Sigma Phi

F L A M ENATIONAL HEADQUARTERS • P.O. BOX 4633 • CHAPEL HILL, NC 27515-4633

NUMBER 104 WWW.SIGMAPHI.ORG FALL 2001

I always have had a special feeling withthe song Never Forget. The words ofthe song speak to me in a way like no

other Sig song. I’m not sure what it is, justthinking of all our Sig Brothers no longerwith us. I don’t know all those who havepassed away, but it doesn’t matter. It justmakes me ponder my own existence and bethankful for the Sig Brothers I sing with,arm in arm.

Such was the occasion recently at amemorial service I attended for one of ourown. Vermont Brothers came from all overthe world to pay tribute, mourn and celebratethe life of our lost Brother, Cesar AugustoMurillo, V’89. Forty-five Sigs spanning twodecades joined more than 700 other familyand friends. Sigs who did not even knowhim from our Vermont chapter came to paytribute.

Cesar worked for Cantor Fitzgerald as anequity salesman on the 104th floor ofTower One at the World Trade Center. Heis presumed dead after the horrific attackson Sept. 11. Cesar was one of my closestfriends from the great band of Vermont Sigswe have living in New York City. After firstmeeting him in the spring of 1994 at mySwing in Vermont, Cesar has always beenan honest, open and sincere ‘older’ brother.

Anu Parekh, M’89, one of Cesar’s bestfriends, delivered an incredible eulogy thatlasted for an hour and a half. Anu had uslaughing and crying as he recounted all thethings that made Cesar an incredible friend,husband and Sig Brother. After the service,all the Sigs present paid tribute to Cesar bygathering and singing Never Forget. It wasan incredible experience to sing that song inthe presence of what we were experiencing.Some Brothers smiling, some Brothers crying,it was quite a moving experience. I especiallyfelt a strong connection to the moment,since I had escaped from the 38th floor ofthe same building that fateful day, moments

before its collapse.Never Forget is an incredible song, more

so than any other Sig song I know. Itmoves you, touches you and makes you bethankful for being a part of this incrediblecircle called Sigma Phi. So next time you

are at a gathering ofSig Brothers andsing a song, makesure to sing NeverForget. Take the

time to think about those Brothers notwith us today, and be thankful for thosewho are. ■

Yours in the Bonds,Derek Fredrickson, V’94

General Secretary

Sigs Gather For Memorial Service

A Rare Badge Comes Home

This fall, the Society received a lovely letter fromHelen Gipson, age 95, granddaughter ofCharles H. Benedict, G ’72, asking about the

disposition of his badge. A review of the 1891 SigmaPhi Catalogue revealed Brother Benedict was initiatedin 1872 and graduated from Hobart in 1875. Benedictpracticed law in Utah from 1876–78 and was a districtattorney in St. Paul, Minn., in 1889.

“He had become quite distinguished as an attorneyin Minnesota when he was appointed by PresidentGrover Cleveland as United States Counsel to SouthAfrica,” wrote Ms. Gipson. “He died in his 40s when hewas working in that capacity,” she said.

“Through my mother’s genealogy research, Charles wasproven to be a direct descendant of Elder WilliamBrewster, one of the original Pilgrims to land at Plymouth,Massachusetts,” wrote Ms. Gipson, who also sent a photo of Benedict and his badge.

The Society’s custom is for brother’s badges to be returned to their chapter, if possible,upon their death, and thus this badge will finally come home to the chapter room atHobart. Our thanks go to Helen Gipson for her kindness and consideration.

Charles H. Benedict, G ’72

Forty-five Sigs joinedmore than 700 otherfamily and friends to celebrate the life ofBrother Cesar AugustoMurillo V’89, who wasa victim of the WorldTrade Center attacks on Sept. 11.

PAGE 2 THE FLAME

T he keynote speaker at the conventionbanquet was UW American HistoryProfessor John Sharpless. Prof. Sharpless

was the past chairman of the department ofUndergraduate Student Life, where he advisedthe Dean of Students on issues including Greeklife on the Madison campus. In addition,Sharpless recently narrowly lost a bid for a seatin the U.S. Congress. He is a Chi Psi fromMinnesota.

