The Kappa Nus - Kappa Nu Chapter

The Kappa Nus
THE KAPPA NU CHAPTER OF PHI GAMMA DELTA
WINTER 2012–’13
ITHACA, NEW YORK
Kappa Nu at Cornell: The Leadership Fraternity
Dear Brothers, Parents, Undergraduates,
and Friends:
Things at the Oaks have been happening at a frenetic pace this past fall. Spirit and
enthusiasm are high with both the undergraduates and alumni.
The pre-Oaks 21 initiative, funded by a
$330,000 commitment of available CAPGD
resources, is virtually complete. Physically,
that includes upgrading the public spaces
on the first floor, as well as the second-floor
bathroom. All that remains is the arrival of
some furnishings.
Perhaps the most significant piece
of this work is the transformation of the
former “Goops’ room” on the first floor
into the stunning E. B. White Leadership
Room. The E. B. White Room features
comfortable furniture and tasteful décor,
and will soon have a brass dedication
plaque highlighting prior residents of
the Goops’ Room and the commitment
toward making Phi Gamma Delta the
“Leadership Fraternity” at Cornell.
The naming of this space for E. B.
White celebrates one of Kappa Nu’s most
famous FIJIs. White, the renowned essayist
for The New Yorker and Harper’s Magazine—and author of two children’s books,
Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little—was a
to obtain the services of KN FIJI Chris
Blunda ’10, who will be on campus
doing graduate research. Chris will be
compensated by the alumni—and supervised by the Program Committee—and
will work with Purple Legionnaire Adam
Gutman ’09 to provide organizational
assistance to the undergraduate officers.
Chris’s job description is posted on our
website, www.fiji-cornell.org.
An important operational improvement
is a permanent connection for a universal
house internet service via the Cornell fiber
optic backbone. Thanks to concerted undergraduate and alumni efforts, we have begun
the process.
Also, a memorable short video entitled
On the Stairs! has been completed through
the work of John Boochever’s (’81) video
committee, which provides a historical context for the Oaks 21 initiative.
We still have much to do. We know
you want to see continued success at
Kappa Nu. You will soon be hearing about
our specific plans to fund Oaks 21. However, until we do, you can contribute by paying your dues and making a generous gift to
the Cornell Association of Phi Gamma Delta.
Make a gift using the enclosed gift form, or
use the website to make a secure online
donation with a credit card.
Please feel free to contact me by email
at rhlurcott@hotmail.com or by phone at
(412) 719-5694 with any questions, suggestions, or concerns. And don’t forget
to give your gift today, particularly if you
haven’t recently.
Thank you for your unwavering support
of Kappa Nu.
Sincerely,
Bob Lurcott ’61
Alumni President
www.fiji-cornell.org
Kappa Nus gather with Mike Duesing ’62 after a
recent thankathon. The brothers reached out to
FIJI alumni to express gratitude for the alumni’s
continued support.
member of the Phi Gam class of ’21 and
chapter president during his senior year.
As an alumnus, he contributed to Cornell by editing the revision to the freshman English standby, Strunk’s Elements
of Style.
This designation is in keeping with
the Leadership and Legacy Initiative, the
main element of the program side of
Oaks 21. The idea is to recognize the
many lifelong leadership contributions
of FIJI alumni and share those experiences with the undergraduates, thereby
enhancing the leadership and personal
development opportunities of their Cornell experience and strengthening the
connection between the undergraduates
and alumni.
There has been a great deal of progress on the program side of Oaks 21. Ken
Blanchard ’61 conducted a second special
leadership session (and dinner) for the
undergraduates this past October. The
comprehensive undergraduate leadership
education program (designed by Ken with
support from Mike Parkinson ’76 and his
undergraduate program committee) was
recently discussed at a meeting of the
Cornell trustees. Susan Murphy, vice president of student and academic services,
praised Kappa Nu FIJI as an independent
and outstanding response to President
Skorton’s challenge to the Greek system
to “end hazing as we know it.” The undergraduates are ahead of the curve in preparing for this change.
