Chapter 2003-2004 Year In Review
[This text was part of the 2004 Lion Trophy Application]

I. Chapter Improvement This year the Delta Chi Chapter continued to renovate the 111-year-old castle that we are proud to call home. The chapter was once again named a Cornell University Outstanding Chapter for 2004 for the fourth straight year. This has become routine for the house since receiving the award for Most Improved Chapter in 2000. The current actives have shown a continued sense of dedication to the house in order to return it to the conditions that were once enjoyed by previous Dekes and to improve the aesthetics and livability of the DKE castle. Alone the actives would never be able to accomplishment such a feat. However, with the generous support of an active and passionate Alumni board, the Delta Chi Chapter has been able to successfully improve the house. By providing excellent advice, adequate funding, and even their craftsmanship, the alumni have helped the actives to improve the lodge to a degree unprecedented in recent years. The chapter lodge overall has seen vast improvements over the past year and hopes to continue this appreciation and respect for the lodge's condition that reflects its local, national, and New York State landmark status. 2002-2003 Chapter Lodge Improvements Our chapter wasted no time this school year and in the summer of 2003 we began a major renovation of the dining room area in our lodge. This substantial effort involved completely restoring the wood paneling, dating to the 1900s, that lines the entire room. The quarter-sawn oak paneling was in desperate need of restoration—many of the panels were in disrepair, split down the middle and otherwise in poor condition. In addition, much of the hand-turned molding had been damaged in the 80 years of its existence. The Delta Chi Chapter did some investigation into the origins of the wood paneling and discovered, through the house archives, that the money used to fund the project over a hundred years ago came from Clifton Beckwith Brown who left the money to the house in his will. Brown died at the Battle of San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War, and his name is now memorialized on a bronze plaque in our chapter library as being the first Cornellian to die for his country. Therefore, refurnishing the woodwork in the dining room had even more sentiment added to it. As can be imagined, this was not an insubstantial project. All the wood had to be stripped, first with chemicals, then by sanders, all done by hand. Stripping the intricate dining room fireplace was an arduous task involving only the most delicate of sandpaper and woodworking tools. Once this was done, all the panels had to be refurbished, biscuit joined and glue. Each panel, of which there were more than twenty, took four to six hours of work apiece. In order to reproduce the complex molding, we had to first find a place capable of turning out such pieces, some twenty miles away. Then we had to fund the cost of custom tooling in order for the molding to be cut. The panels could then be mounted back on the walls and the molding put back in place. At this point, in order to insure the fidelity of the new stain to its original intended color, our gracious alumnus, Thomas Borthwick '51, returned to the Delta Chi Chapter house from North Carolina to help us with this stage of the process. All in all, this project occupied a full summer's time and several hundred volunteer man-hours of work to restore the dining room to its original glory. If this project were undertaken by an outside firm, the cost is estimated to have been in excess of fifty thousand dollars. This fall, Thomas Borthwick '51 continued to contribute furniture to the house including four sturdy new dining room tables and some 50 chairs designed to match the newly refinished dining room. In addition, Brother Borthwick fabricated a new main entrance door specially built for us and recently installed. This new door is made of high quality wood and features a prominent stain glass with the letters "DKE" emblazoned across it. Below the stained glass is a bronze chapter crest refurnished from the previous door. The alumni were not the only ones active in maintaining and improving the house as the active brothers' work continued into the fall and spring. Several trees and shrubs were planted and dead and damaged trees were removed from the herbaceous wall that serves to block our view of a university parking lot. In addition, the pool room and bar area were repainted. This spring, we continued renovating the house's woodwork by fixing the paneling in a small parlor on our first floor which had been dedicated to Caesar A. Graselli, a World War II hero and alumnus who donated much in time and love to this chapter. Noting an empty nook that had once served as a dark room several decades ago, several of the more mechanically inclined brothers undertook the rewiring of the area, putting in stools, tables, and benches to turn the area into a functional tool room, where these brothers' tools and projects now reside. In addition, power tools ranging from drills to a table saw were acquired to improve our ability to continue to renovate our esteemed castle. Our kitchen area and basement were substantially renovated at a cost of thirty thousand dollars as well. This involved putting up new drywall against the bare stone hallways, improving the wiring and lighting of the area, and hiding many of the unsightly pipes that run through those hallways. In order to stay up to date with the computer networking technologies, this spring we replaced the old hardware router with a dedicated Linux box. This allows us to track internet usage throughout the house, and makes debugging much