Page 2 - Sigma Chi - Cornell Fall 2018

A message from The alumni
Greystone association president

Foundation I want to take this opportunity to ad- tionship

update dress certain developments on campus that 2. Recruitment and training of
will have a significant impact on Greek life
advisor
First, we want to thank the many at Cornell. 3. Liability and insurance
brothers who responded to our annual In addition to being president of our 4. Advisor’s relationship with and
Foundation appeal this spring. We are alumni association and house corporation, I accountability to the university
delighted to report that with your help, serve on the University’s Fraternity and So- There is also the issue of re-configuring
we raised nearly $40,000—the second rority Advisory Council. The FSAC reports Greystone to accommodate a live-in advi-
most in any given year to date. We look to the vice president for student and cam- sor, i.e. privacy, access, and a separate bath-
to continue our growth in fundraising as pus life, the executive director for campus room. We have begun to think through the
we expand and build upon the Founda- and community engagement, and the direc- issues and hope to have a plan to share with
tion’s mission. Your gifts make a differ- tor of sorority and fraternity life on matters you in the spring semester.
ence in the educational experience of our of policy and planning I would like to con-
undergraduate brothers and enrich their for the Greek system. clude these thoughts
time both on the Hill and at Greystone. Through these roles, I am “ I believe there is by expressing my opin-
Activities of the Sigma Chi Greystone able to get a close look at recognition within the ion about fraternities at
Foundation continue to grow. We are Cornell’s Greek life. university administration Cornell. I do not agree
maintaining our focus on the Greystone This last academic with those who think
Foundation Speaker Series and continue year saw deplorable inci- that the Greek system is the university is trying to
to help fund the educational components dents involving members an important part do away with the Greek
of house expenses. Also, this fall we hope of the Greek community of Cornell. system. There are both
to inaugurate an annual networking and/or Greek chapters. ” practical and philosophi-
event for our undergraduate brothers in These incidents are, in cal reasons for this. The
New York City. We envision this event my opinion, antithetical university needs the beds
being a “boot camp” for juniors in the to the values of a world-class university. We that the Greek system provides. As you may
house to provide them with recruiting can and we must do better. have heard, the university is embarking on
advice, networking opportunities, career These incidents provoked a great deal of an ambitious housing construction pro-
guidance, and resume/interviewing feed- self-examination by the Greek community, gram that will add several thousand beds to
back. as well as a firm and explicit set of directives the existing university inventory. The ob-
Please let us know if you would like from Cornell President Martha Pollack in a jective is to guarantee on-campus housing
to get involved in the Foundation as an letter to the entire Cornell community dat- (defined as dorms, co-ops, fraternities and
advisory board member. We want to tap ed May 4, 2018. Given the importance of sororities) for sophomores. Currently, only
into the strength and diversity of our this document, we have included it in this freshman are guaranteed on-campus hous-
alumni pool! Additionally, we are inter- issue of the Cayuga Sig in its entirety. It can ing. This sophomore guarantee cannot be
ested in hearing your thoughts and sug- be found opposite this article, on page 3. met, however, without including the Greek
gestions on how to make the Foundation The Alpha Phi Chapter was not in- houses in the mix.
more effective in achieving its goals. volved in any of the actions referenced Philosophically, I believe there is recog-
by Martha. Further, the chapter has been nition within the university administration
In hoc, taking a leadership role in many different that the Greek system is an important part
ways in order to foster positive change both of Cornell and has the potential to contin-
within the chapter and the larger Greek sys- ue to be a positive part of the Greek stu-
tem. Also, as Sigs, we can be proud of the dents’ collegiate experience as a whole. This
Peter Wilhelm ’93 actions our national is currently taking to is certainly why I remain involved with our
Co-Chair reshape the Greek experience across all of chapter: I see firsthand the learning, leader-
our chapters. Sigma Chi is a leader among ship, and social benefits that our brothers
all national fraternities. gain from their association with Sigma Chi
All that being said, we continue to at Cornell.
Mark DeAngelis ’91 have work to do. Our chapter is commit- Philosophy will not carry the day for
Co-Chair ted to the immediate mandates set forth by Cornell’s Greek system, however. It is
Martha. This leaves us with a requirement very clear that we must live the values of
that is to take effect in the fall semester of friendship, justice, and learning that, in
2021—namely “all residential fraternities some fashion, underlie every Greek orga-
and sororities must have a full-time, live- nization on campus. Anything less puts us
in adviser with clearly stated objectives and in direct conflict with the university and
expectations for the role.” jeopardizes our ability to remain relevant
In order to meet this requirement, a and viable.
The Sigma Chi Greystone Foundation is a number of issues need to be addressed by
501(c)(3) organization (EIN 16-1529623), the alumni association independent of, and
and gifts to it are tax-deductible for federal in collaboration with, the university. These
income-tax purposes. issues include: John Foote ‘74
2 1. Nature of the employment rela- Alumni Association President

Alpha Phi of Sigma chi