Another accomplishment of Oaks
21 is the naming of a graduate leader
who will work on an ongoing basis with
the undergraduates, advising them on
educational, career, and personal development issues, as well as managing the
day-to-day responsibilities of the Leadership and Legacy Initiative. Through the
efforts of Jim Billings ’63 and several
others—along with the endorsement of
the undergraduates—we have been able
PAGE TWO
THE KAPPA NUS
SPRING 2012
KAPPA NU CABINET
President
Michael Crawford ’14
mtc67@cornell.edu
Treasurer
Tyler Apeseche ’14
tca29@cornell.edu
Recording Secretary
Andrew Bauer ’14
acb296@cornell.edu
Corresponding Secretary
Ryan Bender ’14
rjb295@cornell.edu
Historian
Ryan Carney ’14
rpc76@cornell.edu
Rush Chairs
Chris Fallon ’14
crf54@cornell.edu
James Gladstone ’13
jmg367@cornell.edu
Mike Gladstone ’13
mjg273@cornell.edu
For a full list of officers, please visit the
website at www.fiji-cornell.org.
FIJI Grows Into Great Leadership Role
Living at the Oaks this past summer
before my term as chapter president began
gave me the opportunity to reflect on the leadership and legacy goals that the undergraduates drafted last year with the help of a few
alumni. My hope was that we could hit the
ground running early this semester and take
the next step toward becoming the “Leadership Fraternity” at Cornell. I am very proud to
say that we have accepted that challenge as
a brotherhood and have been continuously
striving to uphold our new identity.
We had the great pleasure of hosting
Brother Ken Blanchard ’61 at the Oaks early
in the fall semester for a discussion about
leadership development. Not only did Ken
share his expertise on the stages of leadership
growth, but he also inspired many of us to get
involved in new things here on campus. With
the negative light cast on the Greek system
over the past couple years, there has never
been a more important time to show the
university that FIJI is committed to bettering
our community. As the chapter president, it
has been very exciting for me to watch the
brothers branch out this past semester, with
the goal of representing the Oaks in as many
areas as possible.
I believe that we have taken a major
step towards fully developing the leadership
and legacy values that we are aspiring to, but
I also know that the initial alumni organizational support for Oaks 21 has encouraged us
Brothers assisted with landscaping this past summer.
immensely. The power of pride in and for the
house has definitely had a major impact on
everyone’s desire to embrace the leadership
initiative. We very much appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this movement to better
both FIJI and, through us, many others that we
may encounter in the world.
If you have any questions or suggestions about our plans to continue our journey as the “Leadership and Legacy Fraternity,” please do not hesitate to contact me by
email at mtc67@cornell.edu. I look forward
to continuing the success that we have had
so far this year, and growing into great leaders in the process.
Proud to be,
Michael Crawford ’14
Fall 2012 President
ALUMNI OFFICERS
ROBERT H. LURCOTT ’61
Alumni President
J. MICHAEL DUESING ’62
Alumni Vice President
www.fiji-cornell.org
ALFRED F. VAN RANST ’74
Alumni Treasurer
DAVID M. DALPE ’99
Alumni Secretary
Kappa Nu
Foundation Officers
MARC R. WALLACE ’92
Chairman
MICHAEL C. MALARKEY ’92
Secretary/Treasurer
JAMES R. BILLINGS ’63
Director
Brothers gather for a group photo during Parents’ Weekend this past fall. From left to right: Johnny Lee ’15,
Yining Lu ’14, Connor McGinnis ’15, Michael Moon ’15, Nathaniel Morihara ’15, Dellen Wallace ’15, Lucas
Titolo ’15, Graham Harwood ’15, Connor Berlin ’15, Joe Na ’15, Iasonas Papapolyzos ’15, Alex Duke ’14,
Dean Rottau ’15, Elliott Grom ’14, Mario Titolo ’15, Andrew Carr ’15 (kneeling), Andrew Bauer ’14 (floor).
PAGE THREE
WINTER 2012–’13
Brotherhood Efforts Contribute to Success of Fall Semester Events
Kappa Nus enjoyed a visit to Penguin Bay Winery
with their parents this past fall.
Homecoming Weekend 2012 started off
with a bright and early wake-up mixer with
the ladies of the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority.