simpler. Remote access is also now available to brothers living outside the house, allowing them access to the computers on the house network and fraternity files. Wireless access points "hotspots" were also added throughout the house. Lastly a new house printer was installed replacing the old, finicky one. Additionally, a new policy was enacted whereas actives wishing to make improvements to theirs rooms would receive partial reimbursement from the Alumni Association. The policy has already been enacted with the replacement of drop ceiling in one of the second floor rooms. Future Projects With so much work done over the past five years, it seems to be getting harder to find new renovation projects for the house. However, the actives and alumni are working together to come up with new projects for the next year as part of a one-five-ten year house renovation and consecration project, headed by Lin Davidson '71. Over the summer the first floor bathroom will be completely renovated. This facility is used by house guests, particularly during social events, and the renovation will result in durable, easy to maintain surfaces. The porch roof has acquired a few leaks that will need to be repaired before next winter, and the exterior railings have begun to rot and will be replaced. This summer will also see exploratory work on the supporting structure of the foyer floor. Currently the plan is to reassure the structure and then install a marble floor with an inlay of the DKE pin. This will surely be an impressive sight for any visitors to our beloved chapter house. The landscaping initiative will be continued over the summer. More trees will be cut back, shrubbery will be planted to mask the kitchen exhaust vent, and grass will be planted where the snow removal from this year's harsh winter took its toll. Other plans for the future include installing a security system with hidden cameras to catch any would-be vandals, replacing the third floor bedroom doors, looking into upgrading the kitchen appliances, replacing the pantry linoleum flooring, and restoring the wood paneling in the staircase leading to the basement. The house is privileged to have many handy brothers and alumni and more importantly an alumni cadre who are fully committed to improving the Delta Chi lodge. These men, with the help of outside contractors for the larger projects, and the new "tool room" are determined to make the house a better place to live for their stay at Cornell, and also for years to come. Growth of the Brotherhood This year, we again initiated both a fall and a spring pledge class. Although the Cornell IFC only sponsors a formal spring rush, the actives conducted their own fall rush campaign, consistent with University rules Our efforts proved successful with the admission of two very active brothers. Spring rush also proved very successful with a diverse pledge class of nine. These nine new brothers are already showing their love for the brotherhood and taking on active rolls. In keeping with the tradition of noting what other DKE chapters had come to visit the Delta Chi house over the past year, dating back to the Deke Quarterlies from around 1900, and reinstated last year, we were honored to host the DKE chapters from the following universities: Toronto, Case Western Reserve, Vanderbilt, Hamilton, and NYU. As always, our door is open to other chapters and we hope that they will take the time to visit us Delta Chi chapter. II. Alumni Relations The 2003-2004 academic year saw an ever increasing commitment by the actives and alumni to bring together the resources of both groups in an effort to further strengthen the presence of the Delta Chi Chapter both on the Cornell campus and within the community. The actives and alumni have worked together during this academic year to implement a host of new projects and initiatives. Reunion Even before the fall semester began the actives worked with the alumni to set up what turned out to be one of the most successful reunions in recent history. Our alumni chair, working with Alumni board chairman and Henderson Award Winner, Donald Weadon '67, planned an impressive celebration for this event. Also assisting were a group of actives who spent the summer at the lodge enjoying the beautiful Ithaca weather. Together they insured that the house was in prime condition for the numerous alumni who returned to visit their Alma Mater. The day was capped off in grand style with a reception featuring several cases of Glenora wine from the winery of Brother Gene Pierce '67, New York States premium winemaker. In attendance was a sizable group of the active brotherhood, as well as a large group of alumni both young and old. Dining Room Renovation Following Reunion the active brotherhood remaining at the lodge began a full scale renovation of the historic woodwork in the dining room. While this is primarily an area of Chapter Improvement it is important to note the alumni support without which this project would have not occurred. The alumni provided significant monetary support to aid the actives in the restoration; however the involvement of the Alumni went far beyond just money. Local Alumnus Lin Davidson '71 spent numerous hours during the summer working side by side with the actives stripping the old finish off the woodwork in preparation for refinishing. Once the stripping was complete, Alumni Chairman Don Weadon '67 arranged for Tom Borthwick '51, a renowned finish expert and cabinetmaker, to fly to Ithaca to aid in the refinishing. Brother Borthwick provided immeasurable assistance in restoring the dining room finish to its former glory, all the while providing the actives with tales of the brotherhood and his uncensored activities during his time at Cornell. Homecoming The fall semester