THE THETONIAN Theta Chapter
Spring 2014
University of Cincinnati
Theta Chapter Honors a Friend and Fellow Activist
Recent History January 10th - Theta chapter
received two national awards at the Mid Year Leadership Conference in St. Louis.
On Tuesday, February 11th the brothers of Theta chapter honored fellow disabilities activist, and friend, Sara Whitestone, with the privilege of wearing Pi Kappa Phi’s letters. Sara has “always felt empowered by our activism efforts and raising awareness on campus” and is “always willing to help.” Sara was heavily involved with Pi Kapp during the fall semester by having her non-government organization, Sara Spins, team up with Pi Kappa Phi
The Lighthouse Award for most outstanding new member education program and best member experience. The Branding & Communcation Award for most improved branding and communication on campus
and the University of Cincinnati to spread the word and advertise about No Boundaries Week.
February 11th - The brothers
for student body President next year. Sara’s biggest projects that she is currently working on
agree to make local accessibility
enthusiast, Sara Whitestone, an honorary Pi Kapp
March 1st - The men of Pi
Kappa Phi kick off their first semi-annual Parent-Alumni Weekend with a bang!
March 6th - The brothers of Theta chapter help to Spread the Word to End the Word! March 8th - Zeta class is treated to lunch and four hours of paintball for one of this
semesters brotherhood events!
Sara placed most of her efforts into advertising for AccessABILITY Day and even helped the all-day event become popular enough that it was trending on Twitter in the Cincinnati-area! What made Sara most excited was that students, professors, and organizational leaders on campus were noticing the t-shirts and just how inaccessible UC’s campus really is. Sara’s activism doesn’t stop with Pi Kapp; it’s actually quite the opposite! Sara serves as the Director of Disability Services on Student Government with the hopes of becoming Chief of Staff, Vice President of Special Interest, and is even planning on running are creating a student organization called, Alliance for Abilities, which will serve as a networking space for student activists and as a place of education about disabilities. Another big project Sara is working on is a campus service called, Cat-mobile. Though Sara was not the student to come up with the idea, she – and many other students – has donated a lot of her time into its development. Cat-mobile is that it will be a campus-wide transportation service that will assist students with disabilities in commuting around campus. Though the service is mainly for students with disabilities it can also be used to help injured athletes and students, pregnant students and professors, really anyone on campus who needs help getting around. It’s no wonder why this girl is recognized as one of UC’s finest. Sara’s non-government organization, Sara Spins, is Alpha Chi Rho’s philanthropy to which all of their fundraising efforts supports. In fact, on March 30th Alpha Chi Rho and Sara Spins will be hosting their second annual Balling for Disabilities basketball tournament at the Fifth-Third Arena in Downtown. The event is a bracket-style tournament in which teams will compete against one another in a game of wheelchair basketball. All of the funds from this event go directly to Sara Spins and for that, the brothers at Theta chapter are very thankful. As Theta chapter looks back in its past and fondly remembers events like Starfire
Contact the Historian Phone: 513-532-1008 E-mail: pikappaphi.uc@gmail.com
and Breathe Respite at the Vineyard church, it can now look ahead with Sara Whitestone and the many service opportunities she can help us acquire so that we may achieve greatness in serving others.
Upcoming Events March 29th - Rose Ball Formal April 12th - Ritual of Initiation April 18th - Graduation Ritual
Theta Spotlight Heath Thompson | Chapter Historian Alpha Class | ϴ52
After participating in a week-long competition, and after much
discussion, the always lovely
ladies of Kappa Delta chose to
honor Heath Thompson as one of their Dagger Man (2014-2015). Heath is the first Pi Kappa Phi
from Theta chapter to receieve such an honor. In order to be
chosen as a Kappa Delta Dagger Man, he must excel in the five
areas of chapter excellence!
A Summer of
Service For most college students, summer is a time to relax or perhaps make a little money too, but for many Pi Kappa Phis summer means service. Theta Chapter’s Tony Igel, Zach Wiles, Kendall Koutz, and Patrick Looney are set to participate in long distance cycling events in order to fundraise for Push America. One month after his graduation Tony Igel will partake in a 4,000-mile, two-month bike ride from the pacific coast to Washington D.C. called Journey of Hope. In addition to cycling, Tony and the other participants visit camps for people with disabilities to socialize with the members. When asked why he wants to do Journey of Hope, Tony said that he wants to follow the legacy of his brother, Eric, who completed the Journey in 2009. He also said, “I want to spread a message of empathy, not sympathy. All too often people with disabilities are characterized by those disabilities, rather than their abilities, when the truth is they’re just like me and you, they’re just different.” Kendall Koutz, Zach Wiles, and Patrick Looney will be participating in Push America’s other cycling event, Gear Up Florida, a two-and-a-half-week, 865-mile bike ride across the sunshine state from Miami to Tallahassee. This trip also includes fundraising and friendship visits. Wiles and Koutz will be cycling, while Looney supports them as a crew member. Crew supports the riders in their everyday needs, as well as specialized jobs for the whole group. Looney will be the historian of the group, meaning he will take pictures and keep record of all events throughout the journey. Zach Wiles is a veteran of summer push events. In 2011 he did Build America, an event similar to Journey of Hope, but instead of cycling, the participants directly use some of the money they fundraised by building structures that improve the accessibility of the camps they go to. When asked why he is doing Gear Up Florida, Wiles said, “Last year I did not get to do a summer of service, and I wasn’t happy because of that. When I did Build America, I realized how much of an impact one person could make on another’s life. I want to do that again.” Thankfully, we have four brothers representing Theta chapter and four times the impact we can make on the lives of others.
To ensure that you receive all communications from the brothers of Theta chapter, please add pikappaphi.uc@gmail.com to your address book!
Battle of the Houses Want to Donate to a Cyclist? To support Anthony Igel Click the link below: http://bit.ly/1kPL1EZ To support Kendall Koutz Click the link below: http://bit.ly/1knWdWS To support Patrick Looney Click the link below: http://bit.ly/1nWlbOm To support Zachery Wiles Click the link below: http://bit.ly/PQSQO5
Want to Give Back to the Chapter? Want to Become an Alumnus? Contact Heath Thompson Chapter Historian Phone: 513-532-1008 E-mail: pikappaphi.uc@gmail.com
Competition between men has been a pinnacle of society, both in ancient and modern times. “The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting above average effort.” (Colin Powell) Not only does competition form a bond between men, it reinforces the bond between brothers. Newly elected Warden, Mark Szwejkowski, decided to implement a bit of friendly competition between the brothers of Pi Kappa Phi. Every brother is divided into one of four houses based on who their “big brother” is. The houses include: Golden Lamp, Crossed Swords, Sacred Star, and Red Rose. There are four main ways for a house to increase their points: house GPA, event attendance, campus involvement, and nominations. 10 points are awarded for every brother in a particular house with a GPA between 3.79- 4.0, 5 points for 3.30-3.78, and 1 point for 3.0-3.29. Event attendance and campus involvement are case by case situations, usually determined by the brother who is hosting the event. Nominations are given out to brothers who have done a deed to benefit the fraternity as a whole. The house with the most points at the end of a semester receives the Start Shield Cup Trophy for the following semester, a plaque, t-shirts, and also a celebration dinner. Implementing competition within the fraternity will not only show newer members the depth of brotherhood our fraternity holds, but also remind the older brothers that the bond will never falter.