After mimosas and bagels, we led an exodus
to the Barton Hall parking lot for the Greek
community tailgate. Our tailgate, opportunely
placed in the first two parking spots in the lot,
drew quite a crowd with the variety of grilled
food available. Andrew Bauer ’14 and Alberto
Quintero ’13 expertly manned the grill, and
we can be certain that the many nights these
brothers spent cooking in the FIJI kitchen are
what made them the expert grill men they are.
Between the waves of friends and alumni who
appeared throughout the course of the tailgate,
we quickly ate through multiple boxes of burgers and dogs. Adding to our popularity at this
tailgate was the fact that, between our pop-up
tent and our U-Haul van, we had the driest
tailgate available on an unfortunately rainy day.
But Cornell’s 45–6 victory over Yale definitely
made up for the poor weather and finished the
day off properly.
continue the project. After the cocktail hour,
Parents’ Weekend took place the week- we were treated to a fine dinner, complete
end after Homecoming, with the majority with Ray Stevens hand-carving the smoked
of events occurring on Saturday. We could ham. During our pre-dinner welcome speech,
not have asked for a better fall day for wine we were able to thank Mrs. Morihara with a
tasting—the weather was perfect for our after- gift for her generous donation of time and
noon at Penguin Bay Winery on Seneca Lake. effort. After dinner, drinks and conversation
The cocktail hour started at 6:00 p.m., and continued to flow freely, and the parents left
the parents enjoyed the abundance of hors happy at the end of the night.
d’oeuvres as their sons gave them tours of
The success of these events made me
the house. The Oaks received many compli- very grateful for the collaborative efforts of the
ments as parents of both older and newly brothers, without which these events would
initiated brothers noted the renovations, not have been possible. I look to the future
commenting specifically on the new carpets, with great anticipation for the many memoresurfacing of the hardwood, and beautiful rable events still to come, and I am grateful for
E. B. White Leadership Room (which we had, my chance to be part of them.
in a last-minute stroke of genius by Michael
Moon ’15, outfitted with the couches and
Proud to be,
tables obtained for Reunion Weekend). In
Ryan Bender ’14
the newly renovated room, we displayed a
Corresponding Secretary
slide show of the hard work
put into the landscaping project, which has been headed
up by our house manager,
Nathaniel Morihara ’15, and
his mother, who has made
the trip from Rochester nearly
every weekend since the
beginning of the semester
to help with the project. The
parents were very impressed
with the progress made on
our front yard, and over $700
in donations were raised to Parents and FIJIs enjoy a dinner together during Parents’ Weekend.
A Dedication to Ray Stevens, Our Longtime FIJI Chef
a doubt, it’s unbelievable to think of a man
who would have the strength and willpower to
dedicate over 20 years to a group of fraternity
men. There certainly aren’t many men who
could do it.
Fortunately for me, I was able to get to
know Ray well during my time here. And it’s
been a pleasure, since his experiences are so
different from anything I will ever know: He
has lived most of his life in Upstate New York,
served in Vietnam, and, in the past few years,
become increasingly more religious. Ray is certainly a quiet man who usually keeps to himself, but I will always remember him as a man
who never left a conversation without making
a witty remark. It’s through his humor that I got
to see most of his personality, and I know I’ll
miss that the most.
I hope that you will take the time to
reflect on Ray Stevens’s service to our fraternity and thank him for his contributions.
Ray’s retirement was unexpected, but we can
only hope that he will receive the support
he deserves in order to enjoy a peaceful and
pleasant retirement.
Proud to be,
James Gladstone ’13
www.fiji-cornell.org
It is with great sadness that our chapter
finally said farewell to Ray Stevens on November 1, 2012, after his incredible 21 years of
service as our chef. While we knew this day
was imminent, it was certainly an unfortunate
surprise in the middle of our semester. Ray’s
presence was among the few consistencies
that brothers could depend on when they
returned five, 10, or even 15 years after graduating. Indeed, I imagine that there was certainly
something special about coming back and having at least one familiar face among the group
of unfamiliar undergraduates. It’s not difficult to
remember the most common conversation I’ve
had with returning alumni when greeting them
at the Oaks: “Is Ray still here?” “Yes.” “You’re
kidding me!”
