Greetings from Epsilon Mu at Butler University! It has been an eventful past year with so much excitement and potential on the horizon. For the 2011-2012 academic year, we welcome our 36 newly initiated brothers into our chapter house; our largest initiated class since recolonization. I am eager to see how this class will grow and shape the chapter in the near future.

Along with gaining 36 new brothers, Epsilon Mu gained a slew of awards! At the 2011 Butler University Greek Excellence Awards, Epsilon Mu took home seven awards, including awards for Outstanding Academics, Campus Leadership, Emerging Leader, Chapter Educational Programming, New Member Education, and Five Star Chapter for scoring highly on all stages of Greek Excellence. Outside of Butler University, Epsilon Mu also won awards from Sigma Nu, including Excellence in Phase I, Phase II, Phase III, Phase IV, All Chapter LEAD Programming, Alumnus LEAD Facilitator of the Year, Collegiate LEAD Facilitator of the Year, Excellence in Personal Development and Membership Value and Manpower Awards for having over 80 active members and increasing total membership by 25%. Along with the Manpower awards, the chapter signed up for Sigma Nu’s 10% Challenge to raise our membership by 10%. Not only did we meet the 10% mark, but our 47% increase helped us place first among the 14 other chapters that signed up for the challenge.

Special congratulations to an active Epsilon Mu and alumnus should be mentioned as well. Matthew Kasper (EM1324) won Collegiate LEAD Facilitator of the Year for his work as LEAD Chairman over the past year, and alumnus Tony Kirchhoffer (KA122) won Collegiate LEAD Facilitator of the Year for his work facilitating LEAD Phase IV. We congratulate both of you for your awards and thank you for your tireless work to ensure that Epsilon Mu excels in all LEAD Phases.

Regardless of the amount of awards we have won over the past year, Epsilon Mu still has room to improve and grow. Following the Epsilon Mu Strategic Plan outlining our goals for Leadership, Excellence, Growth, and Brotherhood, we shall continue to improve as a Sigma Nu chapter year after year.

For “Leadership,” Epsilon Mu will have at least 90% of its chapter members involved in other student activities outside Sigma Nu, with 20% of those members assuming leadership roles in those organizations. For “Excellence,” Epsilon Mu will obtain a 3.5 GPA average for the next two years and continue to be have the top GPA for all fraternities at Butler University. In the “Growth” category, the Epsilon Mu’s Executive Committee for the ’09-’10 academic year pledged to grow Epsilon Mu by 10%. They not only met their goal, but exceeded it by almost 40%! Our next goal is to exceed the all men’s chapter size on Butler’s campus which we hope to accomplish by the beginning of next year.

Ending with “Brotherhood,” Epsilon Mu will continue to promote against hazing and uphold the values of non-hazing that Sigma Nu was founded upon. We will continue to educate members about the dangers and perils of hazing, and ensure that our actions reflect those of the Legion of Honor.
As my last letter as Commander of Epsilon Mu, I would like to thank all of my brothers and alumni for helping me lead this chapter. It has been a truly incredible year that has helped me grow immensely, and I can only hope that I have given back a fraction of what Sigma Nu has given me. I am eager to see how the chapter grows and evolves in the near future and am confident that Epsilon Mu will continue to uphold Love, Truth, and Honor in all future endeavors.

Fraternally,

Thomas Noe EM 1312

Greetings from Epsilon Mu at Butler University! As our chapter began to move back and settle into the house to begin the 2010-2011 academic year, we were excited to see an updated Formal Room! New lighting fixtures, carpet, paint, shelving, and formal pictures were the main updates in the room. Our Formal Room also has a piano! Many thank yous to the House Corporation, Alumni Association, and the construction crew for their hard work and planning to improve our chapter house.

However, the physical attributes of our chapter does not define who we truly are at Epsilon Mu. In my last newsletter article, I wrote about a major goal I set for the Epsilon Mu Chapter: to win the Rock Chapter Award at Grand Chapter. I am very proud to say that this past July in Boston, Brother Alex Snyder walked up on stage to claim our second Rock Chapter Award! The hard work by every brother that has stepped through our doors paid off again. We are very excited at Epsilon Mu and I believe the state of this chapter has never been higher.

