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Social
& Athletics
Josh Phillips '09, Social Chairman A full social calendar helps build camaraderie. We are truly Returning the Phi Delt name to Glory At the end of last year we sat down and looked at our sorority contacts when setting up the next year’s social calendar for the brotherhood. The Fall 2006 social calendar was planned out before the Spring Semester had even ended. The main focus for us was creating an active and inventive social calendar – whether it was with themes (ie. 80’s social, Around the World social, etc.) or just showing the girls a good time. The important thing is we’re having memorable events that continue to be the talk of the campus. Our social team focused on coordinating with the rush team to integrate event ideas that would show the girls a good time and would also attract potential new members. We are also going to continue to utilize our contacts in other fraternities to hold Social Combines with sororities and branch out to become more involved with and strengthen our position among the Greek community. One thing I’d like to bring back is the Bowery Ball. This was an event we were known for and everyone loved – the Greek community, the independents and the alumni absolutely loved it. At this point, we’ve taken the correct steps to reestablish ourselves to the prominence held in the past by planning and hosting events brothers and guests alike will never forget. If we do this, I am succeeding in my role as Social Chair.
Notre Dame Road Trip Heightens Brotherhood After a heartbreaking last-second football loss during the road trip to Michigan last year, the actives and some recent alumni hoped to come home with some better news from Notre Damer. by Kevin Haslam ‘10 “The trip to South Bend was my second time attending the Annual Penn State Phi Delt RV Football Road-trip. That trip was nothing short of unforgettable. Fifteen Phis, their dates, and 2 RV’s – what more could you ask for?” These words from Nick Wagner ’07 pretty much describe the feeling of all who participated in the annual trips over the past few years, making stops at Purdue in 2003, Ohio State in 2004, Michigan in 2005, and Notre Dame in 2006. The RV trip has become a new tradition at the Phi Delt house, in large part due to the camaraderie developed from spending several hours in close quarters. Because of the large roster of Road Trippers that fill out the rented RV’s, it is a very cost effective way to travel in luxury which is music to any college student’s ears.
To review the trip from 2005, a good number of the brothers took a road trip to Ann Arbor to watch Penn State play Michigan in Big Ten Football action! After a long wait for tickets, a long drive, scoring 9th row seats in the stadium and spending time with the Michigan Phi’s, the actives came home in a bittersweet mood. The trip was fun, the outcome of the game – not so much. A one point loss gave Penn State the first and only loss of their season. They were victorious over Bobby Bowden’s Florida State Seminoles in the BCS Fedex Orange Bowl en route to a number 3 National Ranking. In 2006, Joe Paterno’s Penn State Nittany Lions traveled to South Bend, Ind., to play the Notre Dame Fightin’ Irish for the first time in fourteen years, and, you guessed it – the actives followed in their trademark RV’s. “What made it even better than last year's trip to Michigan was having 2 RV’s full of 11 people each, instead of just one, as we had over the previous years,” Mike Bernabe ’07 reflected.
It kicked off with alumni and 3-time Phi Delt Road Trip Veteran Adam Dahr ’06 pulling out of the PA Theta parking lot Friday afternoon as the Captain of the lead RV. The actives arrived in South Bend late Friday night, some 8 hours later. They were able to park the RV’s side by side with their fellow tailgaters in a field a short distance from the stadium. The lot was almost covered in blue and white, a common trend when traveling to away Penn State games. They also ran into a group of PA Theta alumni who drove their own RV to the game, as well as getting visits from recent alumni Justin Pasay ’05 and Elliott Skrinjar ’05.
“Penn State fans made it seem as though we were tailgating up on Park Avenue outside Beaver Stadium. We also showed the few Notre Dame RVs how to throw a real tailgate.” Bernabe continued. Another difference between this year and last year was the fact that our travelers didn’t actually have tickets to the game. “We didn’t travel that far to South Bend to not get into the game. We walked around for two hours before the game trying to find tickets. The cheapest deal we could find was 2 tickets for $400 which was out of college student's price range,” Bernabe explained. Bernabe continues, “A Penn State teller felt bad for us and sold four tickets to us in the Penn State student section at the student price of $60.” Wagner and some other attendees were “as excited as a kid on Christmas morning,” sprinting into the stadium, as he described it.
