95-96

This was one of Beta Sigma's stronger years. With the 1995 graduation class leaving, they found themselves very low in numbers. That was overcome after an extremely successful fall Rush resulting in over twenty pledges. A focus on Buggy resulted in a victory as was predicted in the Spring Kilt. PiKA continued to dominate IM sports, campus and community involvement, and also academics, with Beta Sigma leaping into third place in the overall fraternity Q.P.A. ranking this past semester. PiKA spirit was reborn with some of the most enthusiastic brothers and pledges there have ever been. The brothers had hoped to get new furniture for the TV room and to get the fire truck up and running once again.

There were a lot of ups and downs in the financial department in this year. Starting in the fall, there were some financial difficulties, mainly due to the decrease in membership as a result of graduating seniors. Nearly one-forth of the house was without occupants. They did not receive any help from the housing office, as expected. Rent for the house had increased again, and new rule prohibited us from filling the empty spots by moving in all of the incoming pledges. Only one pledge was permitted to cancel his housing contract and sign over his housing dues. The chapter was left in debt in excess of $10,000.

Coping with the situation required the tightening of budgets and the holding of accounts receivable. The chapter was able to make it through the fall semester without any major changes in the everyday activities. A new housing contract required full payment, or a positive balance with the housing office in the spring semester, or the chapter would not be able to hold any social functions. Fortunately they were able to settle the housing bill by digging through past savings and collecting over 98% of chapter dues. The situation was successfully stabilized and there remained only some question as to the availability of funds for expenses moving forward. An appeal was also made to the alumni. The situation was handled very well by the Th.C., Jimmy Hsu.

North Atlantic Regional Conference

The North Atlantic Regional Conference this year was an inspiring experience. The conference was held on the weekend of February, 9th - 11th in Hartford, Connecticut. The Iota Chi Chapter at the University of Connecticut hosted the annual event. Our chapter was well represented with 11 members attending, 5 of which were pledges. Also, 3 out of our 4 high officers were present.

This year Dave Bauer, an Electrical and Computer Engineering major of our chapter, won the Most Outstanding Senior award for the Region. Dave will be returning to Carnegie Mellon next year to participate in the Fifth Year Scholars Program. The North Atlantic Region remains the largest region in the country. The conference highlighted the responsibilities that brothers have regarding risk management, rush, and chapter leadership. The seminars provided much useful information on how to make the house run more smoothly. The representatives from Beta Sigma also managed to enjoy themselves after the long day of enrichment.

Sweepstakes