Beta Theta Pi: Gamma Pi

My Time Abroad

gammapi — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 01:20:11 +0000

My time abroad in Argentina took up most of my summer and all of fall term at Lawrence, but those five and a half months were some of the best I’ve ever had. I could go on to talk about everything I did, but that would take up many pages and many of you would lose interest. Instead I’m going to talk about how my time abroad changed me and how I view the world.
Throughout my travels I got to experience a number of different cultures and view countries that were well off and countries that were fairly poor. These experiences really showed me just how lucky we have it here in the United States. I can remember a talk that I had with a taxi driver in Perú, and he said that people in his country don’t really get to travel around and study abroad (he had never even been out of the country). He had to take the job as a taxi driver because he literally couldn’t find any other work. He doesn’t even make money some weeks if business is slow. Education isn’t seen as necessary, and many teenagers in South America drop out to work and earn money for their families. After studying in Argentina and talking with the locals, I really began to appreciate the kind of education that Lawrence offers and the chances many Americans have to travel and study abroad and learn about other people’s cultures. As fun and eye opening as my time abroad was, I am very excited to be back at Lawrence and back with the Beta brothers. I can’t express how great I think this fraternity is, and how lucky I feel to be with these great guys in this fine school we call Lawrence University.

David Dulak

Brian Murphy Alumni Luncheon

gammapi — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 17:34:26 +0000

On October 9th we were privileged to have Brian Murphy a ’99 graduate and Beta alumni revisit our house for a luncheon with his wife. Brian had just been inducted into the swimming hall of fame at Lawrence the night prior and had participated in the alumni swim meet the morning of before heading over to a house full of Beta brothers welcoming him back. The luncheon was well received by Brian and thanks to Kerry (our beloved house mom) we had a fantastic lunch full of delicious food. We gave Brian an update on our chapters activities and details of the chapter while Brian reminisced about fond memories he has of the Beta house. All in all, we were proud to have a brother back at the house and look forward to seeing him visit again in the future.

gammapi — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 06:38:13 +0000

This past summer was an adventure. Leaving for Wyoming only six days after taking finals, I was embarking into a whole new world. Driving across the heart of the United States, my father and I stopped at the all too famous stops along the way including the famous Wal Drug. Upon arrival at my destination in Lander, Wyoming, I was swept by the natural beauty of the mountainous landscape. I had but one day with my father before leaving with NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) into the Wind River Mountain Range. For twenty-eight days, fourteen other men and myself climbed mountainous terrain, lived out of an eighty-five pound backpack, camped out in tents, ice climbed, rock climbed, learned how to cook in the wild, learned wilderness first aid, how to navigate in the wild, and probably most important of all, we learned leadership skills. Needless to say, we had no showers or bathroom utilities for this period of time so it was a dirty, smelly and extremely fun experience. Friendships were made that will last for a lifetime, along with our shared passion for the natural world. Reentry back into the civilized world was a strange experience. I had developed a passion for the little things in life. Upon my return to Lander, I was a more confident, more self aware individual with the skills to lead in any aspect of life. Not to mention a nice beard and some crazy hair.

Jason Dunn,
Alumni Relations Chair

gammapi — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 06:37:32 +0000

Dear Brothers

I am delighted to be back in Appleton studying and spending time with my brothers. This summer I stayed busy teaching tennis and swim lessons among other things. As rush chair I geared up for the school year by writing letters to men who still had bids. I also wrote freshmen welcome letters so that when they opened their mailbox for the first time they had something from us. This fall the gamma pi chapter will be giving scholarships to a number of worthy freshmen. Recruitment is a big force this year in the house and I can surely say that the chapter is having fun recruiting. It has led to some great brotherhood events and every day is one more day to make friends and share with them the great things that Beta has to offer! If you know of any young men at Lawrence this year that are worthy of being a Beta please let me know and if you would like to sponsor a named scholarship please let me know.

Until next time, GO BETA!

_kai_,

Peter Mohr, 1232
Rush Chair

gammapi — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 06:36:24 +0000

The chapter has now decided that it will be more efficient and beneficial to run the website as a series of blog entries on what is occurring with the chapter, instead of publishing the Eye of Gamma Pi. The website will now be transforming into the eye of Gamma Pi itself with members of the chapter writing about events in the chapter and in their lives. Look forward to new updates and new features as we learn to utilize our web resources more!

2010 Winter and Spring Look Back

gammapi — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 05:31:28 +0000

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone is having a great summer and enjoys their fourth of July. Sorry for the duration of no updates to the site. First of in a long list of updates we have the new executive board members who are as follows:
President – Andy Francis
Vice President – Matthew Forsberg
Treasurer – Jeremy Claar
Resident Life Manager – Eric Weinlander
Risk Manager – Collin McCanna
Rush Chair – Peter Mohr
Secretary – Nikolas Ross
Pledge Educators – Karl Vogel and Nicholas Johnson
Ritual Chair – Michael McCain
Congratulations gentlemen! Our new exec board has hit the ground running, with the majority of the board having attended the Midwest Keystone Leadership Conference.

