Alpha Gamma Rho - Penn State University

5 alpha gamma rho T his semester, we have implemented a tiered dues system. We felt that upperclassmen should be rewarded for their seniority, and because they do not use as much of the social budget, we also felt it would be fair if we implemented the tiered system. We also hope this discourages upperclassmen from disaffiliating, and so far this semester, we have not lost a brother. The in-house dues per semester are now $5,700 for seniors, $5,900 for juniors, $6,100 for sophomores, and the out- of-house dues are $1,000, $1,100, and $1,200, respectively. The meal plan is $1,400, which is included with dues for the in-house brothers, and the out-of-house brothers can opt-in to it. We also have a partial meal plan that includes one meal a day for $750, leaving a charge of about $3,400 for rent. Happy Valley Home Cooking is our current food vendor, and our chef, Chad, cooks Monday through Friday for every meal, except for Friday dinner, when we order pizza. This usually costs around $200, and one of our caterers, Matt Kimick '18 (Γ1789), also buys food for the weekend. We were able to eliminate the in-house surcharge from last year, thanks to the increase in the number of brothers living in-house. Fraternally, Noel Sheridan '18 (Γ1792) Finance Gamma Chapter fundS A s VNR of planning and serving my second semester on the executive board, our chapter is set for another successful semester. Following in our footsteps from last semester, we have maintained our fantastic relationship with the university. I frequently meet with our university representative, Salem Awwad, and am actively working to find our chapter a Penn State University advisor. This person will be a faculty member of the university who can continue to help our relationship with the university develop and strengthen. Our documentation with the university is up to date and we are currently in good standing, as the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life proclaims. This year, community service and philanthropy are not included in the university's standards of excellence. Thus, most of our community work has been for THON and attempting to increase our total as high as possible. Our goal is currently set at $100,000, almost double the goal we set last year. We are working tirelessly with frequent fundraisers and community events to achieve this goal. Many of our brothers engage in community service such as brother Ben Essig '18 (Γ1787), who volunteers as an EMT and has received over 460 service hours in the name of AGR! We will be having a brotherhood community service event at the end of the semester, most likely raising money for one our favorite philanthropy organizations, Centre County Paws. Fraternally, Danny Glickman '18 (Γ1791) VNR Planning AΓΡ Keeps Community on the Mind T his semester as VNR Maintenance and Operations, most of the job has consisted of keeping the house in working order and adjusting it to accommodate the 45 brothers living in it. This is highlighted by the construction of six new benches and reinforcing tables for brothers to sit at during meals and during chapter. During September, room 202, known as "Gamer" throughout the house, was renovated in order to become better suited to facilitate brotherhood events. On October 12, some of the alumni came out to lead an "alumni clean" in order to teach the undergrads how they expected the house to look on a daily basis. ChAptEr housE mADE to plEAsE ACtiVE AnD Alumni brothErs G amma Chapter's GPA for the spring 2019 semester was 3.27. We ranked third among all fraternities on the Penn State campus. This followed coming in first during the fall 2018 semester, which makes two semesters in a row in the top three fraternity GPAs, a feat which all the brothers seem to be immensely proud off. Compared to all Greek organizations, we ranked 17 out of around 60 active organizations. Furthermore, the in-house study lounge has been remodeled and revamped to allow in-house brothers a quiet, easy place to study and do homework. Fraternally, Peter Nelson '18 (Γ1795) VNR Scholarship Studying Takes Precedence for Gamma Chapter Kian Lotruglio '18 (Γ1786) utilizes the study lounge and one of the many desks provided in the room.

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