Beta Theta Pi - University of Texas

Page 3 Reach to Owen '04 at frankmowen@gmail.com questions. memBeRShip pRovideS liFelong BeneFitS How Beta Influenced Craig Clayton '85 L ooking back on his life, Craig Clayton '85 reflects on which institutions and people had the most impact. Without question, the brothers from Beta Theta Pi at the University of Texas are among them. "Having the opportunity to meet so many men from all over the state of Texas, and even across the country, gave me exposure to all kinds of people with different strengths. Being part of an organization that we all loved and wanted to help allowed me to learn how to negotiate and be flexible. Those lessons have helped me in business, in community volunteer efforts, and just for life in general." Keeping in touch with his pledge brothers has always been a priority for Craig, and his favorite way to do that is tailgating. "If you went to UT, you love going to football games. Tailgating with brothers has become a big part of UT football for me. More than ten years ago David Baker '85 got the tailgating tradition started for our pledge class. We are hoping that this tradition will be helpful in gathering support for the recolonization of the Beta Omicron Chapter at UT." As an undergraduate, Craig served as scholastic chairman and wishes he could relive the Beta Virgin Islands Party. "We had a live three- story volcano, two-story bamboo huts, three-story waterfalls, ponds with elevated walkways, and we even filled the entire party area with one foot of sand for a beach atmosphere. It was the best party on campus!" Craig is very excited for the new generation of Betas at UT. To him, his Beta brothers are an amazing resource who provide support and encourage one another in many different ways. As an only child, Craig says that the Betas are true family to him. "I would love to see this new Chapter of young men find friendship and support among each other as I did when I was at UT. The University of Texas is a world-class university and the men who are attending are smart, driven, and willing to work very hard to achieve the great possibilities that lie before them. I would love to see the new Chapter be a group of men that strive for the best and work together to see that each of them reach their greatest potential." Craig and his wife, Sally, live in San Antonio, Texas, where they own a tax consulting practice. Sally is also on the board of the Grand Canyon Association and they are able to visit five or six times each year. Their daughter, Amy, is a CPA for Ernst & Young, and their son, Austin, is a senior at UT majoring in petroleum geology. E-mail: craig@claytonpc.net Craig Clayton '85 and his wife, Sally, live in San Antonio, Texas. Reconnect with Craig by e-mailing him at craig@claytonpc.net. "It is important to support your Beta Chapter and even those across the country. I highly encourage my fellow Beta Omicron alumni friends to join me in supporting the new Chapter at Texas." ON PAST, PLANS FOR FUTURE demise, but rather several overlying themes that came together in a negative manner, including a lack of alumni support, poor communication between the national fraternity and the Chapter, a non-traditional housing structure, and unstable financial standing. These issues led to a decline in membership standards and overall lower performance as a Chapter. Timeline conflicts Phi of fraternity and a less (former Chapter. the attitude the balancing school, brotherhood. The decision is made to rush for numbers instead of quality in order to service debts. It has a very negative effect on the Chapter. Spring 2003 2004 Housing and zoning changes drastically on west campus due to changes in real estate in Austin. Fall 2004 Sigma Housing Corporation is approached by a real estate developer to sell the fra- ternity house. Sigma is less amenable to negotiate a new lease due to previous neg- ative history with Chapter. Sigma goes for- ward with the sale of the property and the Chapter is given notice that they will need to be out of the house by summer 2005. Summer 2010 Chapter voluntarily closes. Rush produced zero members. The Chapter made the decision to grow and bid everyone possible. More than 35 new men accepted bids, only seven brothers attended the camping trip for new pledges, so all 35 men dropped. This left a huge gap in membership in 2007 because there was no senior class. Fall 2003 The Chapter moves from a fraternity house, located at 2505 San Gabriel St., to an apartment complex located on 1008 W. 25 1/2 St., which it occupied until 2010. There is a constant struggle to fully occupy the apartment complex. Summer 2005 Fall 2015 Beta Omicron to recolonize at UT. (Continued on page 4) The complex had approximately 18 rooms, 14 of which were used as housing. One apartment was used as the chapter room and another as a common room. For the majority of the time the Chapter occupied the apartment complex, rooms had to be rented to nonmembers, as well as members' girlfriends. There were multiple issues with the apartment complex that made it a less desirable place to live. One unit was without air condi- tioning for the entire month of July and part of August. The occupants withheld their rent, which the chapter had to cover. This severely hurt the proceeding fall's rush. Fall 2005- Spring 2010

• Cover