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POSTED 4/5/05:
Price, Jason wrote:
"My name is Jason Price (Kubiak). I am currently a senior here (Gamma
Iota) and I would like to extend an invitation to all alumni to attend Earth Day on
Saturday, April 16th. At the same time, I would like to ask all of you for a
little help. We are currently in sort of a crisis situation in terms of
finances. We presently don't have enough money to fund this party. Keep in mind that
this is a fund raiser, as proceeds will go the American Cancer Society
(seriously). We currently have some sponsors, which will help us to fund the event,
but we still don't have enough money. We would like to make this event as big as
possible, and we would absolutely like as many alumni as possible to come up
and party with us. Since these proceeds will go to both the American Cancer
Society as well as our efforts to re-gain our national charter, we ask for a small
donation of $50 from as many alumni as possible. As much as we hate to ask you
guys for money, we really need your help in getting us back on track. I know that all of your hearts still have a
place for Sigma Alpha Mu, and we assure you that we all live and die by our
organization. With your help, we can have a huge event where brothers from the
past and present can re-unite and party Sigma Alpha Mu style. If anyone needs
anymore info, they can e-mail me at prysizrite@aol.com , or im me (AIM) at
prysizrite. Incase you forgot, the address where money can be sent is
6 Florence Street
Binghamton, NY 13905
I hope you all understand our situation and our goals, and i hope that we can
have an EarthDay that will be remembered for years to come."
POSTED 3/22/05:
Smith, Lawrence wrote:
"We have set the date for our Earth Day Party for April 16th, I hope we
get a lot of alumni to 6 florence for this bash. If anyone has any questions
or needs some info email me at lman07@aol.com."
POSTED 3/5/05:
Ferreira, Gabriel wrote:
"I am the current prior and have recently restarted communications with national headquarters. We are trying to get our charter back and have actually been trying to contact alumni for support, we would like to throw an Earthday party this yr., which we haven't in 2 yrs., and use the proceeds for the cost of the charter. If you are interested or are still in contact with other alumni who might we would appreciate all the support possible. We will be establishing a date for earthday soon, and hope that you guys would come up for a reunion of sorts.
thank you very much,
gabriel ferreira
POSTED 2/27/05:
Big Red wrote:
"Dear Mr. Ferreira & Mr. Smith:
Thank you for your interest in Sigma Alpha Mu.
Sigma Alpha Mu closed its Gamma Sigma chapter at Binghamton in the fall
2001 due to the chapter's failure to meet minimum standards. At the
time of closing it was agreed that the chapter would remain closed for
at least four years. While we are very interested in the reactivation
of Gamma Sigma chapter, we have had reports of a group operating at
Binghamton that is illegally using the name of Sigma Alpha Mu. This
matter will have to be addressed before we are able to return to
Binghamton.
If you are interested in pursuing the reactivation of Gamma Sigma I
suggest you take the following steps:
1) Talk to the other students that are interested in being part of
Sigma Alpha Mu and determine if they are seriously interested in Sigma
Alpha Mu. If they are send a letter of petition to my attention that
includes the following information:
a) Why the group wants to reactivate the SUNY Binghamton
chapter of Sigma Alpha Mu.
b) The group's goals.
c) Why the group wants to be Sigma Alpha Mu and not part of
another group already on campus.
d) A list of interested students and class years.
e) A list of activities that members of the group are involved
in.
2) After the above is submitted arrange a meeting with the campus Greek
Advisor and IFC to discuss the campus expansion process and if the
University is open to expansion.
Sincerely,
Aaron M. Girson
Executive Director
Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity
Me and Rafiki set them some emails and thats what they responded to us. We are
trying to get everyone motivated so we can give them whatever the hell they
need so the chapter can get chartered again. Well whoever is coming up for St.
Pattys day, see you guys next weekend and lets do some irish car bombs and get
wasted.
Peace out."
POSTED 2/24/05:
Doofey wrote:
"Hello all,
Re-starting the fraternity is agreat idea. When I joined SAM we were
suspended for 5 years. That suspension is over, or it will be over real soon.. and
restarting the frat would be a big step in getting back memebers, especially
since all the incomming freshmen are afraid of pledging a non-chrtered
fraternity. I wrote an e-mail to nationals and requested information about what we
should do to restart the fraternity. As soon as they get back to me, I will post
the answer on this website. Also Beer's Up for St. Patty's day..