As busy students, we often take for
granted that we have a chef to cook our meals
for us Sunday through Thursday, and we have
to do no more than walk down our wooden
stairs to the dining room to eat. So, without
Seth Braunstein ’13 bids Ray Stevens farewell.
PAGE FOUR
THE KAPPA NUS
Undergraduates Contribute to Oaks 21 Improvements
The house has come a long way in
the 10 months that I have been part of the
brotherhood. Since my pledging semester,
I have seen many improvements to life at
the Oaks. The renovations to the house are
an obvious contribution to our lifestyle, but
the efforts of the brothers are also creating
positive change at the Oaks.
I am thoroughly impressed with the
progress made at the house due to the
renovations funded in advance of the
Oaks 21 project. The changes have made
a noticeable difference in improving the
house. The inside of the house has been
repainted, floors in the living room and
foyer redone, and the E. B. White Room is
just about complete. I was proud to show
off these changes to my parents when
they came to visit for Parents’ Weekend.
In addition to the renovations to the
physical structure of the Oaks, the brothers have been doing their part in improving the house as well. We’ve developed
a “chairs system” for cleaning the house,
in which different areas of the house
are divided up amongst the brothers to
be cleaned. Everyone is assigned one of
these “chairs,” with the idea being that
cleanups can be more frequent, as well
as more efficient and convenient.
We are doing some landscaping
work on the front lawn of the house as
well. Thanks to donations from parents
and Cornell Facilities, we have been able
to spread mulch around most of the front
lawn as well as purchase and plant more
than 30 new flowers and bushes. The
rest of the lawn has been over-seeded,
and we were able to get new letters
made for our chapter marker. We have
more plans for the spring, including the
addition of some purple clematis to the
mix of plants decorating our lawn.
I have also been in contact with Jack
Richards ’60 and our purple legionnaire,
Adam Gutman ’09, and we have discussed raising funds for some new furniture in the house, including drapes,
dining room tables, and chairs. Such
improvements would go a long way during rush, when we want the house to
look as nice and inviting as possible.
The Oaks may be an old building,
but we love it. It is our home and we
appreciate all the effort that is being put
into improving it. Thank you.
Nathaniel Morihara ’15 assists with irrigation.
Michael Moon ’15 prepares the mulch for spreading.
Elliott Grom ’14 spreads mulch around the house.
www.fiji-cornell.org
New Members Continue to Uphold
FIJI Values and Expectations
Greetings from the most recent pledge
class to join the Kappa Nu Chapter of Phi
Gamma Delta. As we enjoy living in the
Oaks with our brothers, we continue to be
leaders academically, socially, and philanthropically on campus. With Connor Berlin
’15 and Graham Harwood ’15 volunteering
as fire fighters, Alex Duke ’14 and Yining Lu
’14 scoring above Harvard Medical School’s
acceptance average on their MCATs, and
Dellen Wallace ’15 representing us on student council, we are helping to build Phi
Gamma Delta as the best scholarship and
leadership fraternity on campus. In addition, our house manager, Nathaniel Morihara ’15, took it upon himself to personally raise money and, with the help of
his mother and brothers, make beautiful
upgrades to the landscaping of the Oaks,
which complement the renovations on the
inside of the house.
Living in the house is an incredibly fun
experience, but we never forget to continue
our pursuit of excellence in scholarship, our
fraternity, and ourselves. Our love and dedication to Phi Gamma Delta has only grown
since coming to live in the Oaks, and it will
continue to grow during our collegiate journey and beyond. Our next great service will
be to “replace ourselves,” as we continue
to uphold the lifelong pledge that we have
made to Phi Gamma Delta and our brothers—and not for college days alone!
