American University chapter recognized as one of Sigma Phi Epsilon’s best

Washington, DC, August 31, 2011: The DC Delta chapter of The Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity at American University was recently named one of Sigma Phi Epsilon’s best chapters in the nation and recognized with the coveted Buchanan Cup at this year’s bi-annual Sigma Phi Epsilon National Conclave. The Buchanan Cup, an award for outstanding chapter performance, is named after the fraternity’s former Grand President Edwin Buchanan. It is bestowed every two years for chapters excelling in all areas of chapter operations and leadership including volunteer support, recruitment, member development, academics, fiscal health and faculty engagement.

This marks the first time the AU SigEp chapter has won the Buchanan Cup. For the rigorous application process, the chapter noted a number of efforts designed to make it among the highest performing of the 240 SigEp chapters across the country.

In addition, the chapter has  been recognized at the local level. DC Delta has been named Chapter of the Year at AU for the past three years and currently holds the highest GPA on campus of any Greek organization with a 3.54, placing the chapter in the top 10 nationally among all SigEp chapters. Additionally, the chapter has been recognized as leaders on campus and in the community with more than 100 leadership positions being filled by brothers. With an expanded focus on intramurals and nutrition, the chapter has also devoted itself to improving the body and well being of all members. This dedication to sound mind and sound body, and continuous personal development of all members, has earned this the chapter its prestigious recognition.

SigEp’s Executive Directory Brain Warren said, “Buchanan Cup-winning chapters are SigEp’s very best. Their members set an example for others to emulate. They challenge us to be better men, to be balanced men. Their work is shifting the stereotypes of fraternity from drinking and parties to development and leadership.”

Sigma Phi Epsilon, established in 1901, is one of the nation’s largest fraternities, with over 15,000 undergraduates on 240 campuses across the United States. Its mission is building balanced men, which is achieved through a continuous member development program that has contributed to a fraternity-wide GPA of over 3.0, a focus on the principles of Sound Mind and Sound Body, and service learning efforts that allow members to develop leadership skills while giving back to the community.

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On April 17^th, DC Delta had a very strong showing at the he AU Greek Programming Board 2010-2011 Fraternity & Sorority Award Ceremony.  The Programming Board presented 13 awards, of which SigEp won 3.

SigEp was awarded the Academic Excellence Scholarship Award for having the Highest GPA on campus of any Greek organization with a 3.48 for 2010.

Br. Elijah Mercer was named Greek Man of the Year for his commitment to community service on the campus, Mock Trial, many other organizations, for taking more than 20 academic credits per semester, and for “Running AU.”

Finally, for the third year in a row, SigEp was named the American University Greek Chapter of the Year.  This prestigious award celebrates the overall efforts of any Greek organization on campus.  Winning this award shows SigEp’s devotion to excellence in every endeavor. 

At the Student Activities Awards Reception at the President’s House on April 11, SigEp Chapter Counselor Brad Golson was named Advisor of the Year.  This award was given to the advisor from any student club or organization on campus that stood out from the rest.

 

 

Congratulations to all award winners and DC Delta as a whole!

By Elijah Mercer



More than thirty members of SigEp DC Delta raised over $1000 and walked for cancer research Saturday night in Bender Arena at American University’s annual “Relay For Life.”



Relay For Life is the main volunteer-driven cancer fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. The event is held to spread cancer awareness and celebrate the lives of survivors, caretakers, patients, and those who lost their lives to cancer. For a night, students, survivors, and caretakers stay up to raise money for cancer in honor of Relay’s “Celebrate. Remember. Fight Back,” slogan. “Relay” events are usually held in local communities and on college and high school campuses. Some events have even extended to military bases.



The local Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) organization hosts the AU event, which began in 2009.



DC Delta alumnus Br. Robbie Schwartz delivered the opening speech during the Luminaria ceremony, a light ceremony where participants decorate paper bags to celebrate and remember those who have fallen to cancer. Schwartz, who recently lost his mother to cancer, spoke about his responsibility as a caretaker.



Many current undergraduate brothers contributed to the event as well.



Br. Daniel Knoll, Br. Tommy Medaglia and Br. Robert Pines worked directly on the event. Knoll co-led AU’s recruitment committee, while Medaglia and Pines worked closely with CAC to organize and fund the event itself.



Br. John Scianimanico read a poem entitled “One Little Candle” as part of the Luminaria ceremony. Scianimanico also spoke about ‘remembrance’ after losing an aunt to cancer. SigEp Relay Team Captain Br. Elijah Mercer encouraged participants to fight back against cancer during closing ceremonies after he lost his father to colon cancer the summer before freshman year. Mercer served on Knoll’s committee and received a gift card to Potbelly’s for speaking at the event for a third year in a row.



Freshman Br. Zachary Morrice contributed the most money to SigEp’s Relay Team. Morrice raised $500 of the team’s total $1,135. In total, AU raised over $80,000.



The event was part of AU’s “Greek Week” this year. Brothers received points for their “Greek Week” team based on attendance. SigEp has had the largest participation of any social Greek organization on campus at Relay since the event’s inception at AU.

SigEp DC Delta puts its full support and endorsement behind Tim McBride's campaign for Student Government President of American University.

According to Mr. McBride's website:
"I’m a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs majoring in Political Science and a native of the great State of Delaware. Before attending AU, I co-founded our state’s Young Democrats organization and attended a public arts middle and high school where I concentrated in film and directing.