With such wide-ranging perspective andbecause he is one of the highest-rated professors(by students) on the UW campus, we askedSharpless to share his thoughts with us on“What do fraternities need to do to add valueto the undergraduate educational experience inthe 21st century?” Since Prof. Sharpless onlyspoke from notes on index cards, and we didnot record the speech, what follows are the keythemes he so articulately made, as captured byChairman Grey Perry on dozens of napkinsthroughout the course of the speech.

At the time fraternities were begun atUnion College in New York, there wasalready a certain tension surrounding secretsocieties. Because America was a free society,there was a certain distrust of any secretsociety, despite the fact that our foundingfathers had been members of one,namely the Free Masons. By the 1830s, secret societies werein decline. People were also

suspicious of Catholics, andMormons suffered because theywere thought to be secretly undemocratic by an increasinglyegalitarian society.

Gradually, the surviving secret societiesbecame more open and no longer servedtheir original functions. Many became service organizations. Today, we are seeingthe last generation who are active in severalsocieties like Rotary and Kiwanis, which areneither secret nor have closed membership.Young people are no longer as interested inthese groups as before, and certainly notthe secret societies, which had a legacy ofprejudice, elitism, isolation and suspicion.

Today, fraternities must provide morethan association with friends. Every libertyis balanced by a responsibility that goeswith it; a responsibility to do good things,to act responsibly. Students, and fraternitiesespecially, are always being judged. Imagecounts. Students must live up to the expec-tations set for them, and fraternities canprovide values for their members, but not

tell them what to believe. There are fourimportant elements to a successful fraternitytoday.

1. Between the ages of 18 and 22 is thetime young adults calibrate their moralcompass. Their parents have taught themright and wrong, but for the first time in

their lives, they have to apply judgmentswhen the pressure is on to do the right thing.Fraternities at their best can reinforce thisprocess. When applying this judgment toalcohol use, students have the opportunityto figure out their limits early — when it isright and when it isn’t. Many fraternitiesstress a code of gentlemanly conduct —how to behave correctly around women, analmost chivalric code. This can be rhetoricor it can become part of a young man’s life.Having a set of criteria is important, and afraternity can provide those criteria.

2. A strong fraternity relies on stronglocal alumni organization. Beyond beingwell-organized from a business perspective,the local alumni must believe in the stu-dents and have an interest in their buildingand perpetuating the best of the chapter’straditions. When the local alumni show up,they are demonstrating their love for an

organization they know had a significantimpact on their own development and theircommitment to ensure that powerful impactcan continue to benefit students today.When the old guys come, they should bewelcomed.

3. Some fraternities have a Parents/Mother’s club, which maintains the parentalconnection on an on-going basis. It is con-nection based on love and never ends.Fraternities that actively foster ongoingparental and family ties are typically farstronger (and less likely to get in trouble)than those that don’t.

4. Fraternities must have a strong link tothe larger university and faculty. Reach outto them, not on one day, but all the time.Invite them to dinner, to speak, to mix.Create links also with other groups oncampus, at dorms, political groups, etc.This will improve your image, which is amajor problem today. Set higher standards.

On the Wisconsin campus, there is acrusade for a safer campus. The key to thisis to avoid doing those things that mightdamage yourself or someone else. Don’t dosomething you can’t live with the rest ofyour life. You must be proud of your college

years. You must always be able toface your brothers and family andbe proud of your fraternity.

It is the fraternity that givesyou that little voice that is yourset of values and what they standfor. What you do when no one is looking depends on those

values. Even when you can get away withit, doing the right thing is a test of thosevalues.

The most interesting men in history arethose flawed men who rise above theirfaults. They get it right. They don’t have tobe perfect, but they do learn from theirmistakes. The fraternity helps you do thatfor you and your brothers. It will prepareyou for when that moment comes, you willmake the right decision, one for which youwill never have to apologize.

This is a difficult time for all of us. Thereis much anger and anguish. What mattersis not that we make mistakes, but whetherwe do our best with the liberty and ourfreedom granted by our founders and pro-tected by our forefathers. When at theirbest, fraternities and Sigma Phi can providesignificant influence and guidance toensure we rise to the occasion. ■

Look Back With Pride

John Sharpless, professor of American history at theUniversity of Wisconsin, spoke at the convention abouthow to have a successful fraternity in the 21st century.

Students must live up to the expectations set for them, and fraternities can provide

values for their members, but not tell themwhat to believe.

