Rho Chapter, Our Time is Now

The Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 have been a time for redefinition for the Chapter. Through the revival of the alumni network, the diversification of new members and activities, to the increase on the standard for academics, Rho Chapter is making a run for the best on campus. Not only have the brothers exemplified these in the chapter house, but also in the classroom, on the athletic field and throughout campus.

The mission of the brotherhood was to turn all the great ideas and thoughts into reality through events and involvement; and the numbers don’t lie. In recruitment alone, the brothers have increased in size, diversified across different clubs, sports, and extracurricular activities. The driving force behind this was to move outside of the normal channels of recruitment with the ultimate goal to generate more positive impact from the Delts. We have maintained 100% retention through the 8 week process and have even increased our number of potential new members every new semester. It is mine, and the rest of the chapter’s hope that the people we recruit now will only continue the path to success on the foundation of success that we have put down this year.

           Another big area of focus for us is to reconnect with the entire alumnus network that we have from our chapter. Through one of the best Career Connections events, to various presentations and even big plans for alumni weekend, the chapter has made strides to keep all the alumni involved and try and use them as mentors for the undergraduates to better prepare for the future. From the entire chapter, we thank all the alumni we have and all that have contributed this year. Truly, you all have made a difference on each brother and have left an impact that can never be taught in school.

          Although the fraternity has value bigger than most people realize, academics always come first and that has been made a priority for the chapter. From increasing the minimum GPA to developing an academic support system internally, the chapter has moved from 4th on campus overall, to 3rd overall in GPA, passing Kappa Sigma. In addition, the chapter experienced another jump in semester GPA and that led to taking home an academic award at this year’s divisional conference. Looking forward, we look to keep moving up the list and being at the frontier of academics across the entire student body.

          On campus, the Chapter has been making a huge splash. From an alumni-faculty Thanksgiving dinner which included President Farvardin, and most recently, a movie screening about Title 9 awareness and education about sexual assault. For the Thanksgiving dinner, the brothers’ home cooked Thanksgiving dinner and were able to connect with alumni, President Farvardin, and even Stevens Police Captain Maggi. And if that wasn’t enough, the brothers teamed with Sigma Delta Tau and the Office of Residence Life to screen “The Hunting Ground” and also have one of the featured survivors speak after the screening. This movie is all about sexual assault on college campus, predominantly in athletics and Greek life.

          All in all, the state of the Chapter is phenomenal. We are experiencing growth in recruitment, improvement in academics, more involvement on campus, and an overall better reputation with the student body and faculty. Truly, every brother has contributed to not just putting our chapter back on track, but also helping our chapter prosper and keeps moving up the list on campus.