Chapter News

*Reflects submissions to DU Quarterly by May 15 deadline.

ALBERTA

Like so many other chapters, the Alberta Chapter was proud to have hosted its first virtual Initiation this past year. Eight new brothers were initiated on Jan. 15 and 16, 2021. The chapter would also like to congratulate several brothers for honors/recognitions this past year. Alden Maj-Pfleger, Alberta ’22, served as an Undergraduate Director on the International Fraternity’s Board of Directors and as Order of Omega President. Brett Creech, Alberta ’22, was the Order of Omega Vice President Finance. Cam Kennedy, Alberta ’23, was the Communications Director for the Organization for Art Students and Interdisciplinary Studies. Cole Cairns, Alberta ’22, was named Greek of the Year, the new Mechanical Engineering Club Vice President Finance, the new Order of Omega Vice President Finance, and served as the International Fraternity’s Undergraduate Advisory Board (UGAB) Chairman for 2020-2021. David Draper, Alberta ’21, was named the new Order of Omega President and served as Students Union Vice President Academic. Christian Fotang, Alberta ’22, was elected as the new Students Union Vice President External. Kyle Daniel, Alberta ’22, was the Organization for Arts Students and Interdisciplinary Studies FAMF Director. Luke Panteluk, Alberta ’22, served as the Accounting Club Vice President External. Marc Blais, Alberta ’22, was the Rocky Mountain Business Seminar Vice President Public Relations. Riley Rikard, Alberta '22, was elected as Rocky Mountain Business Seminar Vice President Logistics, and served as the Operations Management Club President. Samuel Rikard, Alberta ’23, was elected as the new Business Student Association Vice President Academic and served as the Operations Management Club Vice President Operations. Spencer Chekerda, Alberta ’22, was the Operations Management Club Vice President Marketing. Zach Olsen, Alberta ’21, served as the Operations Management Club Operations Direction.

ARLINGTON

In the spring, the Arlington Chapter hosted its first Dare Week to raise money for the Global Service Initiative. The week found chapter brothers completing dares, such as creating TikToks. The men were also happy to host its annual golf tournament with alumni and have four of their new initiates run for Executive Board positions. One new brother, Lokesh Hadagali, Arlington ’24, was elected to serve as a UTA Ambassador and a College of Engineering Senator.

BUCKNELL

On April 3, the Bucknell Chapter initiated its first group of brothers since its Reinstallation Ceremony in fall 2020. The 29 new initiates represent a 33% increase in the chapter’s membership, allowing it to continue to grow and prosper. All year, the men worked hard to plan a number of philanthropic and social events. These events included clothing drives, and Global Service Initiative fundraisers, an event with Bucknell’s Public Safety, more chapter house and home improvement projects, alumni speakers, and participation in almost every intramural sport. Looking ahead, the chapter may potentially create a Delta Upsilon podcast that would feature alumni.

CENTRAL FLORIDA

To escape the stresses of class and the pandemic, the Central Florida Chapter turned to brotherhood. This past year, the chapter created a chapter 3on3 basketball league consisting of six teams. The winning team won a trophy and bragging rights. After a suggestion at the Regional Leadership Academy, the chapter also started a Discord channel for chapter operations management and discussion groups. On April 10, eight new brothers were initiated into the chapter, and the men were thrilled to win Zeta Tau Alpha’s Lip Sync competition for the third year in a row.

CLARKSON

The Clarkson Chapter’s main spring philanthropy event was a virtual Egg-A-Brother event. The brothers posted flyers on their social media to alert friends and family of the event. It was here that those who wanted to participate could send money with any brother's name mentioned, and that brother would have eggs broken over his head (safely) while a video was taken and sent to the person who donated. This event raised approximately $800 in less than a week. The chapter also created a Mental Health Task Force that will turn into a Mental Health Committee to educate on mental health concerns within the chapter.

EMBRY-RIDDLE

The brothers of the Embry-Riddle Chapter held a community service event where they picked up trash along a road leading up to a brother’s apartment complex. Brothers also participated in the campus-wide day of service, which is held by the school each semester. All day of service events the brothers participated involved landscaping in various locations.