—Prof. John Sharpless

FALL 2001 PAGE 3

Learning CommunitiesCome To Colleges

Across the CountryP rof. Aaron Brower, UW Sociology professor and founder of the Bradley Learning Center

at UW, spoke at the general session meeting of the Society on Saturday morning aboutthe trend of learning communities across the country, and specifically at Wisconsin. Key

themes from that discussion are captured here.“At many early colleges, locations where students lived and studied were seamlessly

integrated, and the facility also included faculty members. Academics and social compo-nents were placed in a common living space.These are the characteristics of modern livingand learning communities on college cam-puses,” Brower said.

Prof. Brower discussed the historical context out of which the modern conceptdeveloped and also commented on otherlearning communities being established atMichigan, Hobart and Cornell today, where“the effort is to integrate classroom andsocial experiences,” he said. He cited a posi-tive effect on grades, retention and a greaterlevel of engagement in activities at school asprimary results of students having a smaller,more integrated (with the college) livingenvironment. This is particularly true in thelarger schools where students often are some-what lost and lonely at the beginning oftheir college careers.

The Bradley Learning Community at Wisconsin (named for the original owner of theSigma Phi house) houses only freshmen and is one of four active such centers in Madison.It is home to 240 students, is coed, and has a ratio of students to faculty of 20:1. While noformal teaching is done in the learning community facility at present, there is significantfaculty interaction outside of class time. Two more such facilities are planned.

“Students must be connected to something,” Brower said. “They must be part of a societythat is better than they came from or better than others on campus, if the learning com-munity is to be successful. The difference in the communities established at Wisconsin isone of degree: how intentional the effort is to integrate the student and faculty members,and how directed are activities at these centers.”

In many circumstances, the new learning communities may compete with fraternitiesfor students. The living communities are seen as providing a valuable environment thatfraternities (often) no longer provide. On the other hand, for fraternities that do activelyintegrate themselves, their activities and their members with the broader academic com-ponents and purposes of the university (not just social aspects), learning communitieshave actually served as sources of new members. The choice is up to fraternities of how todeal with this new living environment on college campuses. ■

WANTED: Historian

Sigma Phi Society needs an historian.There are many files, arcana, manu-

scripts, books, photographs, etc., fromchapter and national files that need tobe archived and catalogued by an enterprising Sig who has an interest in preserving the history of our Society.

The S & A committee has indicateda willingness to fund such a position asit recognizes that while a volunteer mightoffer his services, support materials suchas a computer or file cabinets, etc., willbe provided to do the necessary work.The chairman of the S & A committeewill appoint the historian. The historianwill be expected to publish interestingarticles from time to time in the Flame.

If you have an interest, please contactChairman Grey Perry at downmid@tellico.net.

Prof. Aaron Brower said that modern living andlearning communities strive to integrate classroomand social experiences.

Viele Awards MoreThan $120,000

The Viele Scholarship Trust againawarded scholarships to 30 undergraduateand graduate Sigs, with every chapterbenefiting. Details of the awards areshown below.

Chapter # of awards Amount

Wisconsin 7 $29,000 Virginia 7 $24,000 Vermont 4 $23,000 Cornell 4 $13,500 Michigan 2 $8,500 Hobart 2 $7,000 Hamilton 1 $7,000 Lehigh 1 $6,000 California 1 $3,000 Union 1 $2,500 Total 30 $123,500

Union College will take over the house of the Alpha of New York at Union in 2004 in their effort at a learningcommunity experiment. To preserve the continuity of the Alpha, the Sigma Phi alumni corporation at Union haspurchased a small house near the campus that will be used for conclave and some social events, but it can houseonly a few members.

The Alpha needs the services of a Sigma Phi architect to design and plan a new conclave hall in the new Alphahouse. Perhaps it can reflect some elements of the original Pepperbox. The project will involve at least one trip toSchenectady and is not expected to be a pro bono effort.

If you are qualified and have an interest in this project, please contact Dr. Len Kagan U’66 at (631) 499–0592.

ArchitectNeeded for AlphaProject

PAGE 4 THE FLAME

T his year, I had three messages Iwanted to get out. The first two Iarticulated in my initial letter of

the year: getting back to our roots andbeginning some fundraising efforts at thelocal chapter level to build endowments foreach chapter. The letter was well receivedand apparently struck a chord with many.