kicked off with the actives hosting a large group of visiting alumni to our annual homecoming weekend celebration. Once again the actives outdid themselves in getting the house into top condition for visiting alumni and University and Community constituents. In fact, this was the first chance that the actives had to showcase their work in renovating the dining room. The festivities began with a pre-game barbeque and tailgate party after which the alumni and actives went to cheer on the Big Red, unfortunately the game ended in a loss; however it was far from the end of the day for the Dekes. After the game, all gathered at the lodge for a reception and awards ceremony recognizing the achievements of both actives and alumni. Additionally, the executive board met to reassess the accomplishments of the past year and to set down goals for the future. The atmosphere was very positive and optimistic with genuine openness and cooperation between all present. Annual Strategic Retreat In early November we held our sixth annual alumni sponsored retreat at the Fontainebleau Inn located on scenic Cayuga Lake. The most notable addition to this year's retreat came in the form of our facilitator. Alumni Chair Weadon arranged for renowned corporate facilitator and honorary brother David Wigglesworth, Ph.D. to present his personal development program to the actives, in addition to facilitating the normal retreat discussions. This year the discussion focused extensively on Rush and improved recruitment strategies, additionally the brotherhood worked together to improve our chapter bylaws as they related to Rush issues. Other topics discussed at the retreat included risk management and house governance and management. The retreat proved to be very successful, with the entire brotherhood impressed by Dr. Wigglesworth's presentation and grateful for his continued dedication to our brotherhood. Chapter Advisor The Delta Chi Chapter of DKE continued as the leader in the campus wide initiative to have a live in chapter advisor to aid in Alumni-Active communication. Following the successful term of our previous chapter advisor, Terron Hill '03, Brendan O'Gorman '03, MS '05, served as our chapter advisor this year. He served as an interface between the actives and the alumni, as well as providing another perspective during house meetings and other activities. The success of the program has become increasingly evident, as alumni/active relations are at an all time high and this program has helped to stem any problems before they have the opportunity to grow. The success of the program is based largely on the constant communication between the Chapter Advisor and the Alumni Chairman, who typically discuss the status of the house at least twice a week. The program will continue in the following year with brother O'Gorman serving a second term as he completes his MS in the Cornell University Graduate School. Weekly Telephone Conferences During the past academic year we continued weekly teleconferences between the executive committee of the DC Chapter, our Chapter Advisor, and our Alumni President, Donald Weadon '67. Additionally, at times we had up to five additional members of the alumni board who joined the conference calls. Through these weekly meetings we were able to keep close relations with one another despite our great spatial separation. It also provided us with a steady guiding hand in issues where needed, and positioned our chapter to meet challenges head on as soon as they presented themselves. Alumni Assistance with House Improvements The Undergraduate Executive Committee, in cooperation with our Alumni Association, has been working with our architect to develop a long-term maintenance and facility upgrade plan. Two years ago this plan was enhanced and we are currently in the process of raising capital to fund the venture. Savings for this project is accomplished through several means. Our University financial consultant John VanSoest deposits $20,000 per year from our rent into a facilities reserve account for capital projects and improvements. In addition, our Alumni are able to direct donations to the university into a DKE Group Housing fund that supplements the facilities reserve account for large projects. During the current academic year we once again reexamined this plan in a meeting between Cornell's facilities manager, Martin Kelly, our executive board, and Alumni Board members, George Nesterczuk '66, Lin Davidson '71, and Bill Houck '69. In this meeting we found that not only were we on track with most of the projects set out in the original plan, we were actually significantly ahead of schedule in some areas due our outstanding alumni support. We are lauded by the University and the City of Ithaca as the exemplar in house maintenance and safety. Recognizing Alumni It is our tradition to provide recognition and awards to those alumni who go above and beyond the call of duty in their selfless dedication to our beloved brotherhood. That being said it was only fitting this year to recognize Thomas Borthwick '51 for his immeasurable contributions to our chapter. When walking through the lodge it is impossible to go more than a few feet without coming into contact with one of Brother Borthwick's contributions. While in the past the chapter has recognized Brother Borthwick's dedication, we felt that his efforts were deserving of further recognition. Therefore, this year the active brotherhood nominated Brother Borthwick for the Outstanding Alumni award presented annually at Cornell's Greek awards ceremony. Considering Brother Borthwick's contributions it is safe to say that we were not surprised when he won the award earlier this spring. Many of our alumni are not only making sure that the chapter