Theta Xi - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

www.alpha6294.com Alphabet brothers tell have taken place at the house, so it's a bummer to be missing out on that right now. n Describe how life on campus has been different. Jonah: e most striking difference is how empty the campus is. It's sort of offsetting to not see anyone marching across the 15th Street Bridge at 8 a.m. for their first lecture, or for the Student Union to be completely empty 8 p.m. on a weekday. ere were still a few social gatherings, but these were usually pretty small (15 people at most) due to restrictions against large group gatherings. n Describe how recruitment has been handled. Chase: With deferred recruitment, a small class was expected (only sophomores or higher can participate in the fall). We decided to dedicate all our effort to the spring class, encouraging all contacts to pledge in the spring. All recruitment events were online, which was as difficult and boring as it sounds. is spring it will likely be the same, but I'm hoping that administration will give a little and we can have some form of in-person events. n Describe the changes from the spring to the fall with not being allowed to room at the house for the fall semester. Where are brothers living? Jonah: With RPI's regulation of two people to a bathroom, brothers were spread out across various apartments in Troy. ere were a few situations where brothers leased multiple apartments in the same building, and apartments were at most 15-20 minutes walking distance from each other so brothers could still be together throughout the semester. n Describe what it has been like with job/ internship searching this year. Jacob: I went through the ARCH Program last summer and had my on-campus semester this past fall. Trying to find an internship for the spring and summer has been extremely challenging. e school offered no help, and the only people who have provided me with networking opportunities are the alumni of this house. I landed an internship early on for the summer with Kimley-Horn as a site/civil intern in Orlando. Around the same time, I had a spring offer with Siefert Associates doing foundation design work; however, in mid- December it unfortunately had to be retracted for financial reasons related to COVID-19. e eta Xi alumni network (shoutout to Mike Baron '06 (A1555)) has been extremely helpful with exploring possible replacement opportunities for me this spring. n Describe how taking classes/studying has changed. Chase: I have always done all of my work at my desk, which made it an easier transition. But the fact that I didn't always have to motivate to get my day going and go to in-person class definitely made the semester seem a little lazier. Kieran: Studying did not change as much for me since I still studied with friends who were in the same classes as me. I also studied alone in my room, which wasn't different than before. e only thing that really changed was that I had to organize myself more and actually set the time aside to study since I was not in the traditional college atmosphere and mindset with online classes. n Describe how meals were handled (or not) at the house last fall semester. How are brothers eating? Kieran: In the fall semester there was not a meal plan used as most active brothers lived in apartments. erefore, most brothers handled feeding themselves. Brothers in my apartment did group shopping, while brothers living at other apartments handled their own individual meals. e brothers who lived in the house were also responsible for going shopping and cooking their own meals. n Describe how the house was used last fall. How have meetings been held? Nicholas: e house was open as a club house. It was a nice place to go study and to kind of relax and get out of my apartment. During warmer weather, brothers I lived with in the apartment would go to the house and throw a football around. e chapter, house, and e-board meetings were held online. n Describe the situation with the Greek system at RPI handling COVID-19. How have the fraternities and sororities at RPI been holding up? Jacob: I was recently elected to the IFC executive board, and seeing Greek life from that perspective has really changed my thoughts on the Greek system. Right now, the majority of houses are seriously struggling. Many of them won't be able to survive if some restrictions regarding house occupancy aren't uplied. As an IFC member, we've had numerous meetings with the school discussing this topic because forcing freshmen and sophomores to live in on-campus housing but closing Greek Life Commons is truly a detriment. If things continue how they have been, a great deal of houses are actively looking to disaffiliate from the institution. It's a matter of life or death for many of RPI's fraternities. PRESIDENT Chase Olson '21 (A1751) chase.kilgore.olson@gmail.com VICE PRESIDENT Tim Budding '22 (A1760) TREASURER Jonah Whitt '23 (A1769) HOUSE MANAGER Toby Webster '23 (A1772) STEWARD Bo Chen '22 (A1763) SECRETARY Nick Spinelli '24 (A1774) SCHOLARSHIP CHAIRMAN Kieran Bohonan '23 (A1771) Coping with University Changes as the COVID-19 Pandemic Continues (Continued from page 1) Chapter Officers Who's who in our Q&A Chase Olson '21 (A1751) Major: Nuclear Engineering Officer Position/Term: Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 President Jacob Bubb '22 (A1758) Major: Civil Engineering Officer Position/Term: Fall 2020 Vice President and Recruitment Chairman Jonah Whitt '23 (A1769) Major: Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering Dual Officer Position/Term: Spring 2021 Treasurer Kieran Bohonan '23 (A1771) Major: Chemical Engineering Officer Position/Term: Spring 2021 Scholarship Chairman Nicholas Spinelli '24 (A1774) Major: Architecture Officer Position/Term: Spring 2021 Secretary

• Cover