BOSS COX COURIER. Pi Kappa Alpha Preamble Sunday Evening March 1, 1868

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1 BOSS COX COURIER Alpha Xi Chapter Pi Kappa Alpha at the University of Cincinnati Spring 2014 Edition Highlights: Formal PIKE University 3 Fire Truck Pull 4 New Initiates 5 Greek Week/Awards Alpha Xi is proud to bring you the 2014 Winter/Spring edition of the Boss Cox Courier. As the academic year comes to a close, we reflect on Formal 2014, PIKE University, the Fire Truck Pull, New Initiates and Alumni, Greek Week and Awards, and our new Chapter Leaders. New Chapter Leaders 6 7 Pi Kappa Alpha is dedicated to developing men of integrity, intellect, and high moral character and to fostering a truly lifelong fraternal experience. Pi Kappa Alpha Preamble Sunday Evening March 1, 1868 For the establishment of friendship on a firmer and more lasting basis; for the promotion of brotherly love and kind feeling; for the mutual benefit and advancement of the interest of those with whom we sympathize and deem worthy of our regard; We have resolved to form a Fraternity, believing that thus, we can most successfully accomplish our object. Robertson Howard, Julian Edward Wood, James Benjamin Sclater Junior, Frederick Southgate Taylor, Littleton Waller Tazewell (Bradford), William Alexander

2 PIKE Formal 2014 Asheville, NC Alpha Xi s 2014 Formal weekend took place in Asheville, North Carolina over the weekend of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Though it s primarily popular in the spring and summer as a destination for tourists looking for outdoor adventures, Asheville was extremely crowded this January weekend. PIKE brothers stayed at the largest hotel in the area, the Marriott of Asheville, which was booked at 100% capacity that night. We were fortunate to experience the town in January with the same lively buzz that it would ordinarily have in May. Asheville first made its way onto the radar of the Alpha Xi chapter at the recommendation of a few older brothers who had visited before. It s been cited as one of the South s most beautiful cities and has a unique downtown scene, small-town feel, and lots of historic architecture. This year, every brother who made the trip stayed for two nights. On Saturday night, everyone went out in small groups to restaurants and bars with their dates. Asheville is well known for its music scene. There is a large concentration of street performers who play solo and in groups with instruments ranging from xylophones to rubber band bass guitars. On Sunday, many brothers left the city center and drove a few miles to visit the Biltmore. The Biltmore, the largest home in America, is the former estate of George Vanderbilt and one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Asheville area. On Sunday night, we hosted the Formal event at a private room at Pack s Tavern. Nearly 120 brothers and their dates gathered for the event, where we ate, danced, and had an outstanding time with one another! - Clay Miller, Alpha 40 2

3 PIKE University A New Member s Perspective Looking back at my spring semester as a pledge, PIKE University stands out as one of my most memorable experiences. I not only learned a lot about PIKE, but I also bonded with my pledge brothers and the actives, whom I would later call brothers. The first seminar was split in two; one for active brothers and the other for non-initiated new members. In the seminar, I felt challenged to answer the inner questions of why I chose PIKE, as well as motivated to determine what kind of man I wanted to become as a result of this fraternity. The day was filled with a busy schedule of seminars, but I never once felt like I was being forced to listen. I was learning so much about the inner workings of the fraternity and the factors that make us unique from others. One of the best things about PIKE University was being able to see the passion that the individual speakers had for the fraternity. One speaker said that you don t go to college, graduate, and tell people I was a PIKE, but rather that your bond to this fraternity lasts a lifetime and transcends death; we are PIKE s forever. Attending PIKE University taught me how to be confident in my ability to turn any situation into one where I could meet potential brothers; I learned how to look for guys that truly exemplified S.L.A.G. in the fullest. This was the first major PIKE conference that I ve been to and it was a shock to see so many PIKE s, knowing that this was just a fraction of the fraternity as a whole. I saw a glimpse of the common bond that we share when I watched active brothers from my chapter interact with brothers from other chapters as if they were not total strangers. I met tons of new people, and some of those guys I ve managed to stay in contact with, too. PIKE University was an unforgettable experience that has definitely helped propel me forward. The lessons that I learned there are ones that I will strive to exemplify throughout my life. - Nick Weaver, Eta 15 3

