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Posts Tagged ‘Sigma Pi Fraternity’
An Amazing, Happy, Joyous Week and a Half Period for the Global Community
May 2nd, 2011 | Added to International Politics, United States Politics | 2 Comments »
You know, when I think about it – the last week and a half has been absolutely amazing for this world. Welcome back to JerseySmarts.com. Though I have been – and continue to be – swamped with an ever-growing pile of work, I wanted to take a few minutes to write about why the last week and a half has been such a happy time for this planet.
 This has been a pretty happy place for the last week and a half. About a week and a half ago, nearly a one-third of the planet’s population began celebrating the Easter Triduum. The Easter Triduum is the three day period leading up to Easter Sunday and the celebration of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly something for believers like me (and some 2.1 billion other believers in Christ) to celebrate.
On the first of two personal notes in this entry, one of the young men that I advised when he was an undergraduate in Sigma Pi Fraternity became a member of the Roman Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil mass. For him – and those of us who know him – this was also a reason for celebration.
After a solemn, joyous Holy Week the world then began preparing for the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Normally, I wouldn’t cite this as a reason for the world to celebrate. However, following the tragic, paparazzi-fueled death of his beloved mother Princess Diana, there were many people who saw this past Friday’s wedding as a sort of victory for civility. The Sun Newspaper (based out of the United Kingdom) estimated that up to 3 billion people might watch the wedding. I’ve read post-wedding viewership figures as high as 2 billion, so I don’t know the exact number of people who saw the wedding, but I’m sure that most folks out there either saw the wedding live or saw footage.
In any event, the adoring crowds in the United Kingdom reflected the joy and happiness that most people shared for the young bride and groom.
And on a personal note – this past Friday a good friend of mine got married. I was honored to be one of his groomsmen and the excitement of the wedding helped make this past weekend a really great one for me and the hundreds of people who are celebrating this wedding, too.
And then Sunday, May 1st came. For the more than 1.2 billion Roman Catholics in the world, we celebrated the beatification of Pope John Paul II – now known as Blessed John Paul II. The beatification mass was viewed around the world as a man who many knew as a world leader took the final step before being declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Certainly a reason for celebration among the faithful Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church communities!
Of course the only way for such an amazing week and a half period to come to completion was with the announcement that the United States had located, stormed, and killed the most wanted terrorist in the world. And not only was I excited about the confirmation of Osama bin Laden being killed, but I was proud about the way the United States citizens celebrated the victory. I posted this message on Facebook late last night about our national celebration:
When certain countries on the other side of the world celebrate a big event, radical extremists come out in the streets and burn effigies of world leaders and flags of other nations.
When America celebrates the death of a global mass murderer, we have men, women, young, old, Republicans, Democrats, black, white, Hispanic, etc. all celebrating together chanting “USA! USA! USA!”
We win. Again.
Followers of freedom and believers in liberty have a big reason to celebrate this news. Congratulations go out to the men and women of our military and intelligence services on a job well done.
As I posted on Twitter last night – I feel like this week and a half period of happiness and celebration is the beginning of something great for this world. Let’s hope that the good times keep on coming and that we continue to receive good news (or the Good News, as it were) in the coming days, weeks, and months! Enjoy!
Happy 114th Birthday to Sigma Pi Fraternity
February 26th, 2011 | Added to College & Fraternity Life | No Comments »
Today is the 114th anniversary of Sigma Pi Fraternity’s founding at Vincennes University in Vincennes, Indiana. Way back in 1897, a group of guys got together and thought that they should create what, at the time, was known as a literary society. They got together on campus, had discussions with professors, invited guests to talk about different ideas and philosophies – sounds like a real party. Then, through a series of interesting events, that society became known as Sigma Pi Fraternity and now – 114 years later – the fraternity is flourishing.
 Happy Birthday Sigma Pi Fraternity For my part, I’ve mentioned time and time again on this blog that I support the Sigma Pi Educational Foundation. To show my support for the Fraternity, I donate my time as a member of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees. And I give them a few bucks each year, too.
If you’re feeling a little bit charitable and have a few dollars that you’d like to see put to good use by reducing the cost of education for scholarship winners, then head over to the Foundation’s website and we will gratefully welcome your contribution. Thanks!
