon.

Cou

rtes

y of

Jor

ge R

eyes

/Ass

ocia

ted

Stu

dent

s (2

)

A turning point in the campaign occurred when Brother Reyes’ social media outreach gained traction.

“My first Instagram post announcing my candidacy received over 400 likes,” he wrote, “so I would say that was when I realized that I could potentially win this.

“During the campaign the more we shared our goals with people in classrooms and clubs and organizations we received a lot of positive feedback. Also, after our debate, we gained a lot of support from students and [received] a lot of positive comments.”

According to an article written by Marissa Nall in the Sundial, election turnout was higher than usual. A total of 4,558 (12.59 percent of the campus population) cast ballots during the two-day voting period.

While sustainability was a key issue in the election campaign, Brother Reyes commented that many CSUN students were not familiar with what their student government provides. Nall wrote that Brother Reyes “believes many students do not know what AS is, what they do or what they are supposed to do, which will make it harder for them to communicate their needs and hold their representatives accountable.”

Brother Reyes has his work cut out for himself.

“We’re ready to really show what we’re doing for [students] and not letting them think that we’re just standing around and looking pretty. I know AS from left to right, from A to Z. I know our struggles, our weaknesses, our strong points. It’s time to start working, no break.”

Jorge Reyes

4

Chapter Chronicles:Spring, 2015

Clockwise from right: Xi Champs rehearsal on April 15. Educational Leadership Consultant (ELC) Justin Reed (far right) took a walk down Lassen Street with High Theta Daniel Bermudez during his chapter visit on March 26. Brothers dropped by for Kappa Kappa Gamma’s Kappa Kookie Gathering on April 13. At the Student Recreation Center (SRC) on March 6, the Intramural Softball Team (who won the championship again) posed for a group picture along with some Alpha Omicron Pi sorority fans, The chapter met with the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority on Feb. 28 for an exchange at their Kappa House.

Photos: Rick Childs (2) and Daniel Bermudez (bottom 3)

Chapter Chronicles:Spring, 2015

SPRING 2015

Clockwise from left: Brothers took alternative fuel vehicles to one of the Science buildings (Citrus and Live Oak Halls) for Alpha Phi’s “Move Your Phi’t” event on March 29 to raise awareness for women’s heart health on behalf of the their philanthropy, American Heart Association. Back row from left: David Burgos, Jorge Reyes, Annie Stonick, Emily Belt, Adrian Morales and Nelson Tobar. Front row: Daniel Bermudez, Jesse Martinez and Justin Maciel. According to Brother Bermudez, Alpha Phi’s Move Your Phi’t was “a walk through campus and the team had to pick a theme and dress up, so we picked Mario Kart.” High Alpha Jeffrey Perez de Leon conducts the induction ceremony for new High Pi Kevin Mojaradi during a chapter meeting on March 29 in Sierra Hall 370. High Zeta officers sat at a table in the back yard of the Lindley House for the final meeting of the semester on May 3. This meeting followed the ceremony and reception of the chapter’s graduates for the 2014-15 school year. Panhellenic Council’s newest sorority, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi, was invited over for an exchange on March 12. High Gamma Chris Martinez wrote notes during the March 29 chapter meeting and is seated next to High Beta Bryan Martinez and Brother Perez de Leon, who is about to make use of his gavel.

Photos by or courtesy of Daniel Bermudez (2)) and Rick Childs (chapter meetings)

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY 5

Taking place for the fifth time since 1988, Beta-Rho converted several dozen watermelons into a huge haul of canned foods for Lambda Chi Alpha’s Feeding America philanthropy

on April 25. The 2015 Watermelon Bust attracted more than 90 brothers

and and guests to the Lindley House for an afternoon of fundraising, competition, food, socializing and fun.

For the first time in many years, all eight of the Panhellenic Council sororities participated and fielded teams, according to High Theta and event chairman Daniel Bermudez (BP 650). Each sorority donated bags of canned food and competed for awards. One of them was Panhellenic’s newest sorority, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi. The chapter held a mixer with ΣAEPi on March 12 and were pleased that they agreed to attend the Watermelon Bust. The others that took part in the festivities were Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Phi, Alpha Xi Delta, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Zeta, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Phi Mu.

Funds for the Watermelon Bust were collected mainly through the sale of t-shirts. The chapter sold upwards of 250 shirts at $13 apiece to the sororities, a record for this type of chapter event. Additional shirts that the actives purchased were sold at cost. Teams also agreed to pay $25 registration fees for participating in the events. On top of the entrance fee, each

sorority team member’s participation meant ten cans apiece—and they delivered: 3,324 cans.

Another first this year was the addition of the “canstruction” game event. Each sorority used the cans of food they were donating to build sculptures for points towards an award.

“The ELC [Justin Reed] was the one who recommended that to me,” Brother Bermudez said. “He’d been telling chapters about that for awhile, but he hadn’t seen many of them implement it.”

While Brother Bermudez worked on the sidelines planning the event and supervising the games and can collections, the

previous year’s High Theta, Eric Planas, (BP 630) took on the role as emcee.

“I asked him to do it because he is a good public speaker,” he said. Justyn De Leon (BP 602) had originally volunteered for the emcee position, but he opted to record the event for a future publicity video.