4 4 Fire Truck Pull As a fraternity with a storied past and huge involvement with and around local fire departments, we thought it would be a great idea to implement a fire truck pull as our primary philanthropy event. In years prior, Alpha Xi would have entire weeks dedicated to the fire truck pull. After taking a couple year hiatus, the fire truck pull was back and better than ever. We decided to take a sirens blaring approach to marketing this event. Whether it was going door to door to each sorority and fraternity, slapping flyers everywhere imaginable, or promoting the event through social media, Alpha Xi definitely got the word out. Because this was the first year back from the hiatus, we have even more room to grow the event next year. All in all, the marketing of the event went very well, due to a long planning stage headed by Matthew Murphy, our 2013/2014 philanthropy chair. If we marketed the event with our sirens blaring, we definitely turned the fire hoses up to full throttle on the day of the event (a horrible metaphor for us going into the event filled with vigor and vivacity). The event took place on Sigma Sigma Commons, a prime and centralized location that allowed for maximum visibility and turnout. Members from many communities on campus showed up to attend the event. They were arranged in predetermined teams, and took to the road to determine whose team would come out on top. The two categories for placement in the competition were: 1. Fastest pull, start to finish (obviously) 2. Spirit (the real champions). Each of these winning teams would take home bragging rights, a trophy, and a picture of their team sitting atop the fire truck, trophy in hand. While the main event was the fire truck pull, PIKEs were grilling out with other members of campus and spreading the Pi Kappa Alpha name throughout the University of Cincinnati. In the end, a PIKE team took home the coveted Spirit award after a fantastic effort lead by some Alpha Xi freshman. The fire truck pull is one of our prime philanthropic events, as the funds go directly to the mission trip. Without the necessary funding from the fire truck pull, UC PIKEs would not have been able to make the trip. Our members at home use their strength to pull a truck, and then they later use it to build homes. - Robby Wellington, Zeta 42

5 Pi Kappa Alpha Spring 2014 Initiates On April 15 th, 2014, the Alpha Xi Chapter initiated 11 bright young men into the bonds of Phi Phi Kappa Alpha as well as one special initiation of Lindner College of Business Dean David Szymanski. After a new member education process that was well-crafted by Bhavik Modi 11 and well-aligned with our values, these 11 men were definitely deemed worthy of our regard. These young men came from many different walks of life and many different colleges within the University of Cincinnati. At the end of the day, they all represented the values of Scholarship, Leadership, Athletics and Gentleman to their fullest and are great representations of what our fraternity has to offer. Dean David Syzmanski was a perfect candidate to be a special initiate in our chapter. As a student, he lettered as a collegiate athlete and succeeded in and around the classroom. Since graduation, he has left a trail of success everywhere he has been. Since coming to the University of Cincinnati, the Lindner College of Business has been incredibly blessed to have him at the helm. He has turned around a struggling program and saw the college jump 39 spots in several national ranking publications this year. He also serves on several boards around campus and in the community and is one of the most well-respected faculty members at the University of Cincinnati. Not only that, but he has been a great friend to our chapter for a long time and has been a keynote speaker at several events. He is very excited to be on board with us and we are excited to have him! - Peter Schmidt, Chi 29 Newly Initiated Brothers Eta Class Lucas Bell Jackson Brennan Evan Paino Nick Scheuplein Miles Dale David Szymanski Nick Minnich Dan Novotny Jake Tope Mike Vitori Gerry Otto Nick Weaver 5

6 Greek Week & Greek Awards This past March, Alpha Xi and the rest of the Greek community participated in the Annual Greek Week events at UC. The week was made up of multiple competitions and events including the Greek Week Games, The Amazing Race, Belly Flop Competition, Fundraising War, and the famous Variety Show. The men of Alpha Xi and the UC Greek community also came together to take part in the Greek Week community service event; this year s event was Relay for Life to help raise cancer awareness. The event raised money for the American Cancer Society, which is now using the money to research all types of cancer and give assistance to those currently battling cancer. Alpha Xi was eager to support the cause and participated enthusiastically in every event. The week was capped off with the All- Greek Awards, where Pi Kappa Alpha took home 6 awards, the most of any organization on campus. Alpha Xi President Peter Schmidt was recognized for his leadership throughout the year by being awarded UC s Chapter President of the Year. Alpha Xi was once again recognized for our strong commitment towards progressive development, as well as fulfilling S.LA.G., and striving to continue to carry on this reputation for years to come. - David Moser, Delta UC All-Greek Awards Pi Kappa Alpha: Chapter President of the Year Best Overall Chapter Operations Best Overall Social Responsibility Best Overall New Member Development Best Overall Member Development Best Overall Leadership Development 6

7 The Brothers of Alpha Xi proudly present the Chapter Leaders for the Year New Chapter Leaders Upper Executive Board President Andrew Kendall Internal Vice President Nick Stenger External Vice President Robby Zenni Treasurer Michael Burkart Secretary Jack Johnson Lower Executive Board Sergeant-at-Arms Max Baker Rush Chairman Nick Partie Continuing Education Robbie Noonan New Member Educator Michael Fitzgerald Risk Management Samson Lewis Treasurer s Cabinet House Manager Drew Dresmann Project Development Donnie Bruemmer Internal Cabinet Brotherhood Nick Jones Alumni Relations Brett Carlin Fundraising Reed Ehrman Special Events Marc Werner Scholarship Matt Murphy, Kevin Kurzhals & Nate Kunkel External Cabinet Social David Moser Intramural Corey Goedde Bearcat Pride Mike Huber Public Relations Matt Evans Philanthropy Robby Wellington Mission Trip Nate Wyscarver Continuing Education Cabinet Campus Involvement Kyle Lavine Health & Wellness Nick Weaver Secretary s Cabinet Year End Summary JR Bernans Historian Andrew Arand Webmaster Tyler Brokamp Design Paul DuFour Boss Cox Courier Christian Przezdziecki Sergeant at Arms Cabinet Ritual Tim Weil 7