Monmouth University Topples Fairleigh Dickinson University, 68 – 57
February 10th, 2011 | Added to College & Fraternity Life | No Comments »
The Monmouth University Hawks finally managed to get a win this past Wednesday night at home in the MAC. The victory bumps the Hawks’ record to a still-depressing 7 wins and 18 losses. In other words, while Wednesday night’s win was a nice victory for the Hawks and their overworked players, this season is still a wreck.
 My apologies, folks, but I don’t have any pictures or specific commentary from Wednesday night’s game. If you’re looking for a review of the game, then I would suggest heading over to the Monmouth University Athletics website and getting a recap there. Again, my gut feeling is that while Wednesday night’s victory was good (and one that the players really needed in front of the home crowd), this is still a season that needs to be forgotten as soon as possible.
Now, the reason why I don’t have any commentary from last night’s game is because I, along with some of my fellow Sigma Pi alumni, was invited to watch the game from President Paul Gaffney’s Box on the third floor of the MAC. Joining me in the box was one of our recent alumni (who occasionally guest blogs on JerseySmarts.com), one of our alumni from the mid 1990′s, and the national president of our Fraternity. We were also accompanied in the box by a member of the university’s advancement office and a whole host of folks that I met, but didn’t really know. It was nice to see President Gaffney again, though I doubt he remembers the previous times that we’ve met (I was actually one of the student members that interviewed him for the President’s position back in Spring 2003). Also, it was nice to meet the Athletic Director and some of the other university administration. We had a lot of fun conversations and covered a variety of topics (too many to go over on the blog). The whole experience up in the President’s Box was really fun and one that I hope I have an opportunity to repeat.
And while I don’t have much commentary on the game, I do have a few notes about being up in the President’s Box in comparison to my typical experience at the Monmouth basketball games…
First, the food in the President’s Box is really good. I think I’ve run the gamut of the various qualities of Aramark food that is served on Monmouth University’s campus. When I was an undergraduate, I was stuck with the portion of Aramark’s food where the quality was almost inedible. Seriously, when I was an undergraduate some of the food that was available for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was just revolting. In fact, I distinctly remember a few different occasions when I went into the dining hall and opted to not eat anything instead of forcing myself to have a meal of their gruel. Then – right before I graduated – I was invited to dinner at former President Rebecca Stafford’s house and I realized that Aramark actually could make a meal of phenomenal quality.
As a member of the Blue/White Club, I have access to the Varsity Club before the home football and basketball games. This season, the food up in the Varsity Club has been so much better than what it was last year. However, Wednesday night in the President’s Box reminded me that there is an even higher quality food at Monmouth – even if it was just boneless buffalo wings and pigs in a blanket.
Second, the view from the President’s Box is great. I still like my quasi-courtside seats because I’m a basketball fan and from my seats you can hear all of the nitty gritty stuff going on during the game, but I certainly have a new appreciation for the MAC after watching some of the game in the President’s Box. That MAC is pretty well put together.
Third and finally, the folks at Monmouth are really nice. Just like my experience with Aramark, I think I’ve also run the gamut in terms of dealing with the individuals who work on Monmouth’s campus. And, like the food services, the higher up you go the better it gets. I really thought that the university officials up in the President’s Box Wednesday night were really wonderful and very friendly – good people with engaging conversations.
And that’s the story of this past Wednesday night in the President’s Box. Hopefully, I’ll be invited up there to watch another game and I’ll be able to bring the fine readers of this blog a similarly positive report from the game. Until then, let’s hope the Hawks keep their winning ways going!
Heading to St. Louis, Missouri for an Annual Conference
February 3rd, 2011 | Added to College & Fraternity Life | No Comments »
For those of you that have been reading JerseySmarts.com for a while, you know that each year during Super Bowl weekend I typically take a trip out to St. Louis for an annual conference. This is a conference to teach undergraduates in my fraternity from around the nation different leadership strategies. As a member of the Board of Trustees for the fraternity’s foundation, though, I now attend these national events now to talk about different ways to raise money and how to strategically use the funds that we’ve already raised.
It’s a whole different world being a Trustee for the foundation, really.
