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Mu Theta - Alberta
New Chapter House
Ken Burton ('72) has a face that belongs on money; and here at Mu Theta, we are honored that he plays such an important role in our Elder Chapter. It is through his leadership and generosity that we are able to purchase a chapter house one block east of the Faculty of Law at the University of Alberta.
This land was originally my great-grandfather's horse ranch just after the Civil War, and has passed through many hands. Most recently it was rumored to be a "house of ill repute" which was frequented by many young lawyers, though no formal records have survived.
(In fact part of our submissions for zoning approval included an argument that change-in-use to a fraternity house is actually better for the neighborhood.)
A team of Elders worked on this acquisition together with Ken: Evil Ray Barnard ('73), Chair, Jim Power, Fred Bradley('71), Brian Koshman ('78), Dave Hardy ('84), Paul Allard ('95), and, of course, Norm Tatlow. These are great men with which to work and I thank them all.
Paul now heads up the fundraising campaign for the Mu Theta Elders and has skillfully solicited the stoic Chief Justice Al Wachowich ('58) from the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta as our Honorary Chair. It all kicks off next month, with a formal date and location to be announced.
And as for our active chapter, Mu Theta gets a bit better each year. Our university has always been hostile to fraternities, so our challenges remain much the same as they have since 1930.
I tell this to each new class, each new year. We are the Zetes and we are here to stay.
David Skrypichayko '88 (email me) |
No Borders in Zeta Psi 
One of the many benefits we enjoy from membership in Zeta Psi is that we are an international brotherhood. Our friendship with our brothers does not recognize the border between Canada and the United States. Our border is the Circle of Zeta Psi.
Regardless of where we were initiated, all Zetes share the same experiences. It is those experiences that make us Zetes. I used to be surprised when I traveled to various points in North America and met Zetes for the first time. No matter whether those Zetes were my age, 20 years younger, or 20 years older, we instantly had a commonality and base for friendship.
My most recent experience of this came during the Canadian LTI in Toronto on February 10th. 35 Canadian brothers from six chapters attended, as did many local Elder Zetes. The discussions during the LTI revolved around improving chapters and improving individuals. Besides actual legal matters, no one brought up differences between chapters in two countries. The issues we all face, the experiences we all strive to achieve are common for all chapters. What stood out at that LTI, and at the other four LTI we've had to date, is that we're Zetes, we're a brotherhood, and we all want the same thing - for Zeta Psi to thrive and excel.
So perhaps we're separated by an international border, and perhaps we live by different laws by our country of residence, but we've always been and always will be one fraternity!
Dave Hunter '80 (email me) |
| Like what you see? Let us know - we always like to hear your thoughts on how we can get better!
Yours in Tau Kappa Phi,
Dan Backer, YM '99
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Greetings Brother!
Welcome to the First Canadian Quarterly - a new periodic email update on our Canadian Chapters, Brothers, and upcoming events within Zeta Psi. As this is our very first edition, we greatly appreciate your feedback and comments!
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Tau Theta - Oshawa
BULLETIN: Tau Theta has decided to run a winter semester rush and has scheduled our 'work weekend' to be March 10th - with the festivities beginning on March 9th. We warmly invite all local elders to come and help us out. If possible, come by between 6:30 - 8:00 PM this Friday. We will be giving the pledges their test around 9 or so but would like to give them a chance to meet any elders that show up. Then the fun begins. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask, and please let us know ASAP. If you are able to make it, our address is 2011 Simcoe St N, Oshawa. (905) 720-2475.
With the '06 -'07 school year coming to a close, Tau Theta is on the verge of a monumental shift. As UOIT's first senior class prepares to graduate, so do many of the founders of the Tau Theta Chapter. While maintaining its role as a top fraternity on campus, the chapter and its members have become renowned for their superior school spirit, annual campus philanthropy efforts and rugged good looks.
The school year began with a pledge class of ten eager young men. After an arduous pledge process the chapter welcomed eight brothers as its Gamma class. The Gammas were quick to show their true colors as they assisted the chapter in fundraising over $3,500 for the Heroes of Hope campaign in the annual 24 hour car push. The chapter followed up this effort by winning an on-campus fraternity contest that allowed them to donate their two hundred and fifty dollar reward to a local women's shelter. The year also included various road trips to chapters such as Beta Tau for Mardi Gras, Rho Alpha for AllZete '06 and Alpha Theta for Oktoberfest. The other chapters were more than courteous in housing us, and we extend an invite to any Canadian or US chapters to drop by our house for a visit.