--The Doof"
POSTED 2/19/05:
FaFa Fooey wrote:
"hey guys..its bababababab boooooeeeey...i heart SAM for life....i will
be up for st pattys day and will perfom some judo karate holds i
know.....hiiiiiyaaaaa.....please keep the snake locked up...i hate the wheel of torture and
bloody marys."
POSTED 2/2/05:
Smith, Lawrence wrote:
"As of right now we have scheduled an Earth Day bash for April 30th.
We havent had one in a few years and its time for SAM to get back on the map
with a crazy party. I have been contacted SAM headquarters in order to get the
process moving to reinstate the Gamma Sigma chapter officially. We would like a
huge turnout for Earth Day and want as many SAM alumni there as possible. Ill
post more details as soon as we know the specifics. If anyone has any
questions or is willing to help us out email me at lman07@aol.com."
POSTED 12/27/04:
Weingast, Justin wrote:
"Let me first start off by reminding PUSSY(John Bagni) that this is a
Jewish fraternity and I am offended by the Merry Christmas and no Happy Hanukah.
Now a reinstatement of SAM in Binghamton sounds like a good idea but to the
guys who are up there you have to ask yourselves if it's worth paying Nationals
when they give nothing to us. We basically pay them to use their name and noone
benefits from them. We will be up for St Pattys day this year so we can all
discuss this then and see if anyone wants to help out. You should also try to get
in touch with older alumni and see their feelings on this. Be safe, Have a Happy
New Year.
NEWMAN OUT!!!"
POSTED 12/23/04:
Bagni, John wrote:
"Although there may be few alumni still reading this message board, I can assure you that we too are still 'tight' and word can travel fast. I would like to respond to Big Red and offer my assistance in rejuvinating the once Large, but still vibrant Gamma Sigma Chapter. It is important that current fratres continue to stress the importance of the fraternity to new members, including the benefits of membership beyond the limits of Binghamton University. Please feel free to contact me so we may arrange some more consistent alumni/current member correspondence and begin creating a plan to reinstate Gamma Sigma in the National registry. I would like to say hello to Telemundo, my little brother. My email address is
JohnnyJR815@aol.com for those who will be spearheading the reinstatement efforts. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone."
POSTED 12/17/04:
Smith, Lawrence wrote:
"hey guys nobody has posted anything in a long time so im posting
something. We just had a fall pledge class of one person and he finished his
program. EAM is looking to expand to Binghamton again according to their website so
we are looking to restart the Gamma Sigma chapter again. I am looking for some
alumni help on this one, we have just contacted EAM headquarters but they have
not yet gotten back to us. Formerly, there was about an $8000 debt but we
arent sure what it is as of right now. We are really interested in opening the
chapter again unfortunately we have only 18 member but we are tight as can be. If
anyone wants to come up for an alumni event or spring rush or just help us out
in our current situation let us know.. My pledge name is Big Red... so email me
at lman07@aol.com or just post something on the website... We dont want some
random people to start another EAM chapter here, we want the tradition to
continue and we are proud of that. Also the house at 6 florence is still here and in shitty conditions."
POSTED 8/11/04:
Tomitz, Richard wrote:
"This was a great idea!!! Way to be Little Bro Landy! Hope everyone
is well and looking forward to hearing from you."
POSTED 8/3/04:
Martinez, Abi wrote:
"whats up fellas. My name is abi, im a gamma lambda, noticed no1 has
put up nething for this year, i just wanted to see what alumni are still reading
the message board. As u may or may not know, the frat has been going through
some tough times, lost the charter couple years ago, but were still surviving,
and still going strong. Basicaly we stoped the bleeding last year. For a while,
we were losing members, last semster, the gamma mu pledge class(7 members) was
able to replace every graduating senior. Right now we can turn it around, but we
need your help. Plan a trip up, a reunion, a donation, anything. With this few
people as active members, a show of suport from alumni would be huge. Feel free
to write and let me know. the first big thing planed is our labor day party,
which is gonna happend either sept 4 or 5. Anyone interested in comming drop me
an Email. thanks guys."
POSTED 4/15/04:
Kerzhner, Alex wrote:
"Hey guys it's Alex again aka Doofy. We are planning EARTHDAY for
Saturday April 24th. Write about who is comming or who would like to come. My
phone number is 917 751 1164 if anyone would like to contact me. Hope to hear
from some alumni."