There are a few entries that are set to automatically load while I’m away so you’ll have something to read on this site over the next few days. And, for what it’s worth, I think that this is going to be my last trip to this conference so long as it continues to be held during Super Bowl weekend. As you’ll read in the entries that are set to automatically load over the next few days, I’ve been finishing up (or am getting ready to finish up) some major projects for the foundation that will allow me to regain some of my free time in the coming months and years.
Once those projects are completed, I’ll have less of an obligation to attend these awkwardly scheduled events (it’s Super Bowl weekend!) and thus I’ll be able to spend some more time working on items outside of the fraternity. Plus, I won’t be running late to my own Super Bowl parties any more!
Enjoy the next few entries as they’re uploaded and I’ll be back next week!
Miles Austin is My Favorite Dallas Cowboy, Ever
September 20th, 2010 | Added to Sports | 4 Comments »
Just a brief background for this entry… I was born in Manhattan and moved to the northwest part of New Jersey when I was seven years old. I stayed up there until I left to go to college at Monmouth University in the fall of 1999 and, except for one summer, I’ve been living in the Monmouth County area of the Jersey Shore ever since. In other words, I live in a part of the world where when it comes to the NFL, you’re either a Giants fan or a Jets fan. Me? I’m a Giants fan. So that’s your background for this story.
 From Garfield High School... I give you that background because it’s well known that Giants fans hate the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys. However, I have to admit that after last Sunday night’s game on NBC, I have a new favorite Cowboy – Miles Austin. In case you didn’t hear it, during that game’s on-screen introductions Austin announced himself from Garfield High School instead of from Monmouth University. Austin and I both went to Monmouth University and I distinctly remember him coming into my office (after I graduated and while he was still an undergrad) to pay his rent every month. So as alumni of the same university, I got a big kick out of him using his high school alma mater to introduce himself to the viewers at home. Unfortunately, I can’t find a clip of the introduction online or on YouTube anywhere, but it was funny.
After the game, a Facebook page that purports itself to be Austin’s official page had this to say:
My passion for football began at Garfield.. not sure why yall are so upset that I repped them for once instead of Monmouth. Yall should know I love MU and always will.. But without Garfield and the support I received there, I woulda never made it to Monmouth. Kids need to know that high school is a time to find your talent or passion and run as far as you can with it.
Now, I’m not sure if this is Austin’s real Facebook page or not, but the blurb above makes sense in my world. Of course, before Austin posted this on his Facebook account, I commented about how hilarious I found the whole situation. In the comments following my blurb, I wrote the following:
[My Roommate] and I figured that thousands of MU alumni started laughing out loud when he said “Garfield High School” while dozens of MU employees and administrators were confused as to why someone would do that in the first place!
And this point is the crux of this entry. I guarantee that all of the idiot “yes men” ass kissers that I went to college with had no idea why Austin wouldn’t even consider announcing himself from Monmouth during that opening game. I also guarantee that some exorbitantly paid administrators at Monmouth who are so full of their own bullshit started to panic after hearing “Garfield High School” during what should have been the shining moment of their delusional impressions of my alma mater. The fact is that many of the folks working in the administration at Monmouth are out of touch with the student body. And when they need to get student opinions on issues and items, they choose their “yes men” and ass kissers to provide feedback for the general population. It’s useless.
Oh, and I speak for a super-majority of the current students and alumni from the school? How do I know that? Very simple. I looked at a copy of Monmouth University’s most recent results on the National Survey of Student Engagement. One of the questions asked, “How well do students get along with administrators and staff?”
The answer?
Some 35% of first year students find the administrative personnel and offices helpful, considerate, and flexible. Gah! If 35% of my clients thought that I was helpful, considerate, and flexible to their needs I’d get fired on the spot! Because if 35% think that you’re great, then 65% want to bang their head into the wall each time they deal with you!
Anyway, for the reason that Austin stated in his Facebook update and because of the results of the national survey – and for the many less-than-pleasant encounters I had with the administrators over there when I was an undergraduate – I’m glad that Austin said he was from Garfield High School instead of Monmouth University. It serves them right. There’s clearly a disconnect that the university isn’t addressing and, quite frankly, doesn’t seem to know how to address.
So for this Giants fan, my favorite Cowboy is Miles Austin. And that’s in light of the fact that Tony Romo and I are in the same fraternity (Sigma Pi Fraternity)!
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