Getting Back To Our RootsThe theme of getting back to our roots

was strongly echoed in the presentationsmade by three chapters this year at ourconvention general meeting. This year, a$1,500 prize was offered by the Foundationfor the chapter that made the best presen-tation at convention around the theme:Why Sigma Phi shouldbe welcomed on yourcampus. Vermont,Wisconsin andCornell made excel-lent presentations,with Vermont beingjudged to be the win-ner, although all presentations were out-standing in my view. Each presentationfocused liberally on our basic ideals andtraditions that, if properly executed, makeSigma Phi a most desirable addition to anycollege campus.

How interesting then, that both of ourspeakers at the convention also used thesame theme of the importance of fraternities’basic ideals in their presentations. Prof.Aaron Brower discussed the concept of liv-ing communities. It appears to me that atWisconsin and Cornell, and perhaps othercampuses, administrations are trying tocompete with fraternities by taking the best from what we offer: small living units,where members live, eat and study togetherand develop lifelong friendships. The colleges may also be trying to control theincome from rent and food service, and/orapply their own selection methods to deter-

mine who lives in these units. My point is that we must remain true to

our ideals and traditions. We must get backto our roots to do all the things a good fra-ternity can do, such as fully participatewith many campus activities, have activeand frequent faculty contacts, do communityservice projects throughout the year, behaveourselves socially, use alcohol responsibly,keep our grades up and act like gentlemenall the time. If we do these things, as Prof.Sharpless said, “we can look back on ourcollege years with pride and never have toapologize to any brother for our actions.”We can also offer something far better thanany administration trendy experiment incommunity living.

Fundraising Efforts Needed at Local Level

My second appeal was to the alumniassociation presidents at our annualPresident’s meeting in Jupiter, Fla., inwhich we offered resource assistance to anychapter that wanted to begin a local fund-raising effort. We have several resources ofexperienced Sigs who can help, as well asour alumni relations company, which helps

us publish the Flame, does mailings andmaintains our database. This year weswitched from Stewart Howe AlumniServices to Gilchrist Alumni ManagementAssociates, which has an active fundraisingdivision available to any chapter.

The key to any successful fundraisingeffort is there must be someone who hasthe passion for the job. So far, no one hasstepped forward to take up the effort for hischapter, but I am still hopeful that may yethappen. I have seen the positive effect of ahealthy endowment at the Cornell chapterand it makes all the difference in the oper-ation of a successful chapter.

Modernizing the Society My third effort this year was to position

the Society for the 21st century by updatingour methods of operation, and to takeadvantage of modern communications and

tools. We cannot expect each of our officersto donate their own or company computersto Sigma Phi business, so laptops were pro-vided. These machines are used for daily e-mail communications between the executive committee and also S & A members. As executive committee membersleave office, the computer will be passed tothe successor and thus will provide vitalinstitutional memory for everyone.

I also wanted to assist our volunteers, inany way I could, especially those at thenational level. Many fraternities have paidpersonnel to do the jobs our officers andalumni leaders do strictly as volunteers.Burnout amongst our volunteers can happen and has happened. So, certainrepetitive jobs such as bookkeeping, legalservices, tax preparation, publications assistance, etc., have been outsourced withthe approval of the S & A committee. This will free up our volunteers to focus onmore policy decision-making and the futureof our Society. The S & A also approved anew Web site development project thathad previously been done by our NationalSecretary in his spare time, of which he nolonger has any. Soon, we should have a

professional Web sitethat will be secureand allow manytransactions not previously possible, as well as offer onlybrothers access tomaterials that should

not be part of the public domain.One particular effort that must be

recognized as part of our ability to governourselves more efficiently is the preparationof new by-laws for the Society, which wereadopted by the delegates at the nationalconvention. Our General Counsel PeteHarter, G’65 and Vice-chairman MarshallSolem, F’79 deserve a “Well Done.”

I am also pleased to report the SigmaPhi Educational Foundation is active andwell, and its operations are becoming moreclosely coordinated with those of theSociety.

I wish each of you could have attendedthe Wisconsin convention. It was inspira-tional to see our best and brightest in thatsetting. I know the convention at Vermontnext year will be equally strong. Why notplan to attend yourself to see our Society inaction? ■

Chairman’s Message

CHAIRMAN

S&ACOMMITTEE

Grey Perry

Administrations are trying to compete with fraternities by taking the best from what we offer: small living units,

where members live, eat and study together and develop lifelong friendships.