POSTED 1/16/04:
Remy wrote:
"hey alex.. glad to hear my funnel and the house are still standing..
let us know early about earth day this year. we'll get something going"
POSTED 9/10/03:
Kerzhner, Alex wrote:
"Hey everyone, my name is Alex Kerzhner and I'm an active brother
currently living at 6 florence. this reunion idea sounds great. Let me know what
we can do for you guys and I'll pass it down to the current members. And yes we
still have the 3 story funnel hooked up so if any of you geezers want a shot at
it feel free to do so when you guys come up. But this is a great idea and all
of us here would like to have you guys come up and hang out for the weekend.
Beer pong sounds great! Let me know if I can do anything. My number is 917 751
1164 and email is AlexKerzhner@aol.com. Hope to hearing from you guys soon."
-alex (doofy)
POSTED 9/4/03:
Fidlon, Greg wrote:
"Is anybody still using this website??? Kappas ('93) are planning a
trip to Binghamton for their 10-year reunion on the weekend of Oct. 10-12. We
would love to hear from any active brothers so that we can arrange a social event
at 6 Florence. Beer pong, anyone?"
POSTED 5/13/03:
Lincoln, Paul wrote:
"I don't know......
three beer funnels are really great..
how about three story funnels?"
POSTED 3/26/03:
Ober, Joseph wrote:
"I am engaged! (Joseph Ober Eta '91)
Please let me introduce you to Ms. Rebecca Rome- my lovely fiancé. She likes to
be called 'Becca' and she is SUCH a Becca. She is so warm & caring, thoughtful
and smart, fun, witty and beautiful. It gives me great pleasure to introduce
you to her today. She has agreed to marry me! Yay!
We hope to wed in late June or early July. Not sure of where- could be Dallas,
NYC or LA. We shall see but we will certainly keep you posted. (There is a
bidding war with media coverage, product tie-ins, t-shirts- you understand.)
She lives in Brooklyn, works in Manhattan in the diamond business, grew up in
Texas (Yee Haw.) She lived in Israel for 2.5 years and went to Neve Yerushalayim
and also Iyat. She has developed such a refined, completely present soul. She
is a one-of-a kind. I am the luckiest man on the face of this earth.
Really. Me. The Luckiest. Look in the dictionary under Lucky- little picture of
me.
If you'd like to post us a message please do so at Only Simchas
www.onlysimchas.com (look under ENGAGEMENTS 3/23 or Rome - Ober.)
My Stats
I am an Eta
Pledge name 'Velcro'
First Class to live in The House on Florence
Binghamton '91
Econ-Psych
Pledged in Spring '88 (wow- so long ago!)
I live in Los Angeles now and work for a company that takes care of the
elderly during the day- the idea is called Adult Day Health Care. Our trade
name is Daylight.
For anyone who knows me or those that don't know me, please share in my joy as
I feel like the luckiest guy on the face of this earth. Really. If any of you
are unmarried- go and find a good woman. Its the best feeling you could ever
give yourself (and that's coming from someone who did a 3 beer funnel. No
comparison.)
Ok- thanks so much. Email me if you would like. I'd love to hear from a
fellow fratre.
Fast and Firm (and wildly Fun)."
POSTED 12/25/02:
Kerzhner, Alex wrote:
"No one has posted anything in a while, so I decided to write something.
Whatup u fellazzz HAppy holidays. If anyone cares about the fraternity just
post it , cause according to the postings no one really gives a shit except the
actives."
POSTED 4/29/02:
Bauer, Mike wrote:
"I still havent heard from the alumni about the Alumni Weekend/Earth Day
which is this coming Saturday, May 4th. PLease get in touch with me if you are
interested in coming up! ! !"
POSTED 4/20/02:
Kerzhner, Alex wrote:
"Earthday is Saturday, May 4th."
POSTED 4/3/02:
Bauer, Mike wrote:
"I see that no one has posted in a while but I wanted to let everyone
know that we are planning Earth Day for the first weekend in May and we want to
make it an Alumni Weekend as well. If this sounds like something you all would
be interested in please email me or get in touch with one of the active brothers
so we can get this together. I think it this can be a great weekend and alot of
fun."
Thanks,
Mike Bauer
nito7197@aol.com
917-862-7818
607-772-3393
POSTED 3/17/02:
Flaxman, Brian wrote:
"For all the alumni, im lookin for an internship/job for the summer of
2002. Im an MIS/Fin major. Any help would be greatly appreciated."
POSTED 1/29/02:
Morchower, Neal wrote:
"Throw a reunion in binghamton for earth day and i will come."
POSTED 1/14/02:
Lincoln, Paul wrote:
"January 12th was excellent! Good to see everybody! hands up to Tim Radin."
POSTED 1/11/02:
Kleinberg, Neil wrote to the listserv:
"Mangled? Me? Never. I was in top form that night. You
should have seen me before new years ...
Y'all bring your best. I'll show you young whipper
snappers a thing or two."
POSTED 1/11/02:
Wiener, Michael wrote to the listserv:
"If I can make it to this meet up .. I will take plenty of pictures.. I am not sure if I will attend.. I might have to work sat night...I will definitely be in the city for afterhours... with Hanson and Katz
those of you that are staying out late... call my cell..
the number's still the same
Oh...
someone watch Kleinberg.. make sure he doesnt get too mangled.. we all remember earthday in 99
Lata boys
Keep in touch."
POSTED 1/11/02:
Matties, Dick wrote to the listserv:
"It's great to see that so many of you getting together again (although it's sad about the initial reason for doing so). I'd like to be able to join you, but it's not possible.
I assume that part of this will be to try to re-establish Gamma Sigma chapter, and a number of you will agree to form an Alumni advisory committee and work with the National and the University. I've got great memories of the times spent during the years that I acted as chapter advisor, and want to see the chapter back in business. So if I can help now, and if you'd like me to be a part of this process, I'm certainly willing to do so."
POSTED 1/7/02:
Someone wrote to the listserv:
"Hi,
I thought everyone would like an idea of who will be hanging out Sat. night:
alumni:
Brian Goldrich
Paul Lincoln
Adam Stonehill
Mike Salomone
Bruce Steinberg
Brett Whiton
Howie Bonfield
Mike Unger
Larry Robin
Howie Siegler
Neil Kleinberg
Mike Bank
Eric Storch
Allen Margolius
Mike Forrest
Josh Kranz
Todd Siegel
Justin Weingast
Rob Leventhal
Mitch Chorost
Jeff Yablon
Brian Altman
lets get some more confirmations! otherwise Radin is out some bucks."
POSTED 1/2/02:
Radin, Tim wrote to the listserv:
"Hi all,
I am currently expecting between 30 and 90 people on Jan. 12. Yes, I need
more specific RSVP's. Please call everyone that you are in contact with and
ask them to contact me directly. I am sure everyone received the letter from
national. From that and other brothers conversations with national, it seems
there is hope for reactivation. It should be a great time, with the various
groups that will be attending.
The details:
Sat. night Jan 12. 8:30pm Session 73 (73rd street and 1st ave)
Food and drink.
Access to women.
\\$50
tim"
POSTED 12/11/01:
Radin, Tim wrote to the listserv:
"Plans are firming up.
Session 73 back room, around 8pm. 73rd&1st
cost: around\\$50
2-3 hours open bar and food."
tim
POSTED 12/06/01:
Radin, Tim wrote to the listserv:
"Hi all,
I am working on selecting a venue for our reunion/meeting and NEED an idea of
how many people will be attending (with checkbook in hand.) Please RSVP to
me directly at:
timraddds@aol.com
Looking forward...
tim radin, beta
p.s. if you have any suggestions send them along, it might be worth a laugh!
kidding. i will try to keep everyone informed on the progress and ideas."
POSTED 12/05/01:
Stam, Eric wrote:
"Where is the event on January 12th supposed to take place???"
POSTED 12/03/01:
Radin, Tim wrote:
If everyone has not heard, we are trying to organize a huge alum/current event in NYC, Jan 12. In addition to a good reunion, it seems a business meeting is called for. I would appreciate some direct email RSVP so I can have some idea of numbers and try to reserve a private room somewhere.
Looking forward to seeing the brotherhood assembled.
POSTED 12/03/01:
Bagni, John wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"I would first like to begin by thanking all of the alumni for what seems to
be overwhelming support for the active brothers in this chapter; and I would
like to reassure you that this support is not going unappreciated.
In response to Mike Wiener's email, I would like to reiterate the need for
proven fund-raising ideas that can be executated time and time again; the
increased dues (and Insurance) cannot be covered by the dues of the active
brothers alone.