Despite the differences between last year’s trip and this year’s trip, there is one big similarity between the two – the curse. Both road trips resulted in Penn State losing the game in some way – a 14-point loss at Purdue in ’03, an 11-point loss at Ohio State in ’04, a 1-point heartbreaking loss at Michigan in ‘05, and a 24-point embarrassment at Notre Dame in '06! Football is an important element in the lifestyle of a Penn State student. Although a tough loss can be a crushing blow to a student’s weekend, the brotherhood we all share is the perfect remedy.
Wagner hit the nail on the head when he said, “With a botched field goal on our first possession and a lost fumble on our second possession, it wasn't long before my disposition changed dramatically. Regardless, I'm still glad I went and all the good times I had with my brothers made the trip well worth every cent.” Penn State has some enticing away games at Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan State in 2007 – the actives plan on continuing this great tradition, in hopes of getting a win under their belt as well.
Snow-Tubing Spectacular at Tussey Mountain Poor weather conditions didn’t hold the actives back from holding a non-formal dated function. Snow-tubing tops the Spring social calendar! by Tim Pawloski ‘10 On March 7th about 20 brothers and their dates attended a Snow-Tubing Social at Tussey Mountain, a ski resort in Boalsburg, PA, only 15 minutes from the house by car. The trip, which included transportation and equipment rental, was free and was covered by the house social fee. Everyone met at the chapter house for a small social event to break the ice. At about 9:30 p.m., the bus arrived at the house. Spirits were high as the group piled into the rented school bus, with Matt Quirin ’07 leading a rousing sing-a-long with his melodic vocals during the ride to the Mountain.
Upon arriving at the ski slopes, the group was quick to grab tubes and hit the powder. Earlier that day, State College received a fresh coat of about 2-3 inches of snow. This made for prime tubing weather! The festivities got off to a great start as couples barreled down the slopes at break-neck speeds. It wouldn’t have been complete without a few injuries, however. There were a few epic wipeouts and landing-area collisions from which brothers walked (or limped) away. Henry Hillmann ’09 perfected a standing ride on a tube early in the evening, and the competitive spirit of the Phi Delts came in the form of races between tubes, a common sight throughout the night. Although the slopes were scheduled from 10 p.m. to 12p.m., by 11:30 p.m., the majority of the party moved into the warmth of the ski-shop.
Despite the cold, everyone had a fantastic time. The ride home proved eventful, as the exhausted crowd still managed to keep happy. Arriving back at the house a little after midnight, the party continued. All in all, this trip was a huge success and a great time for everyone. Bets are already being placed in anticipation of who will emerge victorious in next year’s races!
2006/2007 Social Recap After a long year of rebuilding an upright image, the actives assure that we’re on our way back to magnificent social graces and memory-capturing experiences! by Kevin Haslam ‘10 A Banner Year This school year, we came to school with high spirits and an optimistic attitude. Nothing can describe this more than the banner that hangs from our house during the warm-weather months. Kyle Thomas’s father owns a small banner shop so of course we purchased one for the house. What would this banner read? Well, besides the small message on the back, “Kyle, call Dad more often,” the slogan is quite simple: PHI DELTA THETA THE BEST ON BURROWES.
On a warm Fall day, the actives spent the day outside hanging the sign between the pillars. It was an epic day, signifying not only our confidence in completing our goals for the year, but our knowledge of the fact we are The Best on Burrowes, and we will soon be The Best at Penn State or even, The Best in the Nation! After hanging the banner, the actives were prepared to work towards major goals – the first being an active social calendar that smoothly incorporates the Rush calendar to provide us with a strong group of pledges. One of the main things we utilized this past Fall was the amount of quality away football games. Games such as Notre Dame, Ohio State and Wisconsin were key tools to use to invite rushes out to have a good time. Grant Bacharach ’07 was a huge help in setting up for this. His broad knowledge of cooking was a great asset on game-days. Whether it was Buffalo wings, chicken fingers or fries, G.B. was ready to cook anything for brothers and guests. Along with G.B.’s constant slaving over the fryer and stovetop, the outside grill was also utilized. Long periods of time with warm weather aided the social and rush teams to great extents. Weekly barbecues and volleyball were a great way to attract potential members and hang out with the ladies.
