Fall 2015
The Best of the West
Brothers and Sisters of the Western District, I hope you have all had a great start to the New Year, winter terms, and spring semesters. This past fall semester/term was very busy for many chapters in our wonderful district. From recruitment events, traveling and performing for football games, to service, music events, and mascot bonding, every chapter has put on some incredible events and projects in the last half of 2015. Thank you to all of the chapters, brothers, and sisters who contributed to this issue, it is greatly appreciated. Looking forward, the next issue of The Accent will be themed around Western District travel, focusing on memories made at DLC and State(s) Days, and tips and tricks for loving and surviving Western District Convention. If you would like to submit and article, please send them to wdpub@kkpsi.org. MLITB, Hannah Giardina Mu Pi Chapter Western District Publisher
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Service in the Spring: Gamma's Junior/Senior day 3 Omicron Updates 5 Serving with Beta Omicron 7 The Best of Epsilon Kappa 9 Small, But Powerful 10 Striving for Service, Alumni Relations, Music, and Love in the Bond 11 Billy Joel: More Than Just a Mascot 13 Fall Term with Mu Pi 15
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D
uring the spring of 2011, the Gamma chapter at the University of Washington undertook its largest service project yet. With the goals of giving high school musicians the chance to experience college marching band and recruiting new members to the Husky Marching Band (HMB,) brothers of Gamma ventured out into high schools across the state of Washington and invited students to play with them at Husky Football’s Spring Preview. On April 30, 2011, 130 high school students joined brothers and other HMB members in the stands. This project exemplified KKPsi’s First Purposes: “To promote the existence and welfare of the college and univer-
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sity bands and to cultivate at large a wholesome respect for their activities and achievements.” Rain or shine, the tradition has continued much to the excitement of band members and brothers alike, resulting in fond memories that last from the first Junior/Senior Day of one’s life to their last day as a member of the Husky Marching Band. But every year along with the excitement there comes the anticipation of the struggle expected of undertaking such a large event. Thanks to annual project evaluations, some of these struggles are eased from one service chair to the next. We asked alumnus Romulus Ragudos Jr., former service committee chair and member of
the Omega class, to recall the naissance of Junior/ Senior Day. He remembered meeting with Dr. Brad McDavid, the chapter sponsor and director of the Husky Marching Band, to ask how Gamma could give more information about Husky Band beyond the usual informational packets sent out to high schools each year. McDavid referenced other marching band programs in the country that invited high school students to come play with them—not just in the stadium as on Band Day each autumn, but as a collective group. The challenges encountered by the service committee along the way included informing and registering the students, assembling and sending out informational packets and advertisements to hundreds of Washington high schools, and providing a central place to receive information, which took the form of a website. Once students were registered, some needed to be provided with instruments, and all needed packets of printed music. An appealing schedule had to be arranged, and ultimately, Ragudos attributes the day’s success to communication between parents, students, staff, and the chapter. When asked about the most rewarding parts of the project, Ragudos described the smiles on the faces of the high school students who aspired to be in the Husky Band. Even better was seeing the rookies the following year—some of whom still had their Junior/Senior Day shirts—starting their Husky Band adventure for real. A couple of the reasons that Junior/Senior Day, as a concept, is so popular among band members of all ages are obvious—Husky Band is able to engage and recruit musicians straight from high school, and high school musicians get access to performing in a college stadium. But beyond the numbers and glamor, the memories made are what inspire attendees not just to join Husky Band the next year, but remain for the next few years, and even become brothers. John Aguilar, current drum major of the Husky Marching Band and active brother of Gamma, recalled the “heart-warming welcome” that he
received as a high school junior attending Junior/Senior Day. Even with the prestige of being members of a world-renowned marching band, Aguilar found not the “rock-star mentalities” he had braced himself for but rather individuals earnestly making sure that every high school student was having a great time throughout the day. As he had ties to staff members from both his high school and the All-City Band, he was also thrilled to be working beside musicians he already considered influential in his life. Ultimately, it was the welcoming experience of Junior/Senior Day to which Aguilar attributes his decision to attend the University of Washington and audition for its marching band. The brothers of Gamma are instrumental to the recruitment and maintenance of the Husky Band. For a service event that is just one day a year, extensive planning must go into every detail in order to make sure the best possible experience is provided to the high school musicians who are excited but anxious about the new world of college bands. Year after year, from one service chair to the next, Junior/Senior Day becomes more of a mainstay at the University of Washington. There are always changes—in the music, weather, and people. And yet much stays the same, such as the character and spirit of the brothers who lead these younger musicians year after year, as others did before them.