As in the recent past, alumni stepped in to judge the various games. Ricky Trevino (BP 451), Chapter Advisor Kevin Mojaradi (BP 462), Sean Sievek, (BP 464), Rob Press (BP 495), Neil Sanchez (BP 535), Shawn Showkati (BP 666) and Kyle Shaver (BP 648) tallied the winners and team points. Among the other alumni in attendance were photographer Rick Childs (BP 83), Spencer Schmerling (BP 288), John Bonilla (BP 593) who reprised his role as deejay and Corey Davis (BP 596).

Once the sorority teams finished checking in with their cans at the registration table on the front porch, some of them staked

Watermelon BustWatermelon Bust

Wild times in Watermelon World. Loading the truck for Feeding America’s philanthropy were, from left, Chris Burgos, Daniel Bermudez, Christian Anderson and Jeffrey Perez de Leon. Guests took turns with the brothers at the bean bag boards (below) before the games got underway.

SPRING 20156

520152015

Alpha Xi Delta (1)Cyrus Carillo Esteban Marquez Jeffrey Perez de LeonEric Valentin

Alpha Omicron Pi (2)Mel HaddadSky LeeGlen ProbstOzzy RobledoMark Tadros

Alpha Phi (3)Josh BascouDaniel BermudezRyan ClarkStevie RobledoNelson Tobar

Delta Delta Delta (4)Christian Anderson Chris BurgosPatrick Holmes Jesse Martinez

Delta Zeta (5)Zareh BaboomianBryan Martinez Chris MartinezJorge Reyes

Kappa Kappa Gamma (6)Wes ColeKeshon Robinson Vince Vergara

Phi Mu (7)Cameron Brandt Jesse EspinozaJustin Maciel

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi (8)Freddy AlamilloDavid BurgosVincent Pimental

SororityTeamCoaches

6

7

Photos: Rick Childs (page 6, page 7: 1-5, 8 & pages 8-11)Courtesy of CSUN Kappa Kappa Gamma: page 7, #6Courtesy of CSUN Phi Mu: page 7, #7)Wes Cole: page 10 KKΓ “Hunger”

1 2

3 4

5

8

SPRING 20158

Watermelon Bust

9BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

out areas inside the house and along the driveway to begin their canstruction projects. Many of them tried out the bean bag boards with small donations to rack up a few extra team points.

The crowd then congregated around the basketball court for the watermelon roll (relays) and shot put-style toss. Then the teams converged on a long set of tables where small slices of watermelons awaited for hands-free consumption for each team.

A snack break ensued while the judges checked out the watermelon carvings in the living room area along with each team’s canstructions. As in years past, the grand finale showed off each team’s ability to lay siege to one or more watermelons in creative acts of demolition.

Watermelons met their fate by, among other things, a workout session with a doomed set of barbells, a crash helmet-wearing Cameron Brandt (BP 683) who took one for the team, an exploding fruit wrapped with lots of rubber bands, and an Old English ceremony with a hand-pulled catapult.

Alpha Omicron Pi’s team (who last won in 2011) was handed the 1st place trophy by Eric Roberts (BP 617) and they also took top honors for Most Spirited. Close behind in 2nd place was Delta Zeta. Taking 3rd place was Alpha Phi. They also won the Watermelon Decorating Contest and earned a separate award for their canstruction project that took up most of the kitchen floor. Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi won an additional Watermelon Bust award.

“Congratulations to all you guys,” Brother Planas told the crowd. “You are making a huge difference in our community.”

SPRING 201510

Watermelon Bust

Canstruction areas. Sororities were assigned to various parts of the house and the driveway to build sculptures with the cans they were donating. Clockwise from top: Alpha Phi, Delta Zeta, Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi, Delta Delta Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Alpha Xi Delta and Phi Mu. Event organizer Daniel Bermudez (second from left, below) discusses the games with judges Kevin Mojaradi, Neil Sanchez, Ricky Trevino, Rob Press and Shawn Showkati. Devin De Leon and Cameron Brandt hold the SAEPi’s catapult and Freddy Alamillo watches while Wes Cole aims a bean bag.

11BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

Alpha Omicron Pi takes top honors. AOPi sorority team members strike a pose at the Watermelon Bust billboard with their trophies. Most of the crowd squeezed together for a group photo af ter the teams had collected their awards. Eric Planas ( fa r le f t ) made the awards announcements after the points had been tallied for the games, watermelon decorating contest and cans t ruc t i on p ro j ec ts . Coaches for AOPi worked near the garage on their canstruction. Liane Mitchum (lower left) displays her sorority’s banner.

SPRING 201512

Zareh BaboomianBS: Business- ManagementGraduation Date: May 18Past: High Iota, Standards Chair, NSOHometown: GlendaleFuture Plans: “Get paid.”Age: 21 BP 641

Tony V. BallMajor: Business- Marketing Graduation Date: 2016Past: High PhiHometown: NorthridgeAge: 23 BP 605

Daniel BermudezBS: Business- Marketing Graduation Date: May 16Past: High Theta, High EpsilonHometown: ImperialFuture Plans: “Own my own event planning business.”Age: 24 BP 650

Corey N. DavisBS: Business- Finance Honors: Gamma Sigma AlphaHonor SocietyGraduation Date: Dec., 2014Past: NSO, AS Associate Justice, High Theta, High PhiHometown: TujungaFuture Plans: “Continue my studies for Business School.”Age: 22 BP 596

Justyn M. De LeonBA: Communicative DisordersGraduation Date: May 16Past High Alpha, High Delta, High Beta, High Epsilon, IFC vice president, NSO (3 years)Hometown: Los AngelesFuture Plans: “Current graduate student in speech pathology at CSUN. Future speech therapist.”Age: 22 BP 602