Mighty Proud,
Andrew Bauer ’14
Proud to be,
Nathaniel Morihara ’15
House Manager
Save the
Date
Saturday,
April 20, 2013
NYC Pig Dinner
Event details TBA
PAGE FIVE
WINTER 2012–’13
Kappa Nus Enthusiastically Support Philanthropy Projects
Kappa Nus surveyed Ithaca residents and spread the word about
the Get Your GreenBack Tompkins movement during this year’s
Into the Streets weekend. From left to right: Mario Titolo ’15,
Keegan Colletier ’14, Nathaniel Morihara ’15, Daniel Pinga ’14,
Ryan Bender ’14, Daniel Webster ’13, Joe Na ’15, Lucas Titolo
’15, and Andrew Bauer ’14.
The Kappa Nu Chapter had an exciting semester of philanthropy this past fall. A
number of brothers participated in the annual
Jog for Jill 5K in honor of Ingrid Nunez, a race/
walk held at the Plantations every year by the
sisters of Kappa Alpha Theta. The event was
sponsored by the Bonnie J. Addario Lung
Cancer Foundation and raised over $100.
Our second event was a community service
project called Get Your GreenBack Tompkins,
which is a community-based campaign to
inspire all 42,000 households and every business in Tompkins Country to take at least
one step to save energy and money in the
areas of food, waste, transportation, heating,
and lighting. As a FIJI group, we went down
to the Ithaca Farmer’s Market and conducted
FIJIs Mario Titolo ’15, Elliott Grom ’14, Nathaniel Morihara ’15,
Joe Na ’15, Yining Lu ’14, and Michael Crawford ’14 participated in
Jog for Jill, an annual 5K event that takes place at Cornell Plantations
and is sponsored by the sisters of Kappa Alpha Theta. The event is
held in honor of Ingrid Nunez, a class of 2014 hotel school student
who was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer two years ago.
surveys to record the daily habits of residents
regarding the environment and informing
them about eco-friendly changes they might
pursue. This project was sponsored by Into
the Streets, Cornell’s largest service initiative
since 1991. Into the Streets recruits thousands of students each year to do all types of
service during one weekend in October. FIJI
was no exception—we had a large number
of brothers participate in this event, and we
hope to have even more brothers contribute
in the future.
November was also a big month for FIJI
philanthropy, as we brought the Movember
movement to Cornell in an inter-fraternal
collaboration with the brothers of Delta Chi.
The Movember Foundation is the origin of the
“no-shave November” ideology, in which men
grow mustaches during the month of November to raise funds and awareness for prostate
cancer. The month of November involved a
series of tabling and sorority competitions
to publicize the cause and raise money, and
culminated in a gala event at the end of the
month with raffle prizes and a pageant to
select the best “stachionista” on campus. The
Kappa Nu Chapter hopes to make this a longlasting partnership between the two fraternities so that Movember can become an annual
tradition on campus.
Joe Na ’15
Yining Lu ’14
Philanthropy Chairs
www.fiji-cornell.org
Kappa Nu undergraduates call alumni brothers to thank them for their continuous support during a recent thankathon event.
PAGE SIX
THE KAPPA NUS
NEWS FROM FIJIS – FROM NEAR AND FAR
“I turned 95 on July 15, 2012,” reports Joseph
King ’39. “I am in excellent health and enjoy
reading, being involved, and being wellinformed politically. Being a student at Cornell
made a significant difference in preparing me
for life. I am sending warm greetings to all,
but especially to fellow classmates who are
still with us.” Reconnect with Joseph at 401
Hampton Rd., Signal Mountain, TN 37377.
50 years speaks eloquently that our brotherhood was for ‘more than college days.’”
Reconnect with Joe at 2836 Wakefield
Dr., Belmont, CA 94002; email him at
joseph.a.brennan@comcast.net.
Peter “Pete” Bowman ’59 writes: “My wife of
48 years died in March of this year, and I miss
the late Kenneth ‘Ken’ Braden ’59 and Robert
‘Bob’ Metzger ’59. But I see Ernest ‘Ernie’ Cole
’59 frequently, and I hear from Donald ‘Don’
Marden ’58 periodically. I also recently served
two terms as a Maine state senator for York
County—it was an amazing experience!” Keep in
touch with Pete at 16 Old Ferry Ln., Kittery, ME
03904; peterbowman@comcast.net.