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By: Taylor “Goldfish” Pace
Above: The Omicron chapter with Alpha class president Hallie Portz.
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Taylor and her little, Adam Parker, after Third Degree.
Omicron chapter after Third Degree with special guest, Jennifer Klettke.
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he Omicron chapter has had a wonderful semester. Last month we had the pleasure of putting our Alpha Alpha class of seven candidates-Adam Parker, Morgan cox, Ana Linares, Joel Tate, Aaron Pabst, Kendra Buchele, and Sergio Payan. Congratulations to you all! I had the pleasure to watch my first little, Adam, go through Third Degree and it was a truly amazing experience. Having the opportunity to be a big is something that I’ve been waiting for. It’s a special bond and I’m beyond glad that I get to grow and experience TBS with Adam. Adam brings joy to our chapter, he’s hard working and genuinely and very kind and happy person. I love you Adam, thanks for being you. Throughout November our service chair and VPSP, Meagan Buchele, was collecting clothing articles for the Road Home in Salt Lake City. The Road Home is a facility that assists families who are homeless. We opened up this opportunity to serve to the marching band and well over 200
items were collected and delivered to the Road Home. Thank you to the University of Utah Marching Band. You exceeded our expectations and the community appreciates it. Thanks to Meagan, we appreciate your hard work. The band was awarded with delicious home-made cookies. For the month of December we will be holding conduct us at Primary Children’s Hospital. This is always a fun project to hold; it brings us great joy to bring music and a smile to these kids. As historian of our chapter, I have been trying to get our alumni more involved with us and our events. So far we’ve had the pleasure of meeting Hallie Portz, our Alpha president, who came down from Seattle to watch one of our games. We wouldn’t be where we are without her efforts. She was a large part of Omicron’s installation in 2003. Hallie works for Amazon and loves living in Seattle. To the brothers at Gamma, you guys should totally reach out to her. She’s had some great opportunities in life and would
Meagan Buchele, our VPSP. dropping off our donations at the Road Home.
Morgan Cox and her big, Alex Schaefer after Third Degree.
love to share and help all of you. She’s very knowledgeable of our past and would love to talk. Oh, and Go Huskies! For our third degrees another member of our Alpha class came to visit is us, Jennifer Klettke. We love visitors, so come visit us! I love this organization, I’m so thankful for all the people that I have met thus far and all the experiences it brings. I can’t wait to see what next semester brings. District season is coming up and I’m super excited! Much Love in the Bond. The Accent |6
Serving with Beta Omicron By: Alaina “Ostinato” Peters Beta Omicron Chapter President
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BO, candidates, and visitors at the Delta Pi class's Second Degree.
s Beta Omicron wraps up the fall semester, it’s fun to look back on everything we’ve done this. From honoring some great traditions, to increasing joint relations within our state, and increasing educational opportunities in the chapter, I am extremely proud to be the President of such a hard-working chapter. Beta Omicron continues to be extremely service-oriented, being behind-thescenes of everything related to the 400-person Sun Devil Marching Band, SDMB. This year we implemented a team-based system for field set-up/tear-down and loading in/out equipment for game days, in which seven team leaders encouraged and tracked their team’s service efforts on a rotating schedule. We also put on our largest annual event of the year, ASU Band Day, in which high school marching bands from around the state came to compete and watch the SDMB perform. With hundreds of Alumni returning for the 100th anniversary of the SDMB during Homecoming Weekend, we had all hands on deck helping with instrument rental and providing water and equipment for basically two Sun Devil Marching Bands that day! This semester, we’ve enjoyed a variety of correspondence with Brothers and Sisters in our state. Several BO Brothers traveled up to Gamma Kappa’s Second Degree in early November and we enjoyed having a ton of Gamma Kappa Brothers down for our Second Degree in early December. Our ad-hoc Correspondence Committee is looking into organizing a pen pal system with Gamma Kappa and Alpha Chi next semester. We have created a Big Brother/Big Sister pairing system between BO and Omega. Each BO Prospective member has an Omega Big Sister and vice versa. Additionally, each BO Active was paired with an Omega Active, affectionately known as a “BOmega Buddy”. Fun fact, BO and Omega had the exact same number of Active
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members this fall! All of these pairings were conveniently established before our ASU vs. UofA game, so lots of people got to meet their partners during that weekend! We are really excited for more correspondence with these chapters and others during District season next semester! One change initiated in our chapter this year is the increase of Active Continued Education (ACE) workshops. With the appointment of an unofficial “ACE Chair” this year as a part of the Membership Education Committee, we drafted a schedule of small 10-15 minute workshops that occurred during meetings almost every week this semester. These lessons covered a vast array of topics, including Jurisdiction (in which my loving chapter put me on Probation as an example of how to use Robert’s Rules), the Five Love Languages, and an interactive Music Therapy lesson. Introducing more of these lessons has taken a joint effort from the whole chapter—Our ACE Chair made the schedule of workshops, committees and individual Brothers created and planned the workshops, and the entire chapter worked to make our meetings more efficient so we would have time for them without having extremely long meetings. Speaking of Membership Education, our 19-member Delta Pi class is excelling through their process, having gone through Second Degree and most of their Membership Classes already. They completed a fundraising project selling “Thanksgiving Grams” to the band and are currently planning service and social projects for next semester. They were also all enthusiastic participants in the “Delta Pi Service Week” initiated by our VPS this year, in which they were in charge of marching band field set-up and game day equipment load-in for a week in order to learn how to do all that hands-on. We would love to see some out-of-chapter Brothers at their Third Degree, scheduled for February 7th!