FALL 2001 PAGE 5

Convention 2001Highlights

◆ Football game score: Wisconsin 24,Kentucky 6

◆ Undergraduate Workshop: presenta-tion by local attorney and Wisconsinprofessor of business law John Walshcovering legal definitions of fraternalassociations, fraternity duty towardguests, common-area problems suchas stairs, balconies, fire escapes, slipand fall locales; actions of fraternityleaders and members, serving alcohol,date rape, hazing, and agents of thefraternity. An excellent session withlively discussion.

◆ New by-laws were approved at thegeneral session. After two years, ninerevisions and many votes by the S & Acommittee, which approved and rec-ommended adoption of the by-laws,they were passed by vote of under-graduate and alumni delegates to theconvention.

◆ The House looked GREAT! “WellDone” to the actives for that.Barbecued brats were the best.

◆ Viele awards for 2001–02 academicyear totaled $123,500.

◆ Memorial Union banquet venue withcocktails on the balcony overlookingLake Mendota was outstanding, aswas the meal.

◆ Undergraduate presentations at generalsession were well-researched and pre-pared and professionally presented.Impressive.

◆ Special thanks to Wisconsin activesGreg Eisenmenger, Jeff Craven andBrian Danner and alumni SamMoore and Marshall Solem, all ofwhom handled hundreds of detailssuccessfully.

Nat Sillin V’99 and Eric Chartran V’98 gave thewinning presentation for Vermont at the conventiongeneral session.

Scenes from the National Convention

Californians David Munroe I’86 and David Elias I’92 at Memorial Center, overlooking Lake Mendota.

Bill Cohen F’90 was the master of ceremonies.

Rex Jones F’72, Martha Jones, Sam Moore F’70 and Dave Williams W’61 chat before dinner.

PAGE 6 THE FLAME

Year-End Report This has been a year of modest rebirth and beneficial transition for the Sigma Phi Educational Foundation. Several of

us have been searching during the past year and a half for more creative ways to maximize our fund-raising potentialin order to serve the Society more effectively and satisfy our mission: to expand the educational opportunities for the

actives as well as upgrade and maintain our chapter houses as first-class educational residential units. Let me first address the new officers of the Foundation. I am pleased to report that at the recent convention in Madison

the following individuals were elected and/or ratified as the present officers:

OFFICE TITLE OFFICER’S NAME EXPIRATION DATE NN

President Frank Mead C’56 Annual Meeting, 2003 Vice President Jim Jenkins S’58 Annual Meeting, 2003 Treasurer Andre Jaeckle C’71 Annual Meeting, 2004 Secretary/General Counsel Jim Cole S’87 Annual Meeting, 2004

We are pleased to welcome Andre Jaeckle and Jim (Vinny) Cole as new officers to the Foundation and look forward totheir contributions as Treasurer and Secretary/General Counsel, respectively.

Last spring Grey Perry C’56, chairman of the Standing and Advisory Committee, asked Cal Howard, as one of the originalcontributors to the Foundation 15 years ago, to form and lead an Investment Review Committee for the purpose of examiningthe investment and financial control structure of the Sigma Phi Society and the affiliated charitable organizations.Opportunities for making improvements were identified and included the following objectives:

a) improved investment policies; b) income strategies, to include endowment fund raising; c) utilization of former Viele recipients for assistance in solicitation of gifts; d) guidance to chapter alumni in fund raising.

One area given specific attention by the Investment Review Committee was the lack of coordination and communicationbetween the managers of the three Sigma Phi Society funds — the Viele Scholarship Trust, the Permanent Endowment Fundand the Educational Foundation Fund — which made it difficult to transfer funds between the three. As Cal points out in hisreport, “Each of these generates income which is spent in different ways. The three groups of trustees never meet to discussinvestment policy and results, and the future needs for funds.”

Recommendations of the Investment Review Committee, discussed at the recent meetings in Madison, include the re-evaluation of the investment structure and investment policies of the Educational Foundation. It is proposed that theEducational Foundation become the primary conduit for raising funds and we consider dispursing them to the Chapters andactives in an orderly rational process.