One of these outside events included Phi Delta Theta’s First Annual Pig Roast, featuring Jake and Sharon! Jake came to the house at approximately 4 a.m. on the morning of the Youngstown State football game in order to stuff the pig, which he named Sally. After carrying Sally out and placing her on the pig roaster, Jake and actives Kevin Haslam ’10 and Eli Bohémond ’09 realized the rental pig roaster was faulty. They had to wait almost 4 hours before the rental store opened in order to get a replacement. The Roast was still on, despite the delay! “We’ll come back and do it any time. We had a blast!” Jake commented. As we continue to host more events at the house, we realize our furniture situation is lacking. "These guys deserve new furniture. Those couches have been in the house since we were brothers!” Brad Kersavage ’85 shouted at a previous Stockholders Meeting. Actives Mike Bernabe ’07, Steve Feight ’08 and Guy Bacco ’07 took this comment to heart and found a great deal at a local apartment complex, The Graduate, located on the corner of Beaver Ave. and Atherton St. “We were driving to Manhattan Bagel on a Sunday morning. After realizing it was closed, we miserably drove back towards the house. That’s when we passed The Graduate and saw a bunch of couches outside. We ended up getting between 8 and 12 couches for about $500. I paid the guys at The Graduate an extra $20 to transport the new furniture back to the house.” Bernabe reflects. After the installation of the new lighting and ceiling fans (by Adam Anderson ’06 and Grant Anderson ’06), and the purchase of new furniture, the downstairs area is a much better place to hang out and socialize.
This year, Sharon joined in the fun and held three holiday dinners - Thanksgiving, Christmas and Valentines Day. “Sit-down house dinners with all of the brothers and Sharon’s crew are something I look forward to year-round. Spending time with all of the guys, joking around and celebrating the holidays are some of my favorite activities with my fellow brothers,” Eli Bohémond ’09 said. Last, but not least – we can never forget about the socials set up with Penn State’s sororities and other female organizations. Two of the social team’s biggest hits were the Around the World Social and the Hawaiian Social. The Around the World Social was a great way to meet the lovely ladies of the Penn State Cheerleading Squad. Brothers decorated their rooms like a specific country, played that country’s music and dressed in the best costumes they could in order to convince the girls they were of that nationality. “The girls absolutely loved it. They were still talking about how fun it was at practice the next day,” Todd Leo ’09 proudly commented. The Hawaiian Social was a fun-filled event done with the ladies of Sigma Kappa, which included participants dressing up as if they were on a Hawaiian vacation and playing theme-specific games. “I’d say it was one of our most successful events,” Social Chairman Josh Phillips ’09 reacted. Overall, the actives’ optimism was an integral part in revamping the social calendar and getting the most out of their weekends here at Penn State.
Kyle Thomas '09, Risk Management Chairman The new IFC Social Policy is strict. We are complying with it while keeping the house safe on a day-to-day basis At events, I make sure everyone is following the rules that are outlined for us. We need to follow guest lists and hang signs at certain events, as well. The new IFC Social Policy was released last Fall and it was very confusing for everyone. There were a lot of meticulous rules and it was a lot stricter than previous social policies. I was basically responsible for relaying the information to the active chapter and educating them on the things they are allowed to do during our events. On a day-to-day basis, I work together with the House Managers to make sure everything is safe for the brothers. When there is bad weather, I am responsible for putting down rock salt so people won’t slip and generally making sure the fire escape is accessible. My plans are to continue complying with the rules set before us and to provide a safer environment for anyone that steps foot in our house.
Mike Bernabe '07, Athletics/Intramural Sports Chairman The newest IM Chairman aims for maximum participation by providing a larger variety of events for brothers to participate in As IM Chair, my main responsibility is to register members of the house for various athletic events or leagues that are held throughout the semester. I am responsible for deciding who the best members are to represent the fraternity in each sporting event. Those members then go on to compete against members of all of the other fraternities on the Penn State campus. We are also participating in a wider variety of events. These events include the 5K, Track & Field, Badminton, Dodge Ball and so much more! You can read more on our progress in athletics below!
