Sigma Phi Epsilon - Kansas State University

Sigma Phi EPSilon • KanSaS BEta ChaPtEr KanSaS StatE UnivErSity • SPring 2015 t h e H O O P o f S T E E L ADAM GRIFFIN '07 • 2 FURTHER COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT • 3 THROUGH A MOTHER'S EYES • 3 T his edition of The Hoop is coming to you with mixed feedback on how the Chapter is doing at this point in the school year. Having only written two prior columns since taking over as Alumni Volunteer Corporation (AVC) president, I'm not sure if my job is to paint only positive things, but it's my intent to provide you honest and straightforward views in whichever direction that takes. In short, we've had a challenging fall on many fronts. While our GPA continues to be solid and puts us sixth among fraternities, we have been experiencing a culture struggle in certain areas. Behavior by a few toward new members early in the semester was elevated to Headquarters and Greek Affairs. Various issues also occurred that had the AVC questioning whether enough of the Chapter members really understood the tenets of Sigma Phi Epsilon, brotherhood, or creating an environment where we hold one another accountable for our actions. By the winter break, some difficult conversations needed to be had, and even more difficult decisions made in order to return to the type of culture that Kansas Beta is renowned for. Now for some more positive news. The Chapter officer elections took place in November, and new President Tyler Struckhoff '16 and the executive officers have taken these challenges head on. They made some difficult decisions with regard to members that initiated the problems, which has reduced our numbers, but demonstrated they are committed to improving the culture. Together with the AVC, we had an all-house meeting upon return from the break and openly discussed the areas we need to address to create the elite Chapter we can and should be. Grades and high finishes in intramurals are great, but the core of a great fraternity is about living the ideals daily, striving for continual improvement, not accepting mediocrity, and treating one another with respect. Tyler has done an outstanding job in his short time as president at providing leadership by example. At a time when most fifth-year seniors are dialing things back with regard to their Fraternity commitment, he is stepping up and making a difference. We have our share of things to improve on as a Chapter, but the positive momentum is building. We had 17 men attend the Carlson Leadership program in Oklahoma in February, maybe a record. These men are very interested in how they can be difference-makers and help lead the Chapter in the years ahead. Now my appeal to you as alumni: we need your help and involvement. The undergraduates have noted how friends in other fraternities have alumni visibility and relationships that don't seem to be as strong at Kansas Beta. Our Chapter has such a deep legacy of dedicated and successful alumni, and the men at the Chapter want very badly to get to know you. We will be working with the Chapter to set up an alumni event to provide an opportunity for you to come back to the house to meet them. Hopefully you will reach out to your close brothers and get them to join you. More details to follow on the alumni event; in the meantime, we need help in a couple of areas: 1 Recruiting solid young men for next year's fall class is critical. We are challenging the recruitment chairmen to recruit 35%-40% of the next class outside the Kansas City area. Many of you reading this live in those areas and may know who the top high school candidates are. To help us make those initial introductions, we're asking that you provide one or two names to our recruitment chairman, Matthew Martin '17, at matthewjmartin10@gmail.com or (913) 907-0510. We're looking for solid young men with strong GPAs, involvement in activities like sports, student government, or other leadership roles. Thanks to many of you, we have a great facility; now help us connect with high-caliber young men to provide them the rewarding Fraternity experience you had. 2 Our website is in need of a major facelift but we don't have the expertise that some of you may have. This may include pointing us to the right platform, guiding us in the development, or hopefully even taking a more active role. Since so many people get their information about organizations via their website, it's crucial we get our message out in a more polished and consistent way. We want our website to be a place potential recruits visit often, parents can go to for information, and especially a place where you as alumni can go to keep up with Chapter news between issues of The Hoop. If you would like to help, please contact me, and I'll get you connected within the Chapter. We have a great group of freshmen this year and a core of men who seem ready to take the Chapter to another level. The AVC is working to provide the guidance, leadership and motivation to assist them. We would be grateful for whatever assistance you would be able to provide. Thank you! Fraternally, Dan McEntee '86 Kansas Beta AVC President danm@kc.rr.com C O N T E N T S KANSAS BETA SETS SIGHTS ON POSITIVE FUTURE DESPITE CHALLENGES ALUMNI ENCOURAGED TO GET INVOLVED Stay Connected with Kansas Beta Kansas Beta Chapter www.kstatesigep.com SigEp National Headquarters www.sigep.org Follow us on Twitter @sigep_ksbeta Find us on LinkedIn Sigma Phi Epsilon Kansas Beta Spencer Bontrager '14, Josh Zdeb '17, Doug Brown '15, Nick Rysavy '17, and Joe Seidl '15 at the announcement of our third place Homecoming finish.

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