The officers of the Educational Foundation will meet this fall to evaluate the performance of the investments, change theinvestment portfolio if that is deemed to be appropriate, and prepare a report of profits and losses regarding the investments incomparison to an appropriate market benchmark to be made by the Treasurer at the next meeting of the Corporation.

Finally, the Standing and Advisory Board voted at the national convention to engage professionals to handle our con-trollership needs while retaining the treasury function in Sig hands. The S & A voted to engage the accounting firm of MoreaFinancial Services, who already handle the Viele Trust accounting and tax reporting, to also handle similar functions for thePermanent Endowment Fund and the general Society funds. Foundation officers have also agreed that Morea should also handleFoundation accounting and tax-reporting functions, with approvals by appropriate officers, thus consolidating all such dutieswith one organization. In this way, we will have a complete record of our financial transactions handled by professionalaccountants.

In closing, we need your continued support as we enthusiastically approach our task at hand with a new administration, aclearer mission and smoother operations. We can do much more to support programs to make our chapters places where theactives learn to apply good judgement and develop leadership skills along with the traditional academic lessons learned in theclassroom.

Please make your generous contribution in accordance with the attached instructions. Franklin B Mead, C’56

President

EVERETT E. BERG, M’43, retired andliving in Victoria, B.C., Canada, is currently serv-ing on the Executive Advisory Board and FinanceCommittee of the Fraser Institute, one of theprincipal free market “think tanks” internation-ally. He and his wife also have a foundation thatprovides scholarships to 638 underprivileged chil-dren in grades K through 8th grade in Oakland,Calif. The scholarships allow the children toattend a private school of choice.

FRANK W. ZURN, C’47, of Venice, Fla.,was elected president of the Cornell Club ofSarasota-Manatee Counties, which boasts 200members.

JIM GRAY, F’47, professor emeritus from theUniversity of California, Berkeley, has writtenTeachers at the Center: A Memoir of the EarlyYears of the National Writing Project, a book aboutteachers, teaching and school reform. It is avail-able through the National Writing Project,University of California, Berkeley, Calif.

DAVID EITEMAN, M’50, is professoremeritus at the Anderson Graduate School ofManagement, UCLA. The ninth edition of hisMultinational Business Finance (Addison-Wesley-Longman, 2001) co-authored with professorsArt Stonehill of Oregon State University andMichael Moffett of the Thunderbird GraduateSchool of International Management, wasrecently published. During his career he hasbeen a visiting professor in Argentina, England,Finland, Singapore, Hong Kong and the PeoplesRepublic of China. A musician as well as afinance professor, Eiteman, also taught for 14months in the arts management program ofShowa Academy of Music, Japan. He wasrecently appointed to a second term on a sub-committee of the Hong Kong Research GrantsCouncil, which allocates competitive researchgrants to social science and business facultyfrom all of the Hong Kong universities. He lives in Pacific Palisades, Calif., with his wifeand 11-year-old son, Wilford.

GEOFFREY S. BULLARD, C’57, ispleased to relate that his company, Bullard,McLeod & Associates Inc. of Albany, N.Y., was selected in June by the NYS Insurance Fund to be an equity manager, a fund that has$9 billion in assets.

BILL STEERS, C’74, and his wife, Amy,have recently started a vineyard aptly named

“Three Notch’d Vineyard,” after their colonialroad in Charlottesville, Va.

Congratulations to TOM HELF, C’81, andhis wife, Michelle, on the birth of their firstchild, Gabriela, on March 2, 2001.

KEITH F. DONAHUE, U’84, vice presi-dent of sales for Zumbach Electronics Corp. inMt. Kisco, N.Y., recently added two fellowUnion Sigs to his staff: KYLE PECK, U’84, andADAM HERSHMAN, U’97. Keith states, “Bothguys have excelled, and it’s created a fraternalatmosphere within the workplace.”

DAVID STRASBURG, F’85, and his wife,Dania, announce the birth of twin daughters,Celia and Olivia, on April 19. 2001.

JAMES REED, C’86, recently joinedClassic Residence by Hyatt, Hyatt Corporation’ssenior living affiliate, as associate counsel.Handling the legal work for the corporateoffices as well as the 22 communities through-out the United States, James hopes to visit withbrothers in his future business travels.

