Sigma Nu - University of Southern California

PAGE 4 Michael Nowacki '73, EO 758: A Reflection on the Meaning of "To Walk the Way of Honor" Dear Brothers, It is axiomatic for the alumni of USC's Sigma Nu Chapter; there is a sense of purpose which arises from joining a Fraternity such as Epsilon Omicron. The epic lore of brotherhood is etch-a-sketched in inconsequential moments such as those arising as moments of total recall years later: the singing of the White Star at a lavalier ceremony where pledges needed song sheets, the late night Tommy's run at 2 a.m. beckoned by your big brother awakening you and throwing down the gauntlet of you're going, to the christening of all 21-year-old birthday celebrations by a visit to the 901 Club for a drink appropriately named The Shrine Place Disaster. For me, the pin EO 758 became a badge of courage to fulfill the promises embedded in the mantra of Sigma Nu fellowship: To Believe in the Life of Love To Walk In the Way of Honor To Serve in the Light of Truth This is the Life, the Way and the Light of Sigma Nu This is the Creed of Our Fraternity Over the years, the brotherhood has survived un-marriages, the passing of parents, nights of being over-served as adults reminding us of our pilgrimage, and one too many losses to Stanford or Notre Dame. The harvest moon of the brotherhood of the Epsilon Omicron Chapter of Sigma Nu was accompanied by the enlightened guidance of the White Star as True North. The bonds built in those formative years allowed for all to share fully in our mutual disappointments, easing the burdens, and reminding each other to find value in the Sigma Nu creed's enduring inspiration. In my nearly 35-year business career at CBS, many of the dreams of abysmal non-athletes were lived vicariously through my work. "To serve in the Light of the Truth ushered in the Field of Dreams" was my experience. The greatest joy of believing in love, however, is abundant and thriving in the lives of those of us who are fortunate enough to be called to serve as parents of children—adoptive or otherwise derived. In 2010, Epsilon Omicron brothers were ever present when challenges arose for my defense of the Way of Honor in courts of law in Connecticut. A group of parents got together to create a civil rights movement. Over a two-year period, we were successful in creating the exposing profiteering in family courts by lawyers who used children as pawns in fractured marriages and got legislation enacted. Further achievements occurred in later legal entanglements too difficult to capture in this reflection. Honor and justice are not easy, and are very expensive to defend in the world we live in. Teneo is a Greek word which translates to "I Hold." The Constitution of the United States uses the words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident." Stay thirsty my friends, for the Sigma Nu creed which inspires us daily in our journey as brothers. Fraternally, Michael Nowacki '73, EO 758

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