Theta Chi - Iowa State University

5 Theta Chi at ISU THE TOMAHAWK T he fall semester started off with an interesting and unexpected recruitment experience. The original plan was to have Saturday through Wednesday be all virtual meetings with the potential new members. IFC required our recruitment chairmen to send in a video introducing themselves and our chapter. However, we had a very powerful storm come through Ames on that Monday, and everyone lost power and internet, which changed everything about the recruitment process. They decided to continually push it back until there was no real end in sight to the issues with internet and power and, from there, decided to change it to open recruitment. This meant that there were no preferences on meeting with potential new members; instead, we had to contact everyone to see who was interested and go from there. Chapter House Changes Everything feels a bit strange this semester since the house is only accessible by those who live in the facility. New members who live in dorms and apartments are not allowed inside of the facility, but they are still able to come for outdoor events like volleyball. Due to COVID-19, only two members share the three- man study rooms. Each study room has one person who is sleeping in it while the roommate sleeps in cold airs because we had to increase the space between members sleeping and reduce the number of people sharing that space. Mealtime now operates in two shifts to reduce the number of people in one space at a time, and the chef serves us our plates since we don't have access to our kitchen during these times. This is an additional cautionary measure to mitigate the spread of the virus since he cooks elsewhere also. Campus Operations Classes and campus life are drastically different than last fall as well. Many brothers are taking online classes, with one or two in-person classes. The online classes usually have a virtual meeting that we have to attend to either watch the lecture or discuss what was covered in the lecture, to make sure we are staying on track with our material. Another big change from last fall and the beginning of spring semester is that we are required to wear masks everywhere on campus, and many of the amenities that are offered to us have changed. The gym requires everyone to wear a mask at all times, and there are limits to how many people can use a basketball hoop at a time. All in-person Homecoming events have been canceled as well. This semester is one that is truly different than the norm, but our members are handling it very well. Thankful for Alpha Mu Alumni We appreciate your steadfast support of Alpha Mu Chapter and the brothers following in your footsteps, and we are hopeful we can connect with alumni in person when it's safe to do so. Fraternally, Noah Hartleben '22 Chapter President noahh@iastate.edu Fall 2020 Semester Unlike Any Other at Iowa State Alpha Mu Handles Changes at Chapter House and on Campus Amid Pandemic Brothers enjoy a sunny day in Ames with some volleyball (and trying to stay six feet apart). The fall 2020 new member class after the pledging ceremony with the recruitment chairmen, Ronan Duffy '22, Marshall, John Allen '22. Brothers with our festive Greek letters outside of the chapter house. Updates to the study room include Plexiglas panels between each slot to ensure the members are social distancing from each other while also mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Alpha Mu members following our intramural softball game this fall. The kitchen and dining area updates include only allowing one person to sit at each table. There is also a Plexiglas window of the left service window of the kitchen where the chef serves the members their meals.

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