Sigma Alpha Epsilon - Kansas State University

Painted Casket Winners LION'S LORE A P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E K A N S A S B E T A C H A P T E R O F S I G M A A L P H A E P S I L O N SPRING 2024 A lumni of a certain age may remember the Paddy Murphy celebration as a weeklong party with plenty of liquid nourishment. The week culminated in a funeral for Paddy with a designated brother carried in a casket on a procession around campus, ending in Aggieville. This year, Paddy Murphy at Kansas Beta was the first week of April—and it was very different. The biggest change was that the week was all about philanthropy, evolving the annual celebration into a competition among sororities for charity. How the celebration of Paddy Murphy—a legend about a gangster shot dead in Chicago during Prohibition—made such a benign transformation is just short of a miracle. OUR PADDY HISTORY Fraternities across the nation have been under pressure for decades to curb drinking and drugs. "Zero tolerance" policies led to numerous fraternities being kicked off campuses, including many ΣAE chapters and some fraternities at K-State. We narrowly avoided that fate. In 2015, alumni stepped in and made Kansas Beta a dry house; any events with alcohol would now be offsite. Since then, Kansas Beta has improved to the point that it was named the top ΣAE chapter in the nation in 2020 and 2023. Some ΣAE chapters dropped Paddy Murphy celebrations altogether. Dr. Spencer A. Long, Chief Operating Officer for ΣAE National in Evanston, Illinois, said he didn't know about Paddy Murphy when he was attending Central Michigan University, where he was initiated in the fall of 2004. Chapter Adviser John Hatfield '77 said the focus shifted to philanthropy in recent years. ΣAE national now has on its website a guide to conducting Paddy Murphy week for charity, including a history of the legend of Paddy Murphy, a planning guide, and event ideas. This year, each sorority paid $100 to enter the Paddy Murphy competition. PA D DY M U R P H Y W E E K IS NOT LIKE YOU REMEMBER IT THE WEEK'S FESTIVITIES One of the most creative events was the casket decorating competition. Each sorority painted a plywood casket cover to dramatize the gangster and funeral theme. Photos of the painted casket covers were posted on the chapter Instagram page, and the sorority with the most likes, Kappa Alpha Theta, was the winner. Monday night was a sorority three- on-three basketball tournament, won by Kappa Kappa Gamma. Tuesday was the annual Shrimp Boil event at the chapter house, which was open to all on campus, and a selfie contest; sororities competed to get the most selfies with an ΣAE brother. Freshman JP Harris '27 dressed up as Paddy Murphy for the occasion. Wednesday's annual event drew a big crowd around the basketball court: a sorority 10-on-10 dodgeball tournament (with brothers as coaches), won by Alpha Delta Pi. Thursday featured a "penny war" at the Student Union: sororities competed to get the most pennies, using designated coins to penalize their rivals. Friday evening was the funeral, where a solemn story of Paddy Murphy was read and the oldest senior brother, Juan Pineda Gomez '24, popped out of the casket.'' "The week was a great example of bringing the chapter together to have fun and make a positive impact on our community as well as supporting campus sororities." –Ashton Boomer '26, Philanthropy Chairman ΣAE announced that Chi Omega won the weeklong Paddy Murphy competition, with Gamma Phi finishing second. ΣAE donated $1,000 to a charity chosen by the winner and $500 to the runner-up. Paddy Murphy 2024 raised a total of $3,234 for ΣAE-designated charity Children's Miracle Network in addition to money donated to sorority charities—double the take from last year. Winner: Kappa Alpha Theta 2nd Place: Alpha Xi Delta

• Cover