Jacob M. HolmesBA: BiologyGraduation Date: Fall, 2015Honors: Dean’s List, Gamma Sigma AlphaPast: NSO (2 years), High Phi, High IotaHometown: NorthridgeFuture Plans: “Masters.” Age: 22 BP 609

J. Wesley LamphereMajor: PhilosophyGraduation Date: 2016Past: NSO, High Alpha, High Beta, High IotaHometown: PasadenaAge: 21 BP 611

William MedinaBA: Political ScienceGraduation Date: Dec., 2014Past: High GammaHometown: North HollywoodFuture Plans: “Finding my moment of Zen.”Age: 23 BP 629

Eric A. PlanasBA: Communication StudiesGraduation Date: May 16Honors: Personal Achievement- AS (Leadership) Past: Senior Producer- AS Productions, High ThetaHometown: PalmdaleFuture Plans: “To program large scale events such as music festivals and concerts.”Age: 23 BP 630

Glen C. ProbstBA: Film- ScreenwritingGraduation Date: May 16Hometown: Santa Tecla, El SalvadorFuture Plans: “I want to act and write for a drama television series either in English or Spanish entertainment.”Age: 22 BP 627

Courtesy of Kyle Shaver Courtesy of Daniel Bermudez Courtesy of Corey DavisEdwin Baboomian

Courtesy of Daniel Bermudez

Killian De Leon

Rick Childs Courtesy of Will Medina Courtesy of Glen ProbstCourtesy of Eric Planas

Beta - Rho’s Graduates of 2014-15 (and newest alumni)

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY 13

Jorge E. ReyesBA: Broadcast JournalismGraduation Date: May 16Honors: Personal Achievement- AS (Leadership), Gamma Sigma Alpha, Order of OmegaPast: AS Chief of Staff, AS Senator, Cal. State Student Assn., High Tau, NSO (3 years), KCSN Health ReporterHometown: Lima, PeruFuture Plans: “Getting my Masters in Communication Studies.”Age: 21 BP 618

Charlie RiosBS: Business- ManagementGraduation Date: May 16Past: Learning Resource Center/Oviatt LibraryHometown: South Los AngelesFuture Plans: “Start a business for the 99% of the people who are not educated on how to invest, buy a home, and overall financially protecting families if anything happens to the head of the household.”Age: 26 BP 670

Eric J. RobertsBA: Broadcast JournalismGraduation Date: May 16Honors Medallion & Sports Club MedallionPast: CSUN Ice Hockey Team (5 seasons)- captain (2 years), NSO (3 years), High Epsilon, House Manager, KCSN Evening Update AnchorHometown: CudahyFuture Plans: “Go into sports journalism.”Age: 23 BP 617

Kyle J. ShaverBS: Computer ScienceGraduation Date: May 18Honors: Gamma Sigma AlphaPast: High Gamma, High Sigma, AS Chair of Technology, Matador Mentor, NSO, (2 years), App Developer for the CSUN Faculty Technology Center (FTC)Hometown: CastaicFuture Plans: “Masters in Computer Science at CSUN.”Age: 24 BP 648

Nelson E. TobarBA: Communication StudiesGraduation Date: May 16Past: EOP, Communication Studies Performance EnsembleHometown: Los AngelesFuture Plans: “I’m pursuing a professional internship with Disney/ABC with their Creative Marketing Production Team.”Age: 21 BP 616

Courtesy of Kyle ShaverCourtesy of Eric Roberts

The chapter’s Class of 2015 gathered after a formal ceremony at the Lindley House on May 3 (and before the last scheduled chapter meeting of the spring semester). From left: Zareh Baboomian, Corey Davis, Eric Roberts, Charlie Rios, Eric Planas, Daniel Bermudez, Kyle Shaver, Jorge Reyes, Glen Probst, Wesley Lamphere, Justyn De Leon, Jacob Holmes and Nelson Tobar. Above: Vincent Pimentel, High Phi. He coordinated the ceremony.

Courtesy of Jorge Reyes Rosario AparicioCourtesy of Charlie Rios

Age

s ba

sed

on th

e w

eek

of M

ay 1

8

Rick Childs

What attracts a new recruit to the chapter? When a brother recalls recruitment strategies, one might think of classroom rush, tabling, clubs fairs, New Student Orientation (NSO), billboards, flyers, postcards, emails or phone call lists over the summer or winter breaks. In recent years social media like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook has been playing a key role in grabbing the attention of prospects.

Beginning last fall, Beta-Rho’s High Delta, Justyn De Leon (BP 602), started using a smartphone software program designed by one of the chapter’s newest alumni to expedite recruitment contact management.

Finding new members hasn’t just entered the digital age, it’s become a phone app that can be carried around in a pocket. Type in Lambda Chi Alpha on a phone’s app store icon using either an Android or IOS operating system. On an iOS search using the fraternity’s name, it’s the second thing that pops up after Headquarters’ app, LCA Mobile.

Kyle Shaver (BP 648), who graduated in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science, came up with the idea for the app during the spring semester of 2014 while he was working on campus at the Faculty Technology Center in Sequoia Hall (the former site of the Engineering Field). Since his graduation he has continued his work on campus for CSUN IT.

“I was actually developing apps for work,” Brother Shaver recalled. “That was when I was working for the City of L.A., but I also did applications for the university as well. The university had a pilot program, which was yet to launch its first application.”