Top: BO brothers serving the SDMB at their homecoming football game. Middle: Anthony Manluccia (L), Eryn Streeter, Emily Ford, and Josephine Tolsá working the recruitment and merchandise table at ASU Band Day. Bottom: BOmega Buddies, Abby Hill and Alex Vinger at the ASU vs. U of A football game.
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By: Sydney Dychiao
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hen asked what Epsilon Kappa has been up to this past quarter, the better question would be: “What haven’t we been up to?”. From food frenzies, to football games, to holiday- themed shenanigans, EK has had quite a busy quarter and even better start to our year. We kicked off the season, with two intense weeks of band camp interspersed with fun nighttime activities such as our Pre-Band Camp Pizza Party, Diddy Riese Run, and Ice Cream Social—all intended to bring the band closer as friends and bands members. However, the fun didn’t end there as we launched into our first football game after only a week of band camp. From the awed faces of new members as they walked into the Rose Bowl for their first time to the heart-pounding, adrenalinecoursing-through-your-veins excitement old and new members felt alike, the first game is always an experience that makes you think “this is why I do this”. Also jam-packed with service events such as snack packing for the opposing team’s bands, building an artificial horse, and serving refreshments
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at concert receptions, there was barely any time to stop and smell the roses, or just be a student. Piled on were sisterhood events like Night of 5 & 8, where we think critically about Tau Beta Sigma’s ideals and how they apply to our daily lives, and Rocky Horror Picture Show, a thrilling, head-turning extravaganza of creepiness and gore. Finally, as the season drew to a close, we had a
The first game is always an experience that makes you think "this is why I do this."
heart-melting senior circle at our last home football game. Seniors said their last farewells to their home of 4 years and congratulated a freshmen class for surviving their first year in the UCLA Bruin Marching Band. We could not have asked for a a better way to kickoff the year—strengthening the bonds of sisterhood, welcoming a wave of new bands members and potential candidates, serving the band, and, ultimately, discovering the best of Epsilon Kappa! Go Bruins!
By: Andrew “Marty McFly� Juarez, Zeta Xi President
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his semester has been quite a challenge working as a small group. However, even with the challenge, we still stand strong and united! Zeta Xi has continued with fundraising, service, and sisterhood. We hosted another semester of Penny Wars. From not having done it at all my freshman year when I rushed, to running it a third time, we as a chapter have improved. This semester, we were able to arrange a free bowling party, pizza included, for the winning section of Penny Wars. The trumpet section definitely had a blast and several bills were dropped! For service, this semester we helped our music department by cataloging music. There is a large amount of music uncatalogued and it is quite a big project for a small amount of people to undertake. Working with our music department, our chapter arranged members to help out with the task. It’s fair to say a chunk has been lifted and this project will definitely con-
tinue on until all of the department's music is cataloged. As for sisterhood, this semester we all learned further how to work together in a group and maintain a positive relationship. This close knit group has become closer than ever and we all continue to share the same common goal; to work towards making a better group to serve the bands. I believe this is what sisterhood is all about. With two more sisters devoted to service initiated into the bond, we have quite a semester coming up!