Because of our continued success at Epsilon Mu, I believe that we can go “Ever Higher” (Past Regent Joe Gilman’s motto). We therefore created an Epsilon Mu Strategic Plan that outlines our goals for the next two years. Our Strategic Plan can be broken down into four different categories: Leadership, Excellence, Growth, and Brotherhood.

In the “Leadership” category, Epsilon Mu will have at least 90% of its chapter members involved in other student activities outside Sigma Nu, with 20% of those members assuming leadership roles in those organizations. In the “Excellence” category, Epsilon Mu will obtain a 3.5 GPA average for the next two years (we succeeded at winning the Third Highest GPA average at Grand Chapter with a 3.46). In the “Growth” category, Brother Snyder and I made a pledge to grow Epsilon Mu by 10% this year at Grand Chapter. Therefore, we not only hope to expand by 10%, but also to exceed the all men’s chapter size on Butler’s campus.

Lastly, in the “Brotherhood” category, Epsilon Mu will continue to militate against hazing and those who perpetuate, enable, or tolerate hazing; and, Epsilon Mu will continue to educate members regarding the Sigma Nu brand and image, with the main focus on reflecting our actions with those of the Legion of Honor.

Since this is my last newsletter article as Commander at Epsilon Mu, I wish to thank all everyone who helped and guided me this past year, including my family back in Connecticut. I am very humbled to have been able to serve this amazing chapter. I look forward to the years to come as a brother in Sigma Nu and believe Epsilon Mu will continue to “Excel with Honor.”

Fraternally,

Matthew Kasper EM 1324

Semper Ad Altum! This phrase meaning Ever Higher was the message given by Regent Joe Gilman at this summer’s Grand Chapter festivities in Boston, July 3rd-7th. The Epsilon Mu chapter has undoubtedly been reaching ever higher for the past two years. With 13 total awards, our chapter received more than any other in the entire general fraternity of 182 total chapters. Among others we came home with: Rock Chapter (Given to top 5 Chapters), Man of the Year (Steve Pelych), Talent of the Year (Dane Suarez), 2 Alpha Affiliates (Steve Pelych and Chad Lesczynski), 3rd highest GPA, and several LEAD awards. To put the icing on the cake, Commander Kasper was elected as a collegiate grand councilman, one of four Sigma Nu collegiate brothers nationally. This puts him on the high council of the general fraternity. Epsilon Mu’s resounding success can be attributed to all of the dedication and hard work of our brothers and alumni over the past two years.

As for brotherhood, I personally had a blast. Epsilon Mu was lucky enough to have five brothers in attendance. Commander Kasper and myself were voting delegates on the floor, Steve Pelych represented as a High Council member, while Dane Suarez and Chad L… were also in attendance. Some of the highlights of the trip included the 4th of July Boston Fireworks, a tour of Fenway Park, interacting with Bostonians in general, and meeting brothers from numerous other chapters. We talked with brothers from universities as far as Irvine, California to Manhattan, New York. Commander Kasper and I learned a lot about recruitment, philanthropy, and social events from other chapters. We also came away with a true appreciation for how great our brotherhood is right here at Epsilon Mu. Overall the 64th Grand Chapter was an astonishing one for the Epsilon Mu chapter, and we plan to reach “Ever Higher” as we transition towards the 65th Grand Chapter in 2012!

- Alex Snyder

On Saturday, September 25 at 11:00 AM, Sigma Nu will be hosting its annual Dodgeball tournament on Schwitzer Lawn. If you are interested in fielding a team for the tournament, email Sam Brandt at sbrandt@butler.edu. Sign up sheets will also be available September 20-24 at Starbucks in Atherton Union. T-Shirts will be sold for $5, and there will also be free food on Saturday at the event. Come out and support your friends, classmates, fraternity brothers, and sorority sisters as the action will be intense and the games will be fierce!