His department worked on creating apps for professors to assist with teaching their classes.

The free app has gone by two different names—one for each phone operating system where it’s marketed for Apple’s iPhones and Android for Samsung Galaxies and other models. While the interfaces’ designs vary somewhat on the two platforms, the apps perform most of the same functions.

“I think on Android it’s called Lambda Chi Alpha Delta Tool on Google Play, and on iTunes it’s called Lambda Chi Alpha Recruitment Assistant. They’re both the same thing. I’m not sure why the two [platforms] had to call them two different things, but they did.”

Each platform’s version of the app has certain advantages for contact information management, but in some ways the iOS functionality still trumps Android in his opinion.

“The Android version is definitely a lot more powerful than the iOS version, just by the

inherent nature of what you can do on it.”When a chapter’s recruitment officer

accesses the Delta Tool/Recruitment Assistant, he can perform a number of tasks to communicate with prospective recruits anyplace where he has wifi or phone service.

“The Android version is really cool because I set it up so that you can send mass text messages that are customized. In Android you can add a personal touch. Unfortunately, in iOS you can’t do that. The idea was, if the Delta has an Android, he can send out personalized text messages to all the potential new AMs with one text message composition. I think iOS is the only one that has the ability to do email; I don’t think Android does email right now.”

Despite having completed the app about a year ago, he wishes he could spend some more time to develop more advanced versions.

“I really need to give them both a little more love because these were projects back when I

was still pretty new at [app] development. I’ve definitely come a long way since then. I coded the iOS app in about two days. Then it probably took me another week to week and a half to get it debugged and ready to go. Now I’m pretty confident that if I were to do it again and had that same time period, not only would it be a much cleaner experience, visually—fun; but it would have a lot more features.”

Should Brother Shaver revisit the app for upgrading its features, he already foresees a to-do list of improvements.

“First thing’s first: getting the Android more up to snuff. I’d definitely have a functionality for chapters to have a central repository for all the contacts instead of having the import-export option. The idea is, if I get a contact on my phone, it automatically pushes to everybody else’s phone. I’d probably end up doing a re-code as well, a complete reprogramming of it just to get it working a lot smoother than it is right now. The big thing is getting it so that chapters can configure it on their own, maybe even [add] an option for chapters to put in their own images instead of just having the standard default coat of arms.”

Chapters using the app besides Beta-Rho are Boston University, the University of Memphis (UofM), and brothers

from a few other chapters whose colleges he couldn’t recall. Some of them have been asking Brother Shaver for access to the app’s codes to customize their versions.

“I get emails quite often from other chapters asking what the password is. It would be nice to let chapters customize that password.”

SPRING 2015

Technology News

Lambda Chi Recruitment?There’s an App for That.

14

Rick Childs (2)

Armando Duran (BP 402) married Jennifer Pruitt on May 9 at Holy Angels Parish in Arcadia. His bride holds a doctorate in clinical psychology from USC. The wedding ceremony’s presiding priests were both uncles of the groom. A reception followed at the Castle Green in Oldtown Pasadena.

Quite a few local alumni attended, as well as ones from as far away as Texas. Ryan Flahaven (BP 370) served as his best man. Among the wedding party groomsmen were Thomas Quek (BP 391) from San Francisco, Ryan Gamsby (BP 412) and Anthony Buccino (BP 422). The Lone Star State representative was Christian Bloomgren (BP 378). Ernie Prieto (BP 390) commuted from his home in San Diego. Other alumni in attendance were Jason Budow (BP 343), Jack Keleshian (BP 347), Kevin Miller (BP 387), Dan Perl (BP 388), Anthony Morales (BP 397) and Tom MacNeil (BP 405).

The couple trekked to Europe for a three-week honeymoon soon afterwards. They visited Rome, Italy; Seville/Madrid, Spain; and Paris, France.

Kyle Shaver (BP 648) has more on his mind these days than IT work and graduate studies at CSUN. He and Samantha “Sam” Reagan announced their engagement on June 20.

They “said yes to the perfect venue” for Sept. 30, 2016. The couple will be wedded at Eden Gardens in Moorpark.

Although the Lindley House was purchased by the House Corporation in 2007, Aug. 1 marks the beginning of its fifth year of occupancy.

Its operational funds have been severely tested these past four years. To give brothers an idea of where the new donations go, the corp. board would like to optimize the premises for its live-ins and guests. Among the list of repairs and enhancements are the restoration of one of the guest bathroom’s sinks, interior painting, repairs and hardware supplies, an appliance repair and replacement emergency fund, and possibly a second air conditioning unit to improve energy efficiency.

The chapter also needs to replace two ritual items, although their identities are kept private. Their replacement cost is $500. ELCs have actually lowered the chapter’s semesterly performance ratings for two years due to the disappearance of these items.

Your first-time or continued support is highly appreciated. Purple Society donations are $50-$99; Green Society is $100-$250; the Gold Society is $251-$499. And the Delta Pi Society is $500 and up. Checks can be made out to Beta-Rho Zeta and sent to the P.O. box address on the back page or brought to an alumni event.

15

Alumni News

Armando Duran’s San Gabriel Valley Wedding

Holy Angels couple. Newlyweds Armando and Jennifer Duran.