Currently, Tau Theta has seven pledges vying for spots in their Delta class. We look forward to ushering them into the world of Zeta Psi Brotherhood in mid march.
Always in Tau Kappa Phi, Ravinder Dhamrait (email me) |
Theta Phi - London
BULLETIN: March 23rd-25th is our initiation weekend. Any actives or elders from local chapters who are willing to help bring through Theta Phi's Omega class is invited to attend. As with last fall, we will be bringing through a number of pledges, and we need enough numbers for the weekend to run smoothly. Please RSVP as soon as possible to jon@thetaphi.com. Sleeping accomodation is available, and a number of bars are only a block or two away.
Theta Phi started the year knowing that we had to rebound from our mass graduation the year before. In the fall term, we brought through seven new brothers, and in the spring term, we are on track to do the same, bringing our total number of actives from just eight to twenty-one plus. Over the summer, since a whole new group of people were moving in, we did a lot of work on our house, as it was looking at bit beaten up from the years before. We painted the entire outside, so that the white is brilliantly white and the black is actually black. It stands out quite profusely among the rest of the houses around us, but we are proud of the fact. This year, Theta Phi celebrates its 60th Anniversary, alongside the Fraternity's 160th. The active class feels very honoured to share in this milestone, and the way things have been going this year is equally as worthy of celebration. Thanks to the IHQ, we are getting a lot of support in rebuilding our chapter operations and strengthening our recruitment process. While not being a huge presence on campus, we are looking to maintain our tightly knit group while expanding our numbers and influence. Thanks again to all of the local Elders who frequent the house, and to all of the brothers who we have met this year from other chapters. A special thanks goes to the Theta Xi chapter for hosting the Canadian LTIs this February.
Always in Tau Kappa Phi, Jon Clark '08 (email me)
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Mu Theta - Alberta
This has been a successful year for the Mu Theta chapter. We began with nine brothers and increased our number to thirteen. As we continue to grow we are becoming more involved in the campus community. We have participated in events such as the student's union flag football tournament in which we placed third in our league. As well, we hosted a sellout beach themed BBQ in the campus quad. With contributions from all the brothers we built a small beach amidst the snow where even a few brothers braved the cold wearing shorts. Our success did not stop with the recreational activities. This year the GPA of the chapter greatly improved compared to last year. Many brothers surpassed their expectations showing once again how Zeta Psi can help make brothers better men. The Mu Theta chapter will bring an end to the year with our annual elder poker tournament on March 8th. This year we expect to surpass last years turnout. This will be followed by our formal and award ceremony on March 23rd. Summer plans include our annual trip to the Phi Lambda chapter in which we hope to visit during their Greek week in May. We hope all the chapters are doing well and we look forward to seeing our brothers at the Lincoln Nebraska convention this year.
Always in Tau Kappa Phi, James Upright (email me) |
After a reasonably 'calm' Fall Semester, the Winter Term at the Alpha Theta chapter has been one packed with activity and events. In addition to the usual Chapter relax nights every Wednesday evening at the student pub, Alpha Theta began a cultural appreciation night once a month to get a better appreciation for the wide diversity of its Brothers. Following an excellent Bollywood night hosted by Brother Siva and Brother Alexander, Brother Lee hosted a Korean night in February. In January the Chapter hosted a very successful and packed mixer (in accordance with Risk Management) with the organizational work of Brother Berckmans, and the following month Brother Bozek organized a classy and educational wine and cheese tasting, with good attendance from other Greek organizations as well. However, of all the activities this semester, the 'bread and butter' of Chapter fun and good times has been our weekly poker nights - organized by Brother Rockwood. Although there were still a few Brothers who (amazingly) had never played, the weekly get together has quickly escalated in both fun and skill. To make the experience ever better - Brother Rockwood came up with the idea of building a poker table for the Chapter. Over the reading week, through the hard work of Brother Rockwood and Brother Bozek, Alpha Theta now has a custom crafted poker table, built to fit over a multipurpose table that can be used for other Chapter needs. Seen in the photo enjoying the new table (clockwise from bottom) are Brother Couture, Brother Rockwood, Brother Rupert, and Brother Varga. To celebrate a good semester and the new table, Alpha Theta will be hosting a poker tournament in late March - we hope to attract at least all of the Ontario chapters, but would certainly welcome any longer road-trippers out there as well. Expect to receive details on date, buy-in, and winnings very soon - we hope to get 5 of the best poker players from every Chapter who can make the trip.
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