Reconnect with Anthony “Tony” Biddle
III ’70 at 5622 Rock Harbor Dr., Rock
Hall, MD 21661; ajdbiddle@aol.com.
Write to Charles “Chuck” Lee ’61 at 104
Clapboard Ridge Rd., Greenwich, CT 06830;
chuck.lee@verizon.net.
www.fiji-cornell.org
Joseph “Joe” Brennan ’63 reports: “The class
of ’63—the greatest Cornell FIJI class of all time—
along with two members of the class of ’65
with their wives (Wayne and Sharon Phillips,
and Tom and Suzanne Tyson) reunited October 18–21 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
Norman ‘Punch’ and Nancy Smith were the
hosts of the best mini-reunion ever, with many
tours, low-country cuisine, a shrimp-boat tour
of Charleston Harbor, and plenty of warm and
friendly Southern hospitality. Our next Reunion
is in Ithaca next June—our 50th anniversary. It is
wonderful to think that our names are links of a
FIJI membership chain in our chapter room, but
our desire to travel great distances in order to
reunite and renew our bonds after more than
Keep in touch with Gordon “Ned”
Druehl ’66 at 590 6th St. E, Sonoma,
CA 95476; ndruehl@aol.com.
“I sat across from Fred Robertson ’72
Members of the class of 1960 gathered for their annual
recently on a flight from Norfolk, Virreunion in Marathon, Florida, in April 2012: Hobby Wilginia, to Houston, Texas,” reports Jack
son, Jay Banker, Sal Giordano ’59, Jack Richards, Adrian
Marsteller ’73. “It was great to catch
Bewley, Eric Lessing, Dan Crabbe, and Fred Buckley.
up! I’m happy to hear from any PhiGams who venture through Los Angeles—yes,
there are real working types in ‘LA-LA Land.’”
DECEASED
Catch up with Jack at 758 26th St., Manhattan
We regret to report the deaths of the
Beach, CA 90266; j.marsteller@verizon.net.
following alumni:
Donald Rose ’75 writes: “Enjoying life following
our son, Dylan, with traveling ice hockey, and his
15-year-old twin sister, Alexandra, with competitive horseback riding. I also recently received the
Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Distinguished Alumni Award.” Reconnect with Donald
at 25 East End Ave., #15F, New York, NY 10028.
“I’m working on a pipeline row project (natural
gas) in Upstate New York,” reports John “Mac”
McPhee ’76. “Sorry I missed the reunion in Boston; the pictures posted were great, and it looked
like a hoot!” Write to Mac at 30 Wills Dr., New
Hartford, NY 13413; jmcphee334@aol.com.
“Our daughter, Megan, graduated from Cornell in June 2010,” writes Steve “Benj” Benjamin ’80. “She is happily living independent in Mountain
View, California. Our son, Cody,
graduated from the University
of Colorado (Boulder) this past
December. He manages 70-plus
days of snowboarding while still
doing well in college. Sheri and I
recently celebrated our 26th anniversary. Since Cornell, I have ‘no
regrets.’ The FIJI motto has been
a great life guide.” Write to Steve
at 21184 Michaels Dr., Saratoga,
Class of 1963 FIJIs gather for a group photo during a reunion this CA 95070; steve@stromiga.com.
past October in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina: Elaine and Fred
Gaston, Blair and Pat Crum, Joe Brennan, John Kennedy and
Cece, Norman “Punch” Smith, John “Whip” Gunn, Dave Costine, Sharon and Wayne Phillips, Jim Billings, and Kelly Derose.
Alan Kanuk ’80 is now living
in Australia! Send him email at
alankanuk@gmail.com.
Jack W. Campbell ’43
April 13, 2012
George A. Wieber ’45
March 21, 2012
Philip D. O’Donnell ’47
July 23, 2012
John W. Bergin ’47
May 27, 2012
The Kappa Nus
Published regularly by the Kappa Nu Chapter of Phi Gamma Del­ta at Cornell University for its members and friends. The undergraduates encourage their older brothers to
send letters, advice, and comments for the
newsletter. News contributions and pictures
should be addressed to Alumni Records
Office, Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, P.O.
Box 876, Ithaca, NY 14851-0876.