Courtesy of Armando Duran

Kyle Shaver Engaged; the Couple Has Set Their Date

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY

Courtesy of Kyle Shaver and Samantha Reagan

ALUMNI EVENT SCHEDULE

Mike Ehrlich Memorial Alumni-Active Softball Game & PicnicSunday, Sept. 20Shadow Ranch Park22633 Vanowen St., West Hills10:00 a.m.: Warm-ups 11:00 a.m.: Game Time

Plenty of shade and bleachers await you. Meet the usual suspects and the actives of our chapter. This is the family friendly park that we switched to at the last minute last year.

We are dedicating this game to the memory of Mike Ehrlich (BP 1), all our recently departed brothers who lost their battles with cancer, and our chapter’s brothers and their spouses who are cancer survivors. Donations are being collected on a GoFundMe website for the City of Hope. Once the date passes, you can still support the fund by contacting event planner Tim Pena at jjfish17@gmail.com.

House Corporation Annual Meeting Tuesday, Dec. 1Lindley House – Northridge6 p.m.: Reception 7 p.m.: Dinner & Elections

2015 Alumni Loyalty FundDrive Is Now Underway

Many of us imagine walking up to somebody famous and want to have a memento of the chance meeting. Maybe it’s a selfie or the possibility of getting their autograph.

For those of us who know Steve Finkle (BP 49), we think about his career as a book merchant. At 62, he still divides his time between his day job as a property manager and his (elaborate) hobby of collecting and occasionally selling autographed memorabilia. Unlike many autograph collectors, nearly every one of his has been signed in his presence.

During a phone interview on June 16, Brother Finkle looked back at his brief time as an active member of the chapter and recounted his professional and extra-curricular work that spanned from his early teens to the present. He recalled some of his encounters as an autograph seeker with a rogue’s gallery of famous entertainers, musicians and U.S. presidents. A few of his comments were emailed as written responses.

When Brother Finkle joined the chapter in the late summer of 1973, he wasn’t able to be as active as some of the other members, and he didn’t hold any offices.

“Well, I was sort of like an oddball person. When I say it, I lived in West Los Angeles. And here we have a fraternity house out in Reseda on Cantara Street. It was hard for me to spend a lot of time there because the roundtrip was 40 miles. From what I remember everyone was very nice to me.

“My big brother was Marshall Trager [an affiliate from the Cal-State L.A. chapter and one of the chapter’s original founding fathers].

“I studied business, and I attended Pierce College before I went to Northridge. I have an AA degree from Pierce.

Around the same time he joined Lambda Chi Alpha, Brother Finkle went into business as a bookseller.

“Back in that time period, once a month I would sell at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. You paid for your space months and months in advance. It was, like, $150 for the space, and I got special permission to work at the Rose Bowl that Sunday [after

his initiation]. I did it for maybe four or five years. Sue Kalen [Scott Press’ wife] also worked at the Rose Bowl. I frequently saw her; I think she worked at one of the refreshment stands. Both of us—separately—worked like dogs that day. We started at 5 in the morning and you didn’t get home ‘til 7 o’clock at night. And with me, I was dragging books... [I was] packing a truck, getting out there, opening up a bookstore, selling all day, closing a bookstore… I used to bring four or five tons of books to sell at the event. I had fun, but it was a lot of work.”

“I know this is going to sound really bizarre, but at age 13 I went to work in a liquor store near my house after school for two hours a day, and three to four hours on Saturdays. I worked [there] for four or five years. It was a neighborhood liquor store, and initially my job was just to restock a 12-door refrigerator.

I could also work behind the counter and sell things. And at the time it was legal for me to sell booze as long as whoever I was selling it to was over 21 even though I wasn’t. I think I needed a work permit from a high school or junior high when I started. I enjoyed my working life, even back then.

After leaving CSUN at the close of the spring 1975 semester, Brother Finkle started a book wholesale business. As his warehouse stockpile grew, he sought the help of the chapter on one occasion to help him pack up his book collection and move it from a warehouse in downtown Los Angeles.

“I hired the house, and I think I made a donation to the chapter for several hundred dollars for having a bunch of the guys volunteer to help me. I think I just moved a block or two down the street from one warehouse to a different one.

“After operating my own wholesale book company from 1973 to 1979, I jumped the fence from wholesale to retail when I bought an established retail book store in 1979. Then I opened a second location from scratch in 1984.

“The first one that I bought was an existing store in a strip mall. My next-door neighbor was Vons, so you know it was a busy mall. It was on the corner of National and Sepulveda in West L.A.

SPRING 201516

Interview with Steve Finkle

Signature Collector Extraordinaire

Louise Danton

Creature feature. Steve Finkle met with actress and author Julie Adams, who starred in the 1954 horror classic The Creature From the Black Lagoon. Her son Mitch Danton put in a cameo wearing a creature costume.

The store was called The Book Merchant. I added my name, so it was Steve the Book Merchant. It was all brand-new books. It was like walking into a Barnes & Noble or a Brentano’s.

“What was most notable and fun was that one day Aaron Spelling walked in and needed a bookstore for a new show he had coming out—a TV show called Dynasty. That was in the early Eighties. Aaron Spelling Productions wound up using my store. The funniest part of the whole thing: I can’t believe that I gave them permission to come on the shopping center parking lot and film in my store with trucks and equipment running through the lot of this busy strip mall. The very first time they came out, I was supposed to open the door for them at 6 a.m. and I drove up to the store at about 5:45 a.m. There were like 40 trucks and trailers and hundreds of people and cables. They used my store a total of six times, and I don’t think the landlord ever found out what I had done. That was amazing! They would’ve kicked my ass if they had known! They also paid very good money for the time when they shot in the store. This was in the very first season.