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Striving for Service, Alumni Relations, Music, & Love in the Bond By: Samuel "SKrAtch" Kennedy
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he Iota Alpha chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi at California State University, Fresno has built a unique, yet memorable reputation. We tend to laugh too loud, eat too much, and steal mascots, but at the same time we are committed to the ideals of the Fraternity. Iota Alpha is as dedicated to service as we are to eating double cheeseburgers. This semester was no different in terms of service, as our new Vice President of Service, Michael “Kisikisi” Afu, had the chapter do many projects for our music department. Along with stand roundups and receptions, we also created a music department “Meet the Faculty” board, so students could see the bright and shiny faces of our professors that made our musical achievements possible. Our chapter also sought service outside of our music department by going to different high schools to play at their football games, showing them how they can grow as musicians, and to provide evidence that band does indeed exist outside of high school. This was a fun service project enjoyed by both the high schoolers and the brothers. Service wasn’t the only thing Iota Alpha focused on this semester. The chapter recently welcomed eight wonderful and dedicated new brothers who are ready and excited to be apart of this close knit brotherhood and have approached new ways of interacting with our alumni members in a new event called the “Alumni AMA”. The idea of the AMA, or ask me anything, is
The Beta Zeta Candidate class and the VPCE.
"We tend to laugh too loud, eat too much, and steal mascots, but at the same time we are committed to the ideals of the Fraternity."
Iota Alpha at a retreat.
Active Brothers and Sisters of Iota Alpha and Eta Omega. that alumni come in and talk to the chapter about their experiences with the brotherhood and about their lives and careers. Our chapter was fortunate to have a charter member of our chapter be the first AMA, and it went wonderfully! This is a concept that we are certainly going to use in the future and one that we definitely encourage all chapters to experiment with as well. Iota Alpha’s brothers have been performing very well as musicians, with every music major brother passing their performance exams and juries and three of our brothers being featured soloists in the Bulldog Marching Band show, “Wicked”. We have a very diverse set of musicians within our chapter, with all sets of emphasis ranging from music education, jazz, and performance degrees, as well as, diverse participation in all ensembles at Fresno State. Many of our members even play in ensembles all around town in various settings. The chapter is also very proud and excited for our graduating brothers, as well as, those entering and continuing the credential program. We are excited to see their accomplishments in the years to come. Our joint bond with Eta Omega has also been very strong. Over
the course of the semester, we have had joint service projects and events, teaching both organizations’ candidates the importance of joint relations and how working together can be effective and fun. This semester, the brothers held a Thanksgiving dinner for our sisters of Eta Omega, which was so much fun! Recently, we also attended a holiday dinner that Eta Omega held for us and had a wonderful time bonding and enjoying the company of our sisters. At its current standing, we have a very young chapter, but everyone is excited and ready to be involved to help make the music program and the brotherhood thrive and be the best it can be. Iota Alpha feels as a chapter, that our bond is constantly growing, allowing us to become closer as brothers, friends, and musicians. Which in turn will help us be increasingly effective in our service to the marching band, concert bands, and music department as a whole. We strive to uphold a positive presence in the music department and the university, and hope for it to remain that way for the many years to come. This has been an exciting year for Iota Alpha, and we are glad to share it with all of you! Go Dogs! The Accent |12
Billy Joel: More Than Just a Mascot By: Jake "MENELAUS" Rocco
Billy camping.
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n April 25th, 2008, Billy Joel the Panda was officially welcomed to the Lambda Psi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi as our official mascot. He was named after one of our founding Brothers, Jose "!.357" Ocampo, also known as "Billy Joel", and has been at every chapter event and ritual. Ever since then, Billy has not only be an extremely
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Billy at the Golf Land rush event.
adorable mascot, but a physical representation of our Brotherhood. Billy is a connection between all of the Brothers of our chapter, no matter how different we may be. At the beginning of this semester, I started a program called "Vacay With Billy!", where one Brother gets to spend a week with Billy and have him be a part of their everyday lives.
Billy with a brother.
During their time with Billy, our Brothers enjoyed some great moments with him and reflected on how truly important he is to us. "It was so fun taking Billy Joel around with me to classes. He got to see and experience different classes and activities. The Snapchats I did with him was like seeing myself in third person"; "Having Billy with me was
Billy with Lambda Psi's Christmas tree.
a great experience. He was like a Brother I can hang out and talk to, even though he is inanimate. Being with him reminded me to balance taking care of my school life and of my KKPsi life.", said twins Nikki "JUBiLEE" and Maria "SLINK" DelosReyes, who shared Billy this past week during Finals. All of our Brothers, new and old, appreciate how import-
Billy in the Lambda Psi display case at San Jose State University.
"Billy is a connection between all of the Brothers of our chapter, no matter how different we may be." ant Billy is to us. Newest member Marissa "O'MALLEY" Reed said, "Billy represents Brotherhood to me. During my week with Billy, we bonded with by watching the stars together and playing guitar together," and earliest member remaining Belen "SHADOWCAT" Guzman stated, "Billy Joel is tradition! Since sometimes life leads Brothers down paths
that usher them away from the current Brotherhood, traditions like Billy Joel keep us tied together. He was there at the beginning and as long as we keep him safe-as long as we continue to respect our mascot (and thus our history)- we'll never forget our past." Billy is our most important possession, so he has never left our side since he joined us.