is useful for the actives, but allowing this wonderful monument to aid them in their professional lives. In the past year, wedding receptions, business meetings, and reunion gatherings have taken place in the parlor of the castle. This is beneficial to the house in a number of ways. As these alumni are displaying our chapter to others who are not members, a positive view of fraternities is created and others see the great benefits that the fraternity system provides. The importance of this is great, as the media often gives others negative impressions. Yet, the brothers are working hard to change this image and to set standards of excellence. III. Scholarship Among the fraternities at Cornell University, and among the Cornell community, the Delta Chi Chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon has continually performed well academically. The individual achievements of the brothers are outstanding, in part because of the following: the continuation of the in-house tutoring program, mandatory pledge study hours, strengthening of the scholarship program, and the continued upkeep of a computerized database of learning materials. The utilization of these programs allowed the brothers to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity for the past academic year. In-House Tutoring Program Initiated some years ago, our scholarship program has continued its success. Upon founding Cornell University, Ezra Cornell stated, "I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.'' Within the Delta Chi Chapter, Ezra's vision has come to fruition, and with such a wide range of majors in the house: from Engineering, to Animal Science, to Human Ecology, to Architecture, any brother can find instruction in a wide range of subjects for any of the University's seven schools and colleges. The Scholarship Chair initially began the program and made sure that any brother requiring tutoring could get it. Today, the program continues its success, and works even smoother with individual brothers seeking and offering support. Also important, is the fact that this program expands beyond the active Delta Chi Chapter. It is not only brothers living in the house who serve as tutees or tutors. Past brothers who have graduated from Cornell, as well as other contacts brothers have made with professors or teaching assistants have helped to create this successful Delta Chi Chapter In-House Tutoring program at Cornell. Although this program requires a few hours of work each week, those individuals who have utilized this tutoring program have become much better students and subsequently much better brothers. Pledge Study Hours With the understanding that all brothers have experienced the rigors of pledging and the necessary juggle between fraternity requirements and academic studies, insisting the pledges spend a great deal of time on their academic schoolwork is extremely important. Consequently, this year, as in the past, the Delta Chi Chapter initiated mandatory study hour every night of the week for incoming pledges. The purpose of pledge study hours is simply to advance the academic standing of incoming pledges. In addition, brothers were involved voluntarily in these study hours to not only increase the bond between the pledges and brothers, but also to assist the pledges in any of their studies. In fact, assistance is often reciprocated, as both pledges and brothers help to complete their schoolwork. By requiring that every pledge stay at least two hours every evening after dinner in the dining room to have a quiet place to concentrate on their work, numerous goals were met; namely, the maintenance of the pledges' academic standing, but also strengthening of the brotherhood bonds. Lastly, at not the least important, this time was also utilized as additional time for the In-House tutoring project. DKE Endowment Through the generous support of the Delta Chi Alumni Association, an endowment targeted at one million dollars was commenced by Alumni Chair Don Weadon '67 in 1999, has been used to support those brothers that excel in their work for the Delta Chi Chapter. Growing annually through generous alumni donations, this endowment is mamed after Robert Trent Jones '31, a world-renowned golf course designer, this alumni endowment has been used for both merit-based and need-based scholarships, all pursuant to these men having made a "significant contribution to DKE". This endowment awarded over $38,000 in scholarship money over this past academic year. DKE has the most extensive scholarship program of any fraternity on the Cornell campus. This monetary support from the alumni serves as a great addition to the chapter, and also as an extra incentive to individual brothers to strive for academic excellence and commitment to the values of DKE. Individual Accomplishments As with past years, the Delta Chi Chapter, as a whole, has done extremely well academically. However, this could not be done without the collective efforts of individual brothers. The brothers of the house have brought honor and pride to DKE through their academic and career accomplishments. For example, Brendan O'Gorman '03 will be continuing his sixth year at Cornell next fall, finishing his Master's degree in Agricultural Economics, while concurrently serving his second year as the Delta Chi Chapter's Alumni Representative. Delta Chi also has stellar seniors who are paving the way for other members of the DC house, by pursuing many different academic opportunities. Kento Yasuhara '04 has been working with Dr. David Dunning in the Social Psychology Lab doing research on Eyewitness Testimony. Leo Krusius '05 will be spending the summer in New York City for a real estate investing internship with Prudential. Dave Marcus '05 has been