“I got out of retail bookselling in the early 90's due to competition from a company called Crown Books. Over a 10 to 15-year period they pretty much put every smaller, independent bookstore out of business all over the country and especially in Los Angeles. Although it took many years, they eventually put themselves out of business.

“After the bookstores closed, I worked for a property management company for several years and then worked for several years selling furniture. I have pretty much enjoyed all the jobs I ever had over my career. It was just the past few years that I have owned and managed several properties in the area and invested much time acquiring as many autographs as I can. The properties are condos. I am very proud of them and the strategy I used to acquire them.

While Brother Finkle worked at his various businesses, he pursued collecting autographs. His subjects have either been cordial and cooperative or elusive and cantankerous. Among his collection are a number of rock, R&B and folk musicians.

“A couple of years ago, I saw Chubby Checker in, I think, the Cerritos Performing Arts Center. I thought it was so cool because he announced during his show that he was going to be the last

one to leave the building that night. After the show he was going to be in the lobby signing pictures, etc. Meaning every single person who wanted anything signed, he would be there to greet you, say hello… that night I got five or six albums signed. He was amazing.”

His experiences with Eric Burdon who famously fronted The Animals in the 1960s was a different story. Brother Finkle went to see his show at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds on June 13, 2009 and ended up waiting by a fence near Burdon’s RV behind the stage for a few hours before he complied with signing a greatest hits LP. He talked a stage assistant to take his album to the RV.

“Although I wanted to see him perform and I wanted to hear him sing the hits, I made up my mind that I wasn’t going home until this guy signed my album.” Eventually, the RV back door opened and his album was handed back through the fence signed.

“There’s a funny follow-up to the Animals story. People kept coming out and telling me, ‘He doesn’t sign anymore.’ He’s still very active. He’s still recording music, doing shows, releasing albums. Have you heard of Amoeba Records in Hollywood? If you are familiar with them, you know that groups go in there once a month. They have a little stage. Eric Burdon appeared there [on Feb. 13, 2013] to promote the release of a new CD. It was totally free to get in. And I thought, here’s another chance to get some more stuff signed by him—maybe. I actually paid somebody to go with me—because a lot of times they’ll say, ‘I will only sign one thing.’ If you buy their CD, maybe they’ll sign one other piece of memorabilia. So I went to the Amoeba appearance with a paid helper, and I brought maybe 3-5 albums, and gave my helper two and I took three—and he signed everything we brought with a big smile on his face, and he couldn’t of cared less. That’s autographs. There’s no hard and fast rule. What was nearly impossible for me to get one day was simple another day.

“In about a four-week time period, I met music icons Judy Collins, Neil Sedaka… [and two others he couldn’t recall at that moment].

“I met Bobby Vinton. He was a challenge; he didn’t want to sign. I got in a car and sort of chased him. Went to a restaurant; they said it was too long a wait. Went to another restaurant. Me

and a friend of mine followed him until we could finally nail him and get him to sign some albums.

“I’ve met Alice Cooper and Grace Slick at the Grammy Museum.

He even got

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY 17

Steve Finkle

Grace Slick

serenaded while autograph hunting.“I went to an event [at the same venue] and saw Peter [Yarrow]

and Paul [Stookey] of Peter, Paul and Mary this past November. They had a discussion; there was a Q&A with the audience, and then afterwards there was a book signing. Your ticket to the event included a copy of this beautiful $50 coffee table book. They signed my book and I said to Peter, ‘I brought a couple of albums. Would you mind signing your albums?’ And he took them out of my hand, and he sort of laughed, and he goes, ‘You probably don’t even know what these are.’ I smiled and I laughed. I said, ‘Yes, these are my albums and I do know what they are. He said, ‘You’re not old enough to have records.’ I smiled and said, ‘Not only am I old enough, but today is my birthday. Keep in mind: this is at the Grammy gift shop in downtown Los Angeles. Then he elbowed Paul sitting next to him and said, ‘It’s Steve’s birthday today.’ Then Peter and Paul sang Happy Birthday to me in front of the entire line of people waiting to get their books signed. It was a totally amazing night.

Something else I’m really proud of is signed check from Frank Sinatra that I think is quite valuable.

At another event I was at to raise money for charity, the daughter-in-law of Moe Howard was selling Three Stooges checks. I bought one that Moe Howard wrote to the Internal Revenue Service paying his quarterly estimated income tax in 1959. I don’t have a lot of signed checks, but those are two that I love dearly.

“I think a lot of these celebrities, musicians and movie stars—they don’t want to be a schmuck, they don’t want to say no to their fans. They also don’t want to be trapped there signing for three hours. A lot of times they’ll take five minutes, and if you push your thing through and get lucky, maybe your item gets signed along with four or five others.

Sometimes the pursuit of an autograph can become a marathon effort.

“The longest I waited for anyone was over twelve hours. That was for President Bill Clinton at Brentano’s [in 2004] in Century City. I got to Century City at 9:15 or 9:20 in the morning, spent twelve hours on the sidewalk, and it was announced that he was only going to sign one book per person—so I paid someone to stand in line with me so that I could get two books. You know the Uncle Sam hats that people wear on the Fourth of July or Halloween? Somewhere in my travels or at a garage sale, I bought one of those hats. I think his appearance was supposed to start at 7 p.m. in the bookstore. When it got to thirty minutes before I got the books signed, I went to the car and put the hat on. Before you entered the bookstore, the Secret Service searched you. He searched my hat and let me wear it in. When I finally got in to see him, he was standing directly in front of me. I totally caught him off-guard. He smiled, but he did not react to me wearing this stupid Uncle Sam hat. He didn’t know what to say to me.