FLORIDA

The Florida Chapter has made consistent strides toward feeding Gainesville's unhoused community. Volunteering every Wednesday, the brothers rally to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in a machine-like operation. Packing these sandwiches with waters, bananas and chips, the food is distributed throughout the community. This spring, the chapter also hosted a volleyball tournament at the Student Sports and Recreation Center. Proceeds were donated to the Delta Upsilon Educational Foundation.

GEORGIA TECH

This spring, the Georgia Tech Chapter started hosting cultural dinners every Friday. This was spearheaded by VP Membership Education Ryan Heidish, Georgia Tech ’22. Each Friday, Ryan organized an order of food from a local cultural restaurant, accompanied by educational resources he’d find on the culture that food came from. This has given brothers the opportunity to broaden their horizons, grow closer as a brotherhood and support local businesses. The men also created a new partnership with The Gateway Center, which is designed to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring for individuals and families.

The chapter would like to congratulate brothers Nick Rokos, Georgia Tech ’22, and Jack Fernandez, Georgia Tech ’22, for receiving the Class of 2022 Outstanding Student Award in the Denning Technology and Management Program.

IOWA

This year, the chapter hosted a resource fair in which it discussed multiple topics with other fraternities. Topics included crisis management, hazing prevention, campus safety, and general counseling. They partnered with a number of campus organizations and entities to hold the fair. For their efforts, the chapter received the Health, Safety and Prevention Award from DU at the 2021 Leadership Institute.

KANSAS STATE

As COVID restrictions were eased in the spring semester, the Kansas State Chapter took advantage of the opportunity to safely re-engage with other groups on campus and its philanthropic efforts. This included participating in Greek Week and hosting the chapter’s 8th Annual Miss K-State Competition. The event brought women from different organizations across campus to showcase their school spirit, personal ambitions and talent. The event was once again a success, helping the chapter raise more than $17,000 for the Global Service Initiative on the year.

LOUISVILLE

This spring, the Louisville Chapter participated in the Mayor's Give a Day Clean-a-Thon. On April 15, the brothers collected litter from Louisville's Central Park. The chapter is also proud of Brother Jordan McGinty, Louisville ’22, for being awarded the Outstanding Junior Award for his service on campus and within the community. Jordan is the Executive Director for the Student Organization Advisory Board, a Board member for the WHAS Crusade for Children and is the Commuter Student Council President. He was also recently elected as an Undergraduate Director on the Delta Upsilon International Fraternity Board of Directors.

MIAMI

The Miami Chapter is proud of what it was able to accomplish last school year despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In the spring, the men hosted three philanthropy events for the Global Service Initiative. Two of the events were a partnership with the local restaurant Doughbys, where 25 percent of profits were donated to GSI. The men also participated in a spring clean with other fraternities and sororities and hosted a Dad’s Weekend. The chapter is perhaps most impressed with its 39-member recruitment class that was recruited completely virtually.

MICHIGAN TECH

This winter, the Michigan Tech Chapter continued its work taking care of the Houghton Ice Rink, shoveling snow nightly, cleaning boards and icing the rink. The men also participated in Adopt-A-Highway. On the alumni relations front, the chapter was happy to celebrate its recent graduates with a grill out with alumni.

MISSOURI

In place of its normal philanthropy event, Campustowne Races, which was unable to be held due to COVID, the Missouri Chapter held a 50/50 raffle to raise funds for the Global Service Initiative. The chapter sold more than 1,200 raffle tickets and raised over $3,000 for GSI. Three different individuals were awarded $1,000 prizes as winners of the raffle. This spring, the chapter initiated 13 brothers, giving the chapter 61 new initiates on the year. The chapter also placed first in the medium division for MizzouTHON for the second straight year.

NORTH CAROLINA

The spring was an exciting term for the North Carolina Chapter. The brothers scored the top GPA of Greek groups on campus with a 3.813 GPA. To do this, the men instituted new studying measures to make the chapter house more conducive to studying while also adhering to social distancing guidelines. In May, the chapter broke ground on a new kitchen and other house renovations. With the help of alumni, the chapter will now have an upgraded kitchen and in-house chef. Improvements to the basement and electrical work will also take place.

PENNSYLVANIA STATE

The Pennsylvania State Chapter was excited to initiate 22 new brothers into DU this spring and have another successful THON. This year, the chapter raised more than $105,000 with Delta Gamma, bringing their three-year THON total to more than $500,000. The chapter would also like to congratulate its 16 graduating brothers and encourage everyone to follow them on Instagram and Twitter at @PSUDeltaUpsilon.

PURDUE

The Purdue Associate Chapter had a busy first year back on campus. It hosted it first philanthropy event—a skip a meal fundraiser with a local restaurant—and its Mental Health Chairman hosted a de-stressing event prior to finals. At the event, the men played cornhole, spikeball and volleyball and enjoyed food cooked by alumni. This spring, the group also hosted its Associate Chapter Ceremony with 27 of the 30 associate members in attendance.

ROCHESTER

COVID-19 forced the Rochester Chapter to hold most of its in-person recruitment events outdoors. Brothers rallied despite the cold Rochester climate to play yard games such as spikeball, can jam and cornhole. In total, four new members joined, and the chapter was able to host in-person Pledging and Initiation Ceremonies. The chapter is also proud of its strong relationships with alumni and their ability to inspire younger brothers by sharing alumni stories.

RUTGERS

This spring, the Rutgers Chapter took part in the Rutgers Dance Marathon to raise money for the Embrace Kids Foundation, an organization that assists families of children with illness. The men would also like to congratulate Brother Ayush Shah, Rutgers ’22, who secured an internship in investment banking at TD Securities.

SAN JOSE

The San Jose Chapter was proud to take home three awards from the campus IFC awards ceremony this spring: President of the Year for Nate Carpenter, San Jose ’22; Outstanding Alumni Program; and Outstanding Commitment to Service. The chapter also received DU’s Campus & Community Impact Award during the Leadership Institute for its work in the community assisting the unhoused, hosting clothing drives and creating a DU Gifts for Kids program to provide gifts for children at the holidays. The chapter also received DU’s Excellence in Virtual Brotherhood Award.

TORONTO

Despite the challenges that COVID-19 has imposed, the Toronto Chapter successfully recruited 15 incredible associate members. Studying a range of fields from Pathobiology to Criminology, these men come from all over the world, and the chapter is excited to welcome into Delta Upsilon.

VIRGINIA

This spring, the Virginia Chapter welcomed 24 new associate members—its largest associate member class in recent years. The chapter would like to recognize Vice President of Recruitment, Brother Tristin Duffy, Virginia ’22, for his creative efforts with virtual and hybrid recruitment due to the COVID pandemic. The chapter is also pleased to announce it raised $1,759 for the Sexual Assault Resource Agency in Charlottesville.

WESTERN RESERVE

Because of university guidelines, the Western Reserve Chapter was remote all academic year, but that didn’t stop the chapter from having fun and making an impact. Chapter events included a virtual poker night philanthropy event, using Discord to play games and have get-togethers, and participating in a virtual Greek Week. Those near campus were also able to participate in an outdoor service event and beach volleyball games.

WICHITA

This spring, the Wichita Chapter served its local community through a neighborhood cleanup in which the brothers spent two hours cleaning up their surrounding neighborhood. The chapter made up the biggest volunteer group this organization has ever had. The chapter would also like to congratulate its brothers who were recognized for their efforts on campus. Chase Biswell, Wichita ’23, was awarded the Outstanding New Member Award. Cade Swayne, Wichita ’23, was named Sophomore of the Year, and John Ramey, Wichita ’22, received the Greek Unity Award.

WISCONSIN

On April 28, the Wisconsin Chapter participated in the IFC’s Denim Day March to raise awareness for sexual assault within Greek Life. Members from each fraternity met in the courtyard of Library Mall where they then marched to the capitol. Brothers from DU not only brought significantly more people than was requested, these brothers also enthusiastically led the March. Once arriving at the capitol, the men stood at the top of the hill and held signs supporting survivors who came forward to share their stories. The men also started a fundraiser and service project aimed at keeping Lake Mendota clean.