Beta Theta Pi - MIT

3 B eta Upsilon Chapter has stayed strong despite many of the challenges that have uprooted traditions and a sense of normality this year, including the COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest, financial insecurity, lack of in-person engagement, and transformation of various summer opportunities for the brothers. e togetherness of the brotherhood and the Chapter's partnership with other campus and community stakeholders have allowed the Beta Upsilon Chapter to be sustainable and a source of support. Brothers Continue eir Academics with Conviction e increasing threat of COVID-19 forced MIT to de-densify the campus in March, requiring undergraduates who could evacuate campus to do so. With this development, the state of academic continuity away from MIT's campus was unclear. Nevertheless, Beta Upsilon Brothers followed their passion for education in pursuant to the Beta core value of intellectual growth. As classes and instruction shied to a remote environment, Brothers continued their learning and did not give up on the semester. In fact, many Brothers relied on each other even more to collaborate, learn, and teach virtually. With this dedication, all Brothers successfully finished the semester and displayed a strong sense of academic integrity leading to academic achievements. Betas Move On to Brighter Futures Eight Beta Brothers—Sloan W. Kanaski '20, Philip Phan '20, Benjamin Richards '20, Michael A. Castillo '20, Carlos D. Trevino '20, Julian R. Gomez '20, Luis Hong Sanchez '20, and Luke S. Hartnett '20—were able to finish their MIT career despite the shi over to remote learning. ese Brothers overcame the loss of much of campus life during their last stretch of the MIT experience, graduating with incredible conduct, achievement, and legacy, and le a lasting impact on the Beta Upsilon Chapter. Brothers Showcased eir Leadership Many Beta leaders within the Chapter and on campus displayed their strong leadership with managing the pandemic and many of its parallel challenges. One of these was the sudden collapse of continuing traditions, activities, events, and normal campus life. When faced with unprecedented challenges, Betas look for practical, equitable, and optimal solutions. To this effect, many leaders of student organizations BETA UPSILON BROTHERS REMAIN MEN OF PRINCIPLE AMID PANDEMIC CHALLENGES Rise Up Against Social Injustices, Prove emselves as Capable Leaders worked to transform their in-person events to virtual events. Other Betas advocated for fairer policy decisions on financial aid and the MIT Fraternities, Sororities, and Independent Living Groups (FSILG) system, leveraging their leadership to work with the MIT administration to deliver for everyone. Betas Stay Connected With the advent of remote everything, the need for staying together as one Beta brotherhood was paramount. Beta Upsilon Chapter certainly met this need by sustaining a virtual community. Brothers stayed connected to each other via many platforms, including email, Slack, Discord, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Google Docs, Minecra, and Zoom. e Chapter held virtual events such as Zoom Beta roundtable, daily Slack trivia, Zoom workout sessions, and daily Discord discourse on many topics. Beta Upsilon Chapter maintained a strong online presence and was awarded the North Dakota Award for Excellence in Chapter Publications in order to connect its members and potential future members. With this effective engagement, Brothers were able to support each other financially and through other means, such as by offering housing, to other Brothers who were facing additional challenges due to the pandemic. Despite the potential challenges of low engagement, lack of certainty, and deteriorating mental health, the Brothers of the Beta Upsilon Chapter maintained the brotherhood virtually through social events, mutual connections, a common purpose, support networks, and a human Beta Upsilon Chapter leaders attended the 2020 Northeast Keystone Regional Leadership Conference in Cherry Hill, N.J. This conference focused on Chapter officer development, principled leadership, and volunteer training. From left: Colin Chaney '21, Kyle Markland '22, Justin Schiavo '23, Ashar Farooq '23, Keith Mokry '22, Yaseen Alkhafaji '21. Tyler Schoulte '21, and Swochchhanda Shrestha '21. Brothers with the new member pledges after the induction ceremony this past spring. This tradition brings together the entire Beta brotherhood. decency of helping others. e virtual State of the Chapter is strong. Betas Take Action Against Social Injustices With the public killing of George Floyd and so many others, the Beta Upsilon Brothers understand that the moment of fighting social injustice is now. To this effect, the Chapter began a Racial Justice Donor Matching Program designed to raise funds for organizations fighting against racial injustices through a match program that will double the impact. With the generous offering of Mike Feinstein '82 to match all donor donations, each donor's donation was tripled in its impact. rough this program, the Chapter donated more than $1,200 to various organizations. In addition, I accepted an invitation to serve on Beta eta Pi's Commission on Diversity, Inclusion, and Racial Equity alongside Brother Feinstein. is commission and Beta Upsilon Chapter's involvement in it reaffirms the commitment of working toward racial justice. Staying True to Beta's Core Values Amid Challenges Overall, the state of the Beta Upsilon Chapter of Beta Theta Pi is strong. Despite the incredible challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, social injustices, and other issues, the Chapter is committed to making meaningful progress within a supportive brotherhood community. This commitment is justly rooted in Beta Theta Pi's core values of cultivation of intellect, responsible conduct, mutual assistance, integrity, and trust. Yours in _kai_, Swochchhanda Shrestha '21 Chapter President • swoosh73@mit.edu

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