“Then I had one other interchange with him. He once appeared here at a Rolling Stones concert. I think it was at the Staples Center where he was going to appear and speak for a few minutes. When he first came out to speak, there were several dozen people in the audience that booed him. I was saddened for him,

and I don’t usually do this. I mean, I haven’t written to three celebrities in my whole life. But I came home and I was sodismayed, I sent him an apology letter on behalf of the Los Angeles area. And I did get an answer from that, and I have his letter somewhere.

“I think what I’m most proud of is I think I’m up to nine presidents: either a book, a photo, a document, something. I have every president. The only ones I’m missing are Eisenhower, Johnson and Kennedy. Kennedy would be major money. It would cost me $2,000 to get something. Harry Truman, and then it skips to Nixon, Ford, Reagan, both Bushes, Carter. I even have two or three Obamas.

“I met Ford, Carter. I never met Reagan. I would say, offhand, 95 percent of my collection I got in person, and about 5 percent is stuff I bought somewhere along the way. Ford appeared at an American Bookseller’s Association convention luncheon. After the luncheon, there were half a dozen people trying to get in to have him sign something. He signed the back of my nametag. If you gave his Secret Service agent your name, address and phone number, later they sent you a signed photo. I’m very proud of my collection of presidents. And one of these days I’ll have to grit my teeth and get ones of Johnson, Eisenhower and a Kennedy.

One book that I’m particularly proud of that comes to mind: I have a first edition, first cover, first printing of The Exorcist. Somewhere along the way it was signed by William Peter Blatty

who wrote the novel. And then it was signed by William Friedkin who directed the movie and Linda Blair who played the little girl Regan. I think that one book is worth around a thousand bucks.

Over the years Brother Finkle has compiled an extensive collection of movie posters and other ephemera in the off chance that an actor or actress will become available at some event for autographs. For actress Eva Marie Saint, who he saw in early June, he was able to acquire an unusual collectible for the occasion.

“In the last few weeks, I’ve tried to take an inventory of my signed movie posters. So far it’s around 24 pages long…. I hired someone to help me, and we’ve put in over 80 hours of work. I think it will top out at 500 altogether. We’re at 451 now.

“I don’t know if they still do this. At one time, I guess, when you went to see a movie in Germany and you walked in the door, they gave you a program printed on the lightest, cheap paper. It was four pages, it gave you the cast and crew, and a few photos from the movie. I bought a German program for On the Waterfront, and Eva Marie Saint signed it two or three weeks ago. She’s arm in arm with Marlon Brando. She signed it by her likeness. That is a wonderful piece of memorabilia.

“She is so healthy, so vivacious, and in such good shape. You would never dream that she was in her nineties. I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion. There was a Q&A before and after the movie. She was a delight to be around. I saw her at the Billy Wilder Theater in Westwood.

“Do you know who Malcolm McDowell is? [As a movie actor he is most well known for his roles in A Clockwork Orange, Time

SPRING 201518

Steve Finkle

President Bill Clinton’s post-quake address. Former President Bill Clinton gave a progress report to a CSUN campus audience in front of the Oviatt Library on Jan. 17, 1995, the first anniversary of the Northridge Quake.

Rick Childs

in the car, and by 7:30 I was in Hollywood for The Last Starfighter event and got six or eight signatures on my poster. The main actor, Lance Guest, was

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA INTERNATIONAL FRATERNITY 19

Steve Finkle

After Time, Oh Lucky Man! and the villain who killed Captain Kirk in the movie Star Trek Generatons.] I brought him up because four or six weeks ago, he signed some stuff for me and I took a picture with him. I saw him at a show called The Hollywood Show. This is an event that happens in Los Angeles four times a year. They also do it in Chicago and Las Vegas. This is where celebrities can go to rent a table for a hundred dollars or $150. They appear over a weekend and they sell their autographs. With some people, you couldn’t get [their autographs] anywhere else unless you go to this place and buy their signature. He’s a very nice man. He doesn’t have the best signature in the world; it’s more like a scribble.

Sometimes, not often, I might go to three events on the same day, even up to a midnight screening somewhere and gotten something else signed by somebody. Can you believe that? I guess that shows you how much fun I have and how enjoyable it is to do it.

“Do you remember a movie called The Last Starfighter? Want to hear a funny story? Do you know who Don Murray is? He ought to be much more well known than he is. He was in a movie called Bus Stop with Marilyn Monroe. He also did several other major movies. One night a few weeks ago I had Don Murray in Santa Monica at 7:30. [At the same time] they had a cast and crew reunion for The Last Starfighter. I had bought stuff from all over the world for Don Murray to sign, so I wasn’t going to sacrifice that. But I also had a nice, mint condition poster for The Last Starfighter. My strategy was to go to Santa Monica first because Don Murray gets to personal appearances early. He walked up at 6:50. At 6:55 he signed my stuff. At 7 o’clock I was there along with Nick Castle [the director] and some of the

other crew. That’s the kind of stuff I pull off sometimes.Some of Brother Finkle’s collectibles can be found

online for sale. At this point though, he has not added any of his signed movie posters. He added that if someone is looking for a particular musician or celebrity’s autograph, contact him at stevethebookmerch@att.net.