While Lambda Psi is one of the most famous mascot "borrowing" chapters, Billy Joel has never been taken by any other chapter. He has spent quality time with a few other mascots though, including the Western District's own Snarky the Shark. We value Billy and what he brings to our Brotherhood, so we will never let anything bad happen to him.
While most people might look at him and see just a big stuffed panda bear, we see a Brother. Someone that has been with us through good and bad times, but is still around. Billy brings us all closer together, even if we are not always aware of it. He is part of our Lambda Psi family, and he is going to be around for a very long time.
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Fall term with Mu Pi
F Brothers enjoying a fall day at the pumpkin patch.
all term is always a busy one for Mu Pi. Almost our entire chapter is in the Oregon Marching Band, as well as other performance ensembles in our School of Music, so sometimes it is hard to schedule things that everyone can participate in. However, we are proud to say that our chapter has worked very hard this term and we have had great success with many of our projects. Our chapter structure this year is composed of five committees: Fundraising, Brotherhood, MEP, Music, and the Service committee. Each committee initiated great projects to continue to strive for the highest. The Fundraising committee is very happy with all of the projects and work that we have accomplished this term. One of our really successful fundraisers was shout-outs that were sold at the Festival of Bands, hosted by the University of Oregon. Not only did we raise money to work toward future service projects, we also raised awareness for our chapter and Kappa Kappa Psi as a whole. While selling shout-outs we also represented
the Oregon Marching Band in a positive light. In addition, we were able to recognize those high school musicians before and after their performances. In fact, this term has provided many opportunities to interact with the surround community and fundraise for worthwhile projects. The Brotherhood committee has provided our members with numerous opportunities for our members to bond and get to know each other better. Although some things didn’t go as planned, we were able to work around everyone’s busy schedules and come up with fun activities to enjoy. Our first event was a chapter trip to the Pumpkin Patch. It was awesome for our members to relax and enjoy each other’s company while picking out a pumpkin The next event was chapter Thanksgiving. By that time our prospective members had gone through Second Degree and were invited to spend time with the chapter for an afternoon of food, football, and brotherhood. It was a great opportunity for us to bond with our po-
The Mu Pi chapter after the Iota Class First Degree.
Brothers working at the Festival of Bands.
tential new members! We also had a study session during dead week. A brother reserved a room in the library for everyone to have a space to study with friends. It is really great to see that participation in brotherhood events is up! This term on our MEP committee, we have initiated ten prospective members through first and second degree. Due to our new recruitment events that are oriented towards chapter values such as service, brotherhood, and fundraising we now have a class that has a good understanding of what we are as a chapter and what is expected of us as members. We have updated our MEP process in several ways and it seems to be very effective with our new members. We’re looking forward to initiating these ten outstanding prospective members on January 24th and hope to see you all there. We are so proud of our Iota class! The music committee is currently looking into bringing multiple high profile performers, educators, and music coaches to the University of Oregon Music community. We are excited to branch out in our community in a way that we have not done before and connect with our school of music and bands. For the month of music, we enjoyed beautiful music by Eric Whitacre. We listened to Lux Aurumque, which has a special place in our hearts as it is one of the Oregon Marching Band's
Brothers stuffing goody bags for incoming first year Oregon Marching Band members.
favorite tunes to perform. Our Service and OMB Relations Committee has had a lot of projects this term. This term we had several bands travel with their football teams to Autzen Stadium. In total, we made over 500 snack bags for them. Additionally, our chapter has put together snack bags for our own band for every home game. Our OMB Relations Chair Sarah Dumolt did such an amazing job facilitating all of this. She’s our chapter MVP! Our chapter also helped out at the Festival of Bands, a high school marching competition. Over half of the Festival of Bands Committee were brothers, including the committee undergraduate coordinator, Hana Kamata. We would like to give a shout-out to our brothers from the Iota Kappa and Theta chapters for coming down to Eugene to help out as well! Overall, we have had a busy yet exciting fall term, and we look forward to seeing what we accomplish in the rest of the year. All of our committee chairs have done well in delegating and initiating projects throughout the chapter. There has been an exceptional growth in leadership throughout the chapter! More than half of the OMB section leaders are brothers and have represented both the OMB and the Mu Pi Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi well this term.
Prospective member, Alyssa Van Laar, and brother, Erin Niles paint a music stand at a recruitment event.
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