Since coming to American University, I’ve been involved in Student Government, AU College Democrats, and Sigma Phi Epsilon. This past year, I was elected Vice President of the AU College Democrats. As the Vice President I served on the Executive Board and oversaw political education and speaker recruitment for the organization. In Addition to AU College Democrats, I served in both the 5th and 6th Undergraduate Senate, with my re-election in September. As a Senator for the Class of 2013, I am a member of the Committee on Rules and Privileges, Committee on the Review of University Military Policy (CRUMP), and the Special Committee on the Budget. I also serve as the chair of the Committee on Student Rights, Academics, and University Affairs.

In my time in the Senate I’ve enjoyed working with fellow students, members of the Student Government, and members of the Administration to improve our community. As chair of the Undergraduate Senate’s Committee on Student Rights, Academics, and University Affairs, I helped lead the student opposition to the proposed changes to our Academic Regulations which included reducing our Add/Drop period and the elimination of pass/fail for all General Education classes. I’m also proud to have worked and met with various campus organizations to secure Senate support for their initiatives, including projects begun by Empower Congo and members of AU’s arts community. Additionally, I began the Senate Task Force to ensure a diverse Student Government and investigate causes and possible solutions to our mounting student doubt."

Tim will work on Student Voice, Service, and Making AU open to everyone.

SigEp believes Tim embodies the principles of our fraternity and will serve the office of President well.

Elections are March 22-23, 2011.

*Quoted material from http://ridewithmcbride.com/

DC Delta has once again found itself in the spotlight of AU intramurals. After recruiting nineteen new members, SigEp had enough interested players to fill not one, but two teams this spring semester. Both of them have qualified for the playoffs, finishing 3-1 in their respective divisions.

New member Jason Gaines has been lighting up the scoreboard for SigEp 1, consistently finding the net in his perimeter shots. The team hopes to see continued success from him in the playoffs. Craig Flora has also shown promise, hitting two three-pointers in the last game and making some aggressive drives to the basket. John Scianimanico has been a dominating presence under the basket, both on offense and defense. Paul Lopreiato is expected to return for the playoffs after a short hiatus following his spectacular performance on opening day.

SigEp Dos stands atop their division. Tied with the Nugget Blazers, their sportsmanship rating pushed them to first place. Sophomore Chris Prisco has proven close to unstoppable so far this season, averaging over twenty points a game. The team also remains unbeaten when senior Alex Wilde is on the court. In his absence, SigEp Dos lost their first game to B More Ballers in a tight 27-33 match. Since then, they have gone undefeated and appear to be the team to beat in the playoffs.

Both teams have been practicing as they await their playoffs schedules.

In an effort to revamp DC Delta’s Member Development Program, Brothers Ben Schorr and Danny Baldwin have kicked off a Sound Body initiative. The goal is to travel the 8,000 miles it takes to get from D.C. to India by the end of the semester. Each workout a member does counts for a specific amount of miles: 10 minutes in the gym = one mile; 15 minutes of playing a sport/biking = one mile; and one mile of running = one mile. 

The initiative is being led by Brother Danny Baldwin, a sophomore and member of the Epsilon Class. Brothers e-mail Mr. Baldwin their hours at the end of each workout, and he keeps track of them. Each brother is expected to contribute 166 miles of their own. We have run 1,800 miles as a chapter thus far, which puts us somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. 

Mr. Baldwin has taken the program a step further, though, and organized Sound Body events, where brothers get together to cook a healthy meal and talk about nutrition and exercise habits. The first of these occurred last Sunday, where brothers made chicken parmesan and a salad. The event was a hit with the brothers. 

“It was pretty amazing,” Mr. Baldwin says. “A lot of people showed up and everyone had a blast – and the chicken parm was delicious.” 

Brothers must attend one Sound Body event to pass through their respective challenge.

This regional leadership conference has SigEp chapters from all over the Northeast.  Seminars focused on each of the executive board positions and on team development for the chapter.  Keynote speaker Doug Band was a SigEp at the University of Florida and graduated in 1995.  He then interned in the White House and got promoted to be President Clinton's Personal Aide.  He then masterminded the  Clinton Global Initiative that has raised $46 billion dollars and has impacted 200 million people in over 150 countries.


At the awards breakfast, DC Delta won the Manpower Excellence Award and the Grand Chapter Scholarship Cup!

The Manpower Excellence Award is awarded for chapters ranking first in manpower among fraternities on campus for an academic term. A chapter must be above the all-campus grade point average to receive the award.

The Grand Chapter Scholarship Cup is presented to chapters ranking first in academic standings among fraternities on campus for an entire academic year.

Congratulations DC Delta on the awards and a great weekend!

The spring semester began for DC Delta with an astounding 18 new members signed on to the fraternity. Along with one year-round recruit, these 19 new men will take the mantle of previous SigEp's and make their fraternity proud.

Congratulations to the new Zeta class of DC Delta!

Craig Flora

Nate Salzman

Jake Gillis

Joe Politowski

Philip Scranage

Phoenix Trent

Garry Tam Huang

Charlie D'Orlando

Ben Eden

Kyle Enochs

Nick Watson

Mark Natale

Farsad Fazeli

Palak Gosar

Zach Morrice

Kevin Anderson

Jason Gaines

Dean Allsopp

Chris Jasinski

SIGEP WEEK at American University begins tomorrow, October 3rd with fun, events, and philanthropy! This year's schedule shakes down like this: