Phi Delta Theta - Butler University

T h e T h e & & WORD HIELD Fall 2018 P H I D E L T A T H E T A I N D I A N A G A M M A C H A P T E R IndIana Gamma Is no. 1 In Campus aCademICs exCels In CommunIty servICes & phIlanthropy WIns GhQ Gold star Chapter aWard and muCh more! (Continued on page 2) T he Indiana Gamma Chapter of Phi Delta Theta is excited to report another extremely successful year and share some of our accom- plishments. Indiana Gamma was recognized by General Headquarters for Excellence in Schol- arship, and by Butler University for having the highest fraternity grade point average. Through this year's All-Star Week, we raised a record- breaking amount of funds for the LiveLikeLou Foundation. In addition, Indiana Gamma was also recognized by General Headquarters for ex- cellence in Chapter Ritual, Community Service and Philanthropy, Risk Management, and Gold Star Chapter (Top 25 of 200 chapters for opera- tional excellence). We continue to expand upon our award-winning Reading Program. After receiving recognition for the most significant, continuing community service program of all Phi Delt chapters in the nation, we paired with Pi Beta Phi this year to grow and expand its influence. Beyond this, we had an excellent year for recruitment, welcom- ing 28 new members to our Chapter. Indiana Gamma is looking to build on this successful year, and we are excited for a future full of even more success and growth. aCademICs If you still have last fall's issue, you can see that Indiana Gamma improved its GPA and average in nearly every category, while also maintaining last year's campus fraternity average. n Phi Delta Theta Indiana Gamma p 3.474 n Phi Delta Theta National Average p 3.06 n Butler University Fraternity Average p 3.374 n Butler All-Men's Average p 3.248 The Chapter continues to hold a high academic standard for all brothers, and through our contin- ued focus in recent years, we have achieved the highest GPA of all Butler University fraternities. This is a massive accomplishment of which both active members and alumni can be proud. We are still pursuing the goal of a cumulative GPA above 3.5, and now, after three consecutive se- mesters with an increase in GPA, we are almost there. Scholarship Chairman Maxwell Todd '21 had the following to say about the Chapter's scholarship efforts: "We are pushing ourselves for constant improvement in all aspects, includ- ing Sound Learning, following the Phi Delt na- tional tagline of 'Become the Greatest Version of Yourself.'" phIlanthropy Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, affects nearly 20,000 people in the United States with roughly 6,000 new diagnoses each year. This debilitating illness directly affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, which in turn affects muscles throughout the body. This progressive degeneration of motor neurons takes away the ability to walk, dress, swallow, speak, and even breathe. This paralysis greatly shortens the lifes- pan of those diagnosed. There is no cure for Lou Gehrig's disease. Indiana Gamma's All-Star Week is a week- long philanthropy event on Butler's campus that benefits the LiveLikeLou Foundation. We raise funds and awareness for the LiveLikeLou Foundation through a strong relationship at our national level in honor of late Phi Delta Theta brother Lou Gehrig, Columbia, 1925. This fall, the brothers hosted numerous on-campus events to raise funds and awareness for ALS. In early September, we sold event t-shirts, showed The Sandlot on our front lawn, hosted a lip-sync competition between sororities, and sold pies for "Pie a Phi" as well as our popular waffle sun- daes. Throughout the week, various ALS events included lots of involvement from brothers, stu- dents, and families. We are happy to announce that we raised over $5,800 for the LiveLikeLou Foundation from All-Star Week, breaking our previous philan- thropy record by a wide margin! We would like to thank everyone who aided us in this venture and are excited to continue our efforts through- out this school year. Philanthropy Chairman Mi- chael Averill '21 had this to say about the chap- ter's philanthropy: "Philanthropy is an important part of who we are as members of Phi Delta The- ta. By supporting the LiveLikeLou foundation, we are able to raise funds and awareness about a crippling disease that has affected several our own brothers."

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