WILLIAM F. CALLAHAN, V’87, wasrecently promoted to senior vice president ofthe Private Client Group at Morgan Stanley inNew York, N.Y. Bill writes that he and Sigbrothers, PETER NICHOLAS SANDERS,V’88, and JEFFERY BILADO, V’87, recentlyreunited in New York.

KEVIN N. MULCAHY, S’88, and wife,Diana, and older sister, Aidan Marie, proudlyannounce a new family member, RowanElizabeth, born on April 16, 2001.

THOMAS M. BALES, C’90, is headingback to school at the University of MichiganBusiness School to pursue an MBA. Tom hadworked with Proctor and Gamble for the previ-ous five years.

CARL F. GIESLER JR., S’91, and wife,Laura, are pleased to announce the birth of theirdaughter, Anna.

RICH ADAMS, L’91, has recently started aframe shop in the San Francisco area. Richwrites, “I build by hand using labor-intensivebut high-quality beautiful and unique bikes andam having a blast!” He’d love to hear from anylocal Sigs, particularly the bike enthusiasts

May 5, 2001, marked the wedding ofSTEPHEN S. MACGUFIE, C’92, and MarciKay Schulson at the Ocean Reef Club in KeyLargo, Fla.

Living and working in Long Island, N.Y., as ahydrogeologist, JERRY ZOLOBKOWSKI, G’95,is also attending school for a secondary educa-

tion master’s degree in earth science.

ROBERT J. LIEBERMAN, G’96, marriedHeather Dawn Krasky on May 27, 2001, in Ft.Lauderdale, Fla. Robert and Dawn graduatedfrom law school on May 6, 2001, and have takenpositions as law clerks in Lawrenceville, N.J.

PETER W. BURTON’S, V’96, love formusic translates into a full-length solo album tohave been released this summer. Peter continuesto work in Burlington, Vt., pursing a career inmusic. ■

FALL 2001 PAGE 7

Never ForgetWe have been notified that the follow-ing brothers have passed from this lifesince our last publication of the Flame:

Alan H. Barrows, C’37 Sept. ’00 John Beust, W’42 1/10/00Robert N. Bovard, I’35H. Marshall Clark, C’28Cecil C.H. Cullander, F’44 7/26/01Henry K. Erwin, L’26 4/11/00Martin Firth, G’28Peter B. Goodfellow, W’47Thomas T. Groub, G’38 3/8/01Edward P. (Ned) Holden, G’38Theodore L. Johanson, I’54 10/27/99Arthur T. Jones, G’37 5/6/01James Kindt, I’35 7/25/01John R. Kirkland Jr., I’51Alfred G. Lewis Jr., C’29Alexander I. MacKenzie Jr., W’54Charles S. McVeigh III, S’61Richard M. Morse, C’30Cesar Augusto Murillo, V’89* 9/11/01Harold A. Perry, V’49 5/2/01Clayton Pritchett, W’47David C. Shipman, G’57David Smilanich, F’85 Feb. ’01Edward W. Taylor Jr., C’46 Woodward Thomson, W’37 7/26/01John A.H. Torry Jr., W’38 11/01/00Peter M. Wolff, C’39 8/31/01

*Missing from WTC attack

News ofINTEREST

By Chris Faraone G’99

I t’s becoming a tradition of sorts at the Deltato have our fifth year super senior ex-notaries pen up a Hicks speech for the con-

vention every fall. At Hobart, we Sigma Phi secretaries take

pride in our writing skills. The brothers dependon us for weekly entertainment at meetings, andwe strive to live up to that challenge each andevery Tuesday. Throughout my four years as abrother I’ve sorted through the notebooks thathave belonged to over a hundred notaries whosenames are carved next to mine on our desk.Composites allow me to match faces with thehilarities and emotions older Sigs have pouredinto their weekly mirth. Some have expressedthemselves in poetry, others in prose. Some pas-sages make me laugh; others reveal the inno-cence of a time lost in history.

I wonder what they’ll be saying 50 years fromnow about my misanthropic, yet brutally honest,commentary. Regardless of the nature of mylegacy — one thing is for sure — I’m one of along list of Sigs who was chosen by his brothers toignite laughter and return friendship, love andtruth to meetings that are oftentimes floodedwith passionate debate. It may be enjoyable togain the approval of a professor, a fellow studentor even a room full of strangers. But it’s almostintoxicating to hear 30 of your closest friendsroar at your ability to tell a couple of jokes.

Of all the identities that I can associate withthe Delta of Sigma Phi, I’m most proud of thegeneral sense of humor that illuminates eachand every brother. If you’re not interested inlaughing then you probably wouldn’t be interestedin a visit to Geneva, N.Y. Pledges are told onpin night that they’re to be prepared to makethe brothers laugh at each and every pledge

meeting. When it comes down to it, delivery isreally the only thing that matters. I think ourpledges learn more about life by doing stand-upcomedy in our library than they do in half ofthe classes demanded by the college curriculum.Most people have made two or three peoplechuckle at a cocktail party here and then, but Idoubt that they’ve entertained a receptive groupof young men bursting with laughter at theseams of their baseball hats. I doubt that theyknow what it’s like to bring comedic light to asmoke-filled room on a Wednesday evening.And I doubt that they leave college having passedthe ultimate test in public speaking — stand-upcomedy. But while humor may be an asset of theDelta boys, our efforts in the kitchen are reallyno laughing matter.

All jokes aside, every pledge who comesthrough that house is well-schooled in the art offraternity cuisine. While some rely on “mac-n-cheese” and devil dogs, many of us have developedsophisticated cooking expertise and fancy tastesas Delta Sigs. As a pledge, I learned how to makeeverything from chicken marsala to spicy tunarolls. This came as a shock to my mother whodidn’t trust me around the toaster for the first18 years of my life. Even I was a bit skepticalabout the eating situation at Sigma Phi when Ifirst visited the mansion. Most rival houses have

cooks — some even get dinner delivered to theirrooms. And while the idea of breakfast in bed isvery appetizing, I was more impressed at how theSig brothers made me wash my own dish after therush dinner. Let me explain: The finale of rushweek is an annual contest between fraternitiesto see who can provide rushees with the finestdinner. While some offer filet mignons and lobstertails, at the Sig house the brothers fix a home-style Thanksgiving dinner that would makegrandmothers jealous. We even make the rusheesclean up after themselves. When the festivitiescome to an end and the bids are thrown, we’realways blessed with the ideal number of pledges:a group of guys who chose the house for thebrothers instead of selling themselves for a steakdinner.

If I’ve succeeded in depicting my pride in theDelta, then most of you understand that we’vegot a great group of well-rounded Sigs living inthe house. If I’ve failed in my description, thenyou might be a bit concerned about 30 kidsobsessed with making each other laugh in akitchen filled with sharp knives and high-poweredovens. My mission is to illustrate the uniqueenvironment I wake up in every morning atschool. It’s really something I’m proud to be apart of.

I feel confident in saying that most brothersat the Delta maintain a healthy balance betweenhedonism and responsibility. We’re the type offraternity that you don’t read about in Newsweekor see on tabloid television shows. In a time whenfraternities only get attention for pledging gonebad or when a drunken brother falls out of awindow, Sigma Phi does a commendable job ofkeeping our head above water. At Hobart, we’reconsistently rated the number-one fraternity oncampus. And while we only have five otherhouses to beat out for that honor, it still gives usgreat pride. With a new school president whosupports and respects fraternities and societies,the house is the strongest this brother has everseen it.

As we speak, 16 new pledges are stirring upsome clever word-play to impress the actives attheir meeting tonight. I can only hope that theother chapters are having as much fun as we arekeeping our traditions alive. We’ve been at thistoo long to allow the epidemic of fraternity-bashing to come crashing down on us. ■

PAGE 8 THE FLAME

Sigma PhiThe Sigma Phi Society publishes theSigma Phi Flame twice yearly. Pleasedirect all inquiries, suggestions, photosand changes of address to Sigma PhiNational Headquarters, P.O. Box 4633,Chapel Hill, NC 27515-4633.

DEREK R. FREDRICKSON, V’94GENERAL SECRETARY

derek@fredrickson.com

Sigma Phi home page:www.sigmaphi.org

MEMBER, NATIONALINTEFRATERNITY

CONFERENCE

Reminder…If you haven’t already made your 2001 annual gift toSigma Phi Society, you may do so by sending yourgift to the Society, the Permanent Endowment Fundor the Sigma Phi Educational Foundation. We haveenclosed an envelope for your contribution.

Hicks Oratorical Contest Winning Speech

Chris Faraone G’99 was the Hicks OratoricalContest winner.