“I don't know if I ever mentioned this, but I have a storefront on Amazon with about 2,000 items currently for sale. It includes books, records and movies. If you like, you can see my stuff at my storefront on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/shops/A3FBE24KYZL5X6”

I met the late, great novelist Ray Bradbury once at the Oviatt Library on Nov. 5, 1983. He was autographing copies of a poem he had written about Ireland in honor of CSUN’s 25th anniversary and homecoming. True story: after I photographed him for the Sunburst yearbook, I asked him why he had chosen to write about Ireland instead of CSUN for the celebration. He replied that since he didn’t have a connection with the university, that’s where his muse had led him for the occasion. I still have the framed poem.

I had read several of Bradbury’s books in junior high and high school. He was one of the people who inspired me to write creatively, and in honor of my 60th birthday, I decided to send myself a letter that arrived on my 20th birthday.

It’s May 12, a Monday. I had just arrived home in Sherman Oaks from CSUN after taking a final. “There’s a letter for you,” my mom said. “There’s no return address on it. Probably junk mail.”

The plain white envelope had an address label on it with green lettering. I wondered what kind of typewriter made such professional looking text on the label? Then I slit the letter open with my Swiss Army knife.

“Hi. Have you ever wondered what you would turn out like 40 years from now? Here’s a hint: you are still alive and well. You have been married for almost 28 years and you have a daughter who is 24 that just graduated from a university in Central California that doesn’t exist yet. They are your greatest joys in life. But there is something else that will bring great satisfaction, and you started looking for it in earnest this semester.

“I know how discouraged you were when you wandered across the street from the Northridge Hospital searching for the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity chapter house a few months back. You were looking on the right street—Cantara; however, the actual house is a mile west near Tampa. But don’t worry, someone from the chapter named Dick Greenberg will call you in about a month and invite you over. You met Dick in Chris Lew’s poli sci and Dr. Doctor’s psychology cluster group classes and went to see the L.A. Philharmonic and Laserium with him along with more than a dozen other classmates, including future fraternity brother Bruce Marks. Dick will give you directions.

“As you get to know the guys at the chapter house, listen closely to the sage advice Chapter Adviser Tom Lawrence has to offer. When he tells brothers that the friends you make now in Lambda Chi Alpha will last far beyond college, he’s not kidding. One of them will be a groomsman at your wedding. The current house corporation president, Howard Brightman, will be your tax consultant starting in the early 1980s. Another, Terry Lucero, will be your mother-in-law’s estate CPA and a pallbearer at both your dad’s and your mom’s funerals. You will travel around the country with more than a dozen of them on at least four occasions.

“There will be some fraternity brothers who become exemplars

in your lifetime. The fraternity’s CEO in your undergrad era, George Spasyk, who is still alive today, will write and say many inspirational things, both in the fraternity’s journal, the Cross & Crescent, and in person at future banquets celebrating your chapter’s chartering from 1972. His current successor, Bill Farkas, will also amaze you with his continued stewardship.

“While you are an undergrad, take as many photos of your brothers as possible. As you grow older, they will become more valuable. When they ask you to take on the task of being their chapter’s historian, accept it and keep doing it for as long as you can. And don’t bother running for secretary against Brian Megginson. He will beat you every time. You can be the secretary for as long as you want once you become involved with the house corporation after you graduate. Yes, you will graduate.

“Once you have joined, attend chapter initiations as long as you possibly can. They are truly inspirational, even when you are 59 and have to spend the night at the house after the fall initiation so that you can attend a brother’s memorial service the next morning. And don’t worry about the dog while you are trying to sleep on the couch. Her name is Bambi and she might seem hostile at first, but she’ll wind up keeping her distance and licking all the leftover Coke that spilled on the floor nearby.

“Make no attempt to share your terrycloth streaking sock that your girlfriend from your senior year in high school mailed to you last year while you were a freshman at Chico State. Be forewarned: showing this item to any fraternity brother will guarantee that you will have the dirtiest mug name of all time in the chapter. Active undergraduate members will still think it’s hilarious 40 years later.

“If you want to keep engaging with this fantastic group of men after college, write a newsletter. New tools named after an apple will come along and make them look fantastic starting in the 1980s. A particularly talented brother, Gary Thomas, will help you with learning graphic design skills at his dad’s office in Chatsworth.

“Try to pay it forward whenever possible. You will notice that a lot of the brothers will drift away from the fraternity over time and not uphold the idea of ‘not just four years, but for life.’ You can be exceptional. Hang in there even when your wife or some disgruntled alumnus tells you to retire from your role as a future alumni volunteer.

“Make every effort to share the story of your experiences in Lambda Chi Alpha with those who will follow you.

“Remember: you will be empowered to build a legacy in Lambda Chi Alpha. It won’t be easy, but your brothers will remember you for a lot longer than you can imagine. Keep this letter hidden somewhere safe, and look at it once every few years. I can’t reveal any other aspects of your history up through 2015, but everything will turn out okay.

“Yours in Z.A.X., Rick. May 12, 2015.”

Address Service Requested

BETA-RHO BULLETIN

BETA-RHO ZETA OF LAMBDA CHI ALPHA FRATERNITY P.O. BOX 280311 NORTHRIDGE, CA 91328-0311

BETA-RHO BULLETINBETA-RHO BULLETINBETA-RHO BULLETIN

Editor’s Journal