working on an independent project in the College of Engineering creating self-replicating robots. Samuel Lindsey '04 has been working in the Computational Physiology Lab doing Behavioral Genetics Experiments. Rich Crabb '04 was accepted to several law schools and will be attending law school at the University of Saint Thomas in Minnesota after receiving a $16,000 per year scholarship. Brad Webster '04 has been conducting an independent research project regarding germinability of an invasive weed species in upstate New York. He will be continuing this research over the summer. Additionally, Brother Webster has won the Morley Research Award worth $2,000 and the Weed Science Society of America Undergraduate Research Award worth $1,000. The brothers of the Delta Chi Chapter have utilized opportunities to improve the scholarship of the house, in particular, and of the Cornell University community, in general. IV. Community Service In 2003-2004, the Delta Chi chapter set out to try to help new students as they became oriented to Cornell University, as well as help the near by Ithaca community be it through the Inter-Fraternity Council's efforts, or through the efforts of individual members. Multiple efforts have been made to support needy persons outside of the Ithaca area. The house has sponsored several Ecuadorian children, giving money for food, medical expenses and education. In addition, a charity food drive was put together to support American Troops in the Middle East. Our Philanthropy Chair, Richard Crabb '04, is continuously looking for ways to contribute to a worthy cause. Collegetown Cleanup The Inter-Fraternity Council / Pan-Hellenic Association sponsored an event known as Collegetown Cleanup in which Greeks volunteered to clean areas surrounding the Cornell campus. Brothers devoted numerous hours of their time to this effort. Brothers were assigned to clean sections of Collegetown to improve the relations between the Cornell residents and the Ithaca residents, as our brothers showed their love for Ithaca by helping to keep the area clean. New Student Orientation Our active brothers, as in years past, were proud to lend a helping hand to confused freshman starting in a new place, especially at a university as large as Cornell. Our brothers were selected as Orientation Leaders, whose primary role is to help the new students get acclimated to Cornell and the work and opportunities that it brings. Orientation leaders are responsible for approximately 10 new freshman and they hold several meetings and gathering to try to help the new students become comfortable Cornellians. Our brothers also volunteered to support the different activities going on during orientation week. Additionally, our brothers helped help staff the opening of Cornell's new Freshman Center, the Carol Tatkon Center, a place where freshman can turn to and go to for help as they start a new life at Cornell. Horizon's Pre-School Brothers this year decided to do their part for the community by helping out a local pre-school which brother Kento Yasuhara '04 went to as part of his field practicum class in psychology. He and approximately 15 other brothers went to do repairs vital to the pre-school's maintenance. The Delta-Chi brothers first made walls around the edges of dangerous trees, which were outside in the playground where the children spend most of the sunny days. The brothers also helped dig a trench to drive the water out of the sandbox and playground during the rainy seasons in Ithaca. They were also helpful in cleaning out the sewage system in the back of the preschool so that the rain could run through the trench and into the sewage system without clogging. Moreover, the brothers re-finished a picnic table, which is used by the children to eat lunch on sunny days. Brothers also helped paint the inside of the house as well as put in new features to try to keep the pre-school as safe as possible for the children that attend. Other House Contributions Brothers also contributed their time, money, clothing, and food to many local fundraising activities sponsored by various organizations. A total of $1,325 was raised this year by the Dekes. This money, as well as clothes and food supported American Breast Cancer research, the Children International hunger drive, the Salvation Army, and the Cornell Commitment's Thanksgiving Food Drive. Individual Contributions Dekes participate in activities and projects that have changed the perceptions of many people in the Ithaca community about the positive roles that fraternities can play in the larger community. Some of the activities that our brothers are involved in. Samuel Lindsey '04, Michael Happes '04 and William Lambert '05 are volunteer firefighters and EMTs in the Ithaca area. Michael Burrows '04 with his acappella group volunteers several performances a year for such charities as the Ithaca Aids Walk. Richard Crabb '04, Nikhil Rao '05, and Alex Jackson '05 are members of service organizations that volunteer at Loaves and Fish, a community soup kitchen, as well as other benevolent associations. Kento Yasuhara '04 along with other tour guides participated in the Tour Guide Run For Cancer. He and others got pledges from different locations, including his brothers, and ran to make money for the "Make-a-Wish" Foundation. Jeffrey Purcell '05 is an active member of the Cornell Tradition, a program that combines academic work with community service. Purcell commits himself to 80 hours a semester of volunteer work throughout the community. Steve Chestnut '04 volunteers many of his nights to a local Boy Scouts of America troop as a troop leader. In all, our brothers make it a key element of their pledge to DKE values to be proactive and active contributors to the community.