Page 2 - The Beacon - Pi Lambda Phi MIT - Fall 2018

HOUSE IMPROVEMENTS AT 450 BEACON STREET

As you probably know, there has been a lot of curtains and hooks, and installed cabinets and
work going on at the house recently, utilizing new toilet paper and paper towel holders in
the funds raised from alumni last year. the bathrooms, as well as completely rebuilt
the bathroom stalls; repaired the bathroom
The refinished chapter room table is one of exhaust system and various sinks, including
many improvements that have been made. the bar sink; replaced a clothes dryer and re-
The list is seemingly endless. The contractor paired the dryer exhaust system; upgraded
we hired has been working at the house two or the game room; reorganized the tool room; The refinished chapter room table.
three days a week, on average, for over a year repaired/replaced various lights and lighting
now, completing a long list of projects—as well fixtures; installed new bike racks; replaced the There are still some minor projects to be done,
as devoting some of his time to emergency re- door entry locks and secured all outside entry but we’re nearing the finish line.
pairs as the necessity arises. doors; installed a camera-based security sys-
tem; replaced worn-out sofas and other furni- Again, we thank our alumni who generously
We have done many things, such as: upgraded ture; installed new lighting in many individual participated in last year’s fundraising cam-
the heating system; adjusted the radiators and bedrooms; replaced the floor in the pantry; paign, without which none of this work could
installed thermometers; repaired the windows replaced common area trash cans; hung a per- have happened.
(which has been a mammoth task); repaired manent projection screen holder and bought
or replaced many doors, especially fire doors, a rolling projector stand for the chapter room; —Jim Bricker ’70
to bring them up to code; replaced all the toi- and resurfaced the dining room table in addi- Chapter Advisor
lets, shower heads, shower rods and shower tion to resurfacing the chapter room table.

UPDATE FROM THE REX
farewell, not goodbye [continued from page 1]
As we come to the close of another semester,
Thinking about my time as chapter advisor, I Meetings) while maintaining the au- and as I near the end of my term as rex of this
am hopeful that I have imparted on the un- tonomy that is central to being an in- fraternity, I’d like to reflect on how Pilam has
dergraduates some, if not all, of the follow- dependent living group changed over the course of the past year.
ing attitudes and skills: u How to welcome and show off the
u How to set and achieve a lofty goal house to alumni, parents, MIT admin- A particular goal I’ve had has been to increase
(like raising $100,000 from alumni for istration representatives and other the feeling of brotherhood amongst the mem-
the fraternity, even though the previ- visitors on planned occasions as well as bers of this fraternity, which some brothers
ous record high was about $7,000), de- random drop-bys feel has declined in past years. Many of the
spite skeptics thinking it unachievable uHow to maintain (and exceed) the current brothers pursue a large variety of ex-
u How to manage a significant project minimum standard requirements of tracurriculars, which, personally beneficial,
(like the subsequent $100,000 house Pi Lambda Phi International in order creates conflicts for some between their com-
improvement project) to achieve its to keep our status as a “Fraternity in mitments to Pilam and their commitments to
objectives, within budget limits Good Standing” others outside of Pilam. A critical step in bol-
u How to work with contractors to get My time as chapter advisor has been stimu- stering brotherhood has been to create more
work done satisfactorily while main- lating and rewarding for me, and I am hopeful opportunities for brothers to be involved with
taining control of the work and con- that I have helped make Pi Lam better now the fraternity, so that we can all spend more
trolling expenses than it was three short years ago. Brian Sen- time together. I believe we’ve all done great
u The importance of cleanliness and nett, Class of 2013, will succeed me as chap- work pushing towards this goal, and you can
read about the re-establishment of our intra-
good housekeeping habits ter advisor, effective January 1st. mural sports teams and our experimentation
u How to define the essence of our fra- with cooking as a brotherhood in The Beacon
ternity (with an emphasis on our non- Fraternally, for examples of this, on pages 4 and 3, respec-
sectarian charter), and pursue the goal tively.
of keeping the house full while attract-
ing members with varied backgrounds Another theme of this semester has been the
u Why—and how—to turn to alumni establishment of a more productive relation-
for assistance as necessary (as well Jim Bricker ’70 ship with Pi Lambda Phi International, placing
as participate in Alumni Corporation Chapter Advisor, 2016-2018
[continued on page 4]

2 u MASS THETA CHAPTER OF PI LAMBDA PHI