Secondly we would like to congratulate each of the new members of Beta that activated during the winter and spring pledge periods! Thirteen young men joined our ranks, once again adding a variety of scholars, musicians, artists, and filmmakers to our chapter. Demonstrating astounding character throughout their pledge period, we’re eager to see that so many of these gentlemen have stepped up and have taken on positions in the house. Our new members are as follows:

Winter Term
William E. Doreza
Jason T. Dunn
David R. Gallagher
Cooper J. Smith
Caleb J. Stellmach
Robert T. Toth
Johnathan R. Vanko
Hui Zhao

Spring Term
Andrew Kraemer
Jeremy Savage
Alex Konhstam
Tony Darling
Tyler Christ

More updates to come so bare with me! Next posts will include Gamma Pi events, general officer elections, convention delegates, New actives project. Future projects includes family tree of big brothers, more pictures of chapter, actives biography page. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions to the site please feel free to contact me at jeremy.j.claar@lawrence.edu. Constructive criticism is most appreciated.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

gammapi — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 20:52:10 +0000

Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays! As our gift we have a new issue of the Eye of Gamma Pi, now with a sleeker new look. Hope you enjoy!

gammapi — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:54:22 +0000

Hello Everyone!

I would like to introduce myself, I am Jeremy Claar the proxy webmaster for the website. I’m currently a sophomore here at Lawrence with an interest in studying biology and chemistry. Sorry in the delay in new posts and material for the website, it took me some time to find the information required to manage the website. Thank you to Matt Sells and Justin! In regards to the website I plan on keeping all of you up-to-date with the events in the house. As Justin has previously mentioned we are looking to make the website more interesting and useful not just to alumni but also to current betas, friends, and family. If you have any feedback, suggestions, or ideas as to what you’d like to see added or revamped, please don’t hesitate to introduce yourself and let me know!

Events that have happened in the chapter so far include three rush events, Greekapalooza, Jammy Jam, Beta-Theta 5k, and our fall term faculty-student dinner.

The fall term has provided another great year for rushing. A number of members in the chapter have encountered many promising men that would make for potential pledges. So far the chapter has had two rush volleyball grill-outs to let potential pledges get to meet the members of the chapter and get a feel for fraternity life. The first event ended in success for both chapter members and the number of men that participated in activities. Those who unable to come to the event sent many emails saying that they were sorry but they had to miss the event. Unfortunately our second volleyball event was canceled due to the weather. The third rush event was the Packers/Vikings game on the projector in house, our cook Kari made a large spread of amazing food for the game. The event was a tremendous success a large number of potential pledges turned out for the event and everyone had a great time.

On September 26, Greekapalooza was held in front of new campus center on campus. The event was a large block party for the entire campus that had live music from student and local bands. Funds collected by the sales of food were donated to charity by each Greek organization. Our very own Kenneth Weinlander and Mike McCain planned and put into the action Greekapalooza, so thanks to both of them for all their hard work!

Last month our house hosted Jammy Jam, our annual open party open for all students in sleeping attire, to great success. A large turnout attended the party and everyone had a great time. Also, November 14 is our favorite party of the year – Beach Bash! Once again we will be transforming the Beta basement into a sandy tropical beach and the beach bash monkey will be making an appearance. Don’t forget your swim trunks or your flippy floppies!

On October 10, the house held a 5k run for charity with the Theta sorority on campus. The event was a great success even though the weather was not exactly cooperating. Thanks to all the members of the who made the event a success and a special thanks to David Dulak for setting the whole event up with the Theta’s!

Lastly the house held our fall term Faculty-Student Dinner at the house. The event is great way for chapter members to meet and talk to their professors on numerous topics in a relaxed environment. Our house mom and cook Kari went all out in providing the wonderful meal for the event so big thanks to Kari! The event ended in success with many compliments to the chapter from the professors that attended.

Until next time, take care!

gammapi — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 06:00:29 +0000

Hi everyone!

First of all I would like to introduce myself. I am Justin Happ, the new webmaster for the website. I’m currently a sophomore here at Lawrence. My goals are first to continue keeping all of you up-to-date with the goings-on in the house but also to revamp the website itself to make it more interesting and useful not just to alumni but also to current betas, friends, and family. If you have any feedback, suggestions, or ideas as to what you’d like to see added or revamped, please don’t hesitate to introduce yourself and let me know!

Now, let’s get down to business. A lot has happened since the last post and I’m sorry for the delay, but I hope you’ll enjoy the new content that is both up and coming! Over 50 new photos have been added to the Flickr photo page and have been assorted into albums! These include photos from Anchor Splash, our recent Faculty Dinner, as well as digital scans of the sports star photos hanging in the library. You can see them by clicking here. There is also a really cool project in the making you should all look out for: we will soon have a page with a list of all active members with pictures and bios!

The week of May 10th was Greek Week here on campus and it was a blast! We participated in events such as a lip-synching contest, capture-the-flag, and a kickball tournament. We grilled out for Kicks for CASA (the kickball tournament) and took 1st place for the 17th year in a row in Anchor Splash! That week culminated with the All-Greek-Formal on Friday and Shack-a-Thon and Zoo Days on Saturday, in which a majority of the house either helped with building the shack or with organizing events for Zoo Days (kudos to Bryce Schuler for sleeping in the shack!). Every event benefited one of various charities and in that week alone we collectively amassed over 200 hours of philanthropy service!

Tenth week has begun and this is it until finals. We’ll all be working hard for the next two weeks but amid all the studying there will still be time to relax and have fun. We’ll be having our senior dinner this Tuesday evening and on Friday night we’ll have our last formal of the year.

Take care! Until next time!

Eye of Gamma Pi: Winter 2008

gammapi — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 18:51:53 +0000

The latest issue of the Eye of Gamma Pi has been finalized! To view it or any other publications of the Eye, check out the Alumni page. Thanks for being patient!