2006/2007 Athletics Recap/Records Yet another stellar season by the house’s athletes – more involvement means better results! by Kevin Haslam ‘10 As the actives prepared for another successful year of hard work and returning the house to its glory, they couldn’t help but anticipate this year’s athletic calendar. New IM Chairs James Untig ’10 (Fall) and Mike Bernabe ’07 (Spring) worked hard to make sure the brothers were involved in the athletic calendar, as they had big plans for this year. “After having so much success in flag football last year, we wanted to take the confidence we gained and boost it even more. James (Untig) signed us up for softball, while I threw our name in the mix for soccer.” Bernabe explained. The year started off well, as Untig involved the house in its first year of IM Softball. “It was a little tough getting the brothers out there at first, but after that first game, which we won, everyone wanted to play.” Untig recalled. Phi Delt finished the season with a 3-2 record in their first year.
Next was Phi Delt’s pride and joy – flag football. The guys didn’t get to play rivals Beta or Kappa Alpha, like last season, but there were still some notable wins. Involvement from some of the younger actives also helped, as Team Phi went on to repeat last year’s record of 4-1. Just before frigid weather made its arrival to Happy Valley, the actives signed up for their second annual 5K Run. Actives Colby Wesner ’08, Nick Wagner ’07 and Grant Stephens ’10 ran in the 5K (also known as IM Cross Country) on a dim Saturday morning. The only rankings for Cross Country were 1st, 2nd and 3rd, but the 15 points the actives received for participating boosted us about four spots in the IM rankings for the year. Another event that Stephens got the house involved in for the first time was IM Squash. Adam Koontz ’09 and Stephens competed, scoring another 15 points for Team Phi. The final event for the Fall line-up was IM Volleyball. Previously, the actives had only shown their talents on the beach court alongside the house. This year, it was time to show other fraternities what they could do. As the actives took the court, they had to learn some new rules. Aside from common rules in the game of volleyball, the actives had to learn strict rotation policies and zone violations. Although the adjustment led to some tough losses, the actives still came out with a winning season in their first year of participation, going 3-2. The Spring semester has also brought some great opportunities for the actives. The first of these has been IM Basketball – an activity they all look forward to every year. This year was one of the most successful years to date. In an epic battle against Pi Kap (Pi Kappa Phi), scoring points was an easy task. Three starters, which included IM Chair Mike Bernabe ’07, Jake Barker ’07 and Matt Quirin ’07, put double figures on the board, as they made shot after shot, capping off another victory. The actives finished this basketball season 4-1. Dodgeball has recently become a perennial favorite at the Phi Delt house – as luck would have it, there will be two events for the beloved sport. The Annual Tri-Sig Dodgeball Tournament will be held before the semester comes to an end – a tournament in which Team Phi is looking to three-peat as champions. The Reigning champs also look to rain dodgeballs on the competition at the IM Dodgeball Tournament, which will be held in late March – early April. Stephens, who is also a recreational and former high school runner, has rallied the troops for IM Track & Field. Many brothers have expressed interest, and with the coaching of Stephens, the actives guarantee success.
“I believe that Track and Field is a great way to earn IM points. We competed last year with just two guys and scored 45 points. You basically compete as individuals, but the outcome usually results in a massive amount of IM points to add to your totals,” Stephens explained. There are 9 events in the competition. First place gets an additional 15 points, second place gets 12, third gets 10, and so on (decreasing in increments of 1 point). If an entire team scores enough points to place 1st or 2nd, they will earn a minimum of an additional 40 points. “Last year, there were almost 80 points that were not received at all, because not enough people participated,” Stephens continued. “Maximum participation will definitely place us in with the top teams.”
This year’s competitors include Colby Wesner ’08, Nick Wagner ’07, Stephens, Rob Leo ’09, Todd Leo ’09, Brandon Hill ’10, Jeremy Hill ’10, Mark Keagel ’10, Morgan Markey ’10 and A.J. Kareis ’10. We wish them all the best of luck in their respective competitions. Finally, Bernabe’s interest in IM Soccer has led to the formation of the house’s first soccer team in recent years. Some actives that plan on participating are President Dave Dunn ’08, Treasurer Eli Bohémond ’09, IM Chair Mike Bernabe ’07, Omar Morales ’08 and Stan Zenda ’10. Many of the guys have past experience in soccer and have high hopes for this coming season. As warm weather ensues, look for more and more success from the athletics department of Phi Delta Theta. We hope to add many more trophies and accolades to our chapter’s history!
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