Theta Chi - Bradley University

MANIFESTO THE NEWSLETTER FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF GAMMA UPSILON CHAPTER OF THETA CHI FRATERNIT Y AT BRADLEY UNIVERSIT Y - FALL 2020 C H A P T E R : t h e t a c h i b u . c o m | A L U M N I : g a m m a u p s i l o n . o r g WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER Gamma Upsilon Chapter Prepares for Unique Fall Semester "We're all in this together!" Well, that's what I keep hearing in broadcast and print on a daily basis, but somehow I feel less togetherness than ever before in my life. Even when we are together, we are six feet apart and feel like we are in disguise with our masks over our faces. I have had people say hello to me at the store and I turned my head and I didn't recognize them until they pulled their mask down for a second and we smiled and had a momentary laugh and clicked elbows like an alien species. I cringe when I read or hear the words, "This is the new normal." What? Is this virus going to be around for generations? This is our new way of life? I certainly hope we can get back to the real normal soon so our focus can return to the positive aspects of life. With the lack of real social contact we would normally have, many of us have depended on social media to exchange ideas and recipes, show off the woodworking project we just completed, and argue our cases for our political party. For our more seasoned brothers who maybe don't bother with things like Facebook (Editor's note: and good for you!), I hope you are staying in touch with your friends, family, and fraternity brothers. Many of you look forward to coming to Peoria for the Golden Guard Luncheon each year to see your old friends and meet some of our younger brothers. Unfortunately, that won't be possible this year. Alumni Weekend will have to be put on hold. I regret that I was not able to make it down in time for our last luncheon, but I think it is crucial for our undergraduates to be able to meet the men who were there in some of our chapter's early years at Bradley, hear their stories and share their own. Over the years, our chapter has survived its share of obstacles and misfortune, including two fires, a minor flood in the 1980s, and being down to just eight brothers in the late 1970s. Despite all that, by 1989 our composite picture included 74 members! By the early 2000s we were, again, down to only six members––as the new anchors of the turnaround for our chapter after the alumni corporation made a difficult decision to reorganize. Each time we had our backs against the wall, our young men rose to the challenge and amazed us with their talents and creativity to recruit and reinvent the chapter. We are very capable of responding to change. The men in our chapter today are handling this situation very well and I'm proud of them. Imagine yourself being a freshman on campus— away from home for the first time in your life and worried about COVID-19 rather than mixing your reds with whites when you do your laundry. Bradley used to have a higher percentage of Greek life. It was the fastest way to get integrated into social life for many students. Now, with the pandemic, there will be limited face-to-face time with recruits. Virtual activities are now in place for students to get acquainted with fraternities and to learn more about a chapter. "Just email your questions after you watch one of our videos!" It sounds a bit scary to people who believe a decision like this is for life. This has been quite a challenge! Our chapter has much to brag about over the last few years, especially with our high level of consistent academic achievement and campus involvement. That always makes the sale a bit easier to any parent. The other fraternities are living under the same rules and regulations, too. This can actually level the playing field if played right. I am confident this generation of resolute men will not disappoint. This is the era of informal recruitment, ingenuity, creativity, and guerilla marketing. Recruitment must continue all semester. Although our chapter house has a great deal of room for improvement, it is still a more desirable place to live than many of the other houses on campus. We are working on long-range and broad plans for our chapter house, which we will be presenting to you all in the near future. As Daniel Burnham, the famous Chicago architect, once said, "Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably will not themselves be realized." GRAND CHAPTER The Theta Chi Grand Chapter is taking a stance for chapters to follow university rules and regulations first and foremost. They have put a great deal of thought into adjusting to the new environment of recruitment. Over the summer they sent out their plan and suggestions for virtual recruitment. This included sections on summer preparation, fall recruitment planning/tips, and virtual recruitment concepts and execution. The backbone of their plan is called the Recruitment Blueprint. This blueprint goes into detail about how to recruit with social media, using tools like Zoom for meetings. One interesting point that stuck out to me was the difference in online meetings versus in-person meetings. When we are in person, we have the luxury of being more casual with body language we can read and react to. When meeting online, by nature it is a more serious environment, so we need to promote our brand more, and provide the crucial information for them to make their decision. On another note, Grand Chapter recently sent out their changes to our ritual program, which I found very reasonable and well thought out. ON THE UNIVERSIT Y LEVEL Kathleen Prout, assistant director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, has been holding monthly calls with all of the presidents of the housing corporations to make sure we have been kept up to speed with all of the changes that have been occurring on campus and what will be expected of our undergraduate members. They have been willing to take all calls and questions and have done a wonderful job of keeping us informed and prepared. Back in May, the chapter had to submit applications for each member who wanted or needed to reside in the house during the summer. We had a total of six approved. Almost all interaction between our members and potential new members will be in a virtual setting. When it is not, all parties will be wearing masks, standing at a minimum of six feet apart, no hand shaking, and no handing out literature or promotional items in person. There will be no physical tours of the houses, and all intramural sports have been canceled. Again, to all our older alumni, take all of the precautions you can. In a way, I envy the guys living the chapter house right now. Because if anyone feels like they are all in this together, it would be them. Fraternally, Marty Deering '89 GUAC President md961203@yahoo.com

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