September 2023: Alumni Band and Rush Events!
Plus see how EA is recruiting new brothers, preparing for this semester, and events alumni can attend!
Inside this Issue:
Alumni Return for Homecoming
A Message from FEO Shundrick Parker
Rush Week Fall 2023
Pinning Ceremony
How You Can Help a Brother
Alumni Events Fall 2023
Greetings Alumni Brothers!
When this issue of RSE is published, it is officially Founders’ Day! To celebrate, let’s see how our favorite chapter at the University of Toledo is doing. The Epsilon Alpha Chapter has accomplished plenty this month that has been fascinating to see from a distance. The September issue is a long one to reflect all the great work they’re doing, but we are still trying to get our footing to see what the standard length would be. How do feel about the formatting of this issue? Let us know in the comments or reaching out to me directly.
Quick housekeeping, we are now posting Chapter Minutes onto this website as its own section. By default, you will not receive an email when new minutes are published, but you can subscribe and manage your notifications to make sure you see them right away. The plan is to post the most recently approved minutes the Friday after they were approved. Please check them out below and subscribe in a post!
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this latest issue of the Rocket Sinfonian Encore!
Ryan Smith, EA 2016
Alumni Return for Homecoming
This past Saturday was the University of Toledo’s Homecoming! Every other year the Rocket Marching Band invites back their Alumni to join them for Homecoming. This includes marching the Homecoming parade, playing in the stands during the game, and performing at half-time. Many past members of the chapter were members of the RMB during their collegiate years and as such many of them returned this Saturday! All in all, over 140 RMB Alumni members returned and combined with the current RMB members to form a near 300 person band!
A Message from FEO Shundrick Parker
Hi, I’m Shundrick Parker a collegiate brother and current FEO of the Epsilon Alpha. I joined this great fraternity in December of 2022 not even a year ago. It’s so crazy to think about how much Phi Mu Alpha has grown to mean to me in this short time. Being elected as FEO has only elevated this love and passion I have. My main goals are of course to initiate a class each semester but on top of that I want to try to make the process as interactive as possible and start building the brotherhood I hold so dearly early in the process. The best part by far is the new PMs and creating these bonds.
We started recruitment this semester fresh out the gate in week three of classes. By the end of it all, we had a Chi class of 10 outstanding men. I have had the time of my life so far with them. They are such a fun group of guys and I can see each one becoming a great Sinfonian in the near future. The coming months will be quite hectic, but the goal is to hold our Final Ritual on November 19th with Knock being at 12pm. This will allow for at least one chapter meeting with the new Sinfonians before we go on break. I’m looking forward to just enjoying the process with these guys and helping them through, and stay tuned for hopefully another class in the Spring!
Rush Week Fall 2023
Rush Week this semester took place September 11th through the 15th. The week was announced during announcements after Rocket Marching Band practice and people were personally invited by the collegiate brothers as well. Each night was a huge success for the chapter as 5-10 people showed up each night and the events were received extremely well.
On Monday, the collegiate brothers hosted a volleyball game at the Rec Center where they went deep into night playing and having fun!
On Tuesday, everyone came together in the CPA to game out with a mixture of board games and Super Smash Bros.
On Wednesday, brothers met in the CPA again and and a movie night. For this particular event everyone watched Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
On Thursday, the chapter teamed up with Sigma Alpha Iota and played a few games of Sardines in the CPA! For those unaware, Sardines is like a reverse hide and seek. One person hides while the others try to find them, when a seeker finds the hiding person they join them in hiding in that spot. Eventually almost everyone ends up packed together like a can of sardines!
On Friday, the collegiate brothers each brought a dish or item as they hosted a pot luck dinner for their final Rush night! After everyone filled up on food they headed out to the Spirit Rock on campus and painted it up in a true Sinfonian style!
Pinning Ceremony
The Pinning Ceremony for the Chi PM class was held on October 1st at the Center for Performing Arts on campus. During the Ceremony 10 new probationary members were pinned by their Bigs!
How You Can Help a Brother
“Thank you so much! Without you I would not have been able to pay my dues, and I would have lost this opportunity with music.” - Supported Brother
Last Spring, a new program was quietly rolled out by the Collegiate Brothers as a way for Alumni to directly support a brother in need of financial assistance. This was affectionately called the “Sponsor a Brother” Program. The way the program works is that an Alumni brother can donate directly to the chapter and help pay a brother’s dues. When an Alumni brother does donate, the chapter provides a small biography, photo, and statement from the brother that they helped.
When the program was quietly rolled out, our very own Ryan Smith donated and helped save a brother from going on financial suspension! The brother had been going through a rough patch and could barely afford rent, he was sadly going to have to go on suspension until he could come up with the money to pay his dues, both National and Chapter. However, Ryan reached out and showed his interest in donating, which eventually led to him fully paying the dues of the struggling brother allowing him to stick with the chapter and not go on suspension!
Our goal now, is to reach out to all of you! As the chapter continues to grow there are more chances of a brother going through financial hardship. We would love for any Alumni out there that are interested in donating to reach out to me, Jack Schmidt, the current Epsilon Alpha Alumni Relations Officer (I’ve included my contact information at the end of this section). Any donation of any size and amount can make the biggest difference to a brother and would be greatly appreciated!
Jack’s ARO Email: alumnirelationsea@gmail.com
Jack’s Phone Number: 513-708-5222
Alumni Events Fall 2023
Mills Music Mission - October 29th, Time: TBD
Red Night - October 29th, Time: TBD
Black Night - November 4th, Time: TBD
Gold Night - November 12th, Time: TBD
Initiation - November 19th, Knock at 12pm, Music Rehearsal at 11am
Be on the lookout for a special edition of the Rocket Sinfonian Encore for finalized times for these Alumni Events once they are decided on by the chapter! We hope to see you all there, our Alumni presence is something we hope to increase at chapter events!