In response to Dave Reinhold's email, I would like to thank him for his
support and encouragement for the support from all alumni...however at this
time I don't want any money to be sent to the chapter. We, as a chapter,
must first decide our plan of action and estimate the cost of re-initiating
Gamma Sigma; it will be at that time that we can, perhaps, hope for the
financial support of the alumni. This is to insure that your hard-earned
money does not get spent frivolously on unnecessary expenditures.
Again, thank you to all who are involved and concerned in the recirculating
emails.
POSTED 12/03/01:
Wilck, David wrote:
"I just got word about the Fraternity. I graduate in 1990, and thought that the Frat would last forever. To echo my old friends Howie, Jeff, Tim and Adam, I think that somehting should definately be done. Jan. 12 in NYC sounds great. Who will corrdinate this? I for one, would be willing to make a donation, so long as I am convinced that there is a real desire to continue the Frat by the active brothers. Please keep me posted."
POSTED 12/02/01:
Weiner, Mike wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"Fratres,
"This sounds like a good idea. However, since there is an \\$8000/year
increase in national dues for gamma sigma ... it seems like some sort of
reoccurring yearly fundraisers would be appropriate.
I know from my few years in the fraternity that we, recently, have had very
little sucsess with fundraisers.
Maybe some of the alumni can remember fundraising ideas that actually
brought in a good amount of cash
The active members of our chapter... and it is still our chapter... is a
group of strong motivated men who are willing to put hard work into keeping
gammaa sigma alive.
I think that with some guidance from the elder alumni, the ones that saw
sammy when it was in its hey-day, we will all be able to visit binghamton in
the future and see a chapter carried on in our tradition."
POSTED 12/01/01:
Reinhold, Dave wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"Fratres,
My name is Dave Reinhold (Gamma Beta). After reading Prior Bagni's message
this morning, I
felt the need to respond. When I was an acitve fratre at Binghamton, I was
heavily involved in the
financial matters of the fraternity as well as the alumni relations. The
'snowball' effect that
Prior Bagni speaks of has been going on for a long time now. When I became
Alumni Chair in the
fall of 1999, I sent out the first official Alumni letter which spoke of the
financial hardships
that EAM was facing. We had a positive response from the Alumni (hands up to
Neil Klienburg) but
even after my efforts to help the fraternity, our debt was still hanging over
our heads.
Over the years, certain fratres did not have money to pay their dues which is
the main reason EAM
has a debt and it really was only a matter of time before the debt would catch
up to us.
Some of the deliquencies span back as far as 10 years ago and it's really not
fair that the
current fratres are being forced to deal with the consiquences.
I have been to Binghamton numerous times since graduation and I can honestly say
that the active
fratres really are a great bunch of guys. The core concepts of what EAM stands
for is still alive
in the fratres at Binghamton and I think we would all like to see our great
tradition continue on.
So now the question is, what can we do to help these guys? And I think the
answer is obvious.
Various alumni have sent emails recently indicating that they were in touch with
national to
discuss the situation. This is a great first step as it shows national that the
alumni is here to
support our Fraternity (prior to this, we had almost no support from alumni in
the eyes of
national). And the next step is the establishment, WITH NATIONAL, of a payment
plan to get Gamma
Sigma back into good standings.
So it really all comes down to support from the alumni. We need to coordinate a
fundraising effort
with national and send the money directly to them so that we know EAM is in good
standings.
No one likes to ask for money, but it's the only option we have left. If all the
alumni Fratres
gave a donation of something like \\$50 we could alleviate or debt and get these
guys back in good
standings.
The friends and memories we all have from EAM will stay with us forever. We need
to keep a great
tradition alive SO LET'S DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!
Thanks for your time,
Dave
POSTED 11/30/01:
Rothman, Rob wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"No disrespect to the beer pong bunch is intended, but for some of us, getting
together with old friends that we do not see often enough is key. And, there is
that issue about trying to save the fraternity. I think that in the end a
convenient location in Manhattan will draw more people than ping pong. I also
think that a Manhattan location may be more conducive to resolving the real
issue at hand. After we save the fraternity, we can all go to the Sammy house
in Binghamton and play beer pong."
POSTED 11/30/01:
Bagni, John wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"Hello to all alumni; I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce
myself. My name is John Bagni (Pussy) and I am the new Prior of the Gamma
Sigma chapter. I am a Junior and a proud member of the Gamma Zeta pledge
class of EAM.
I'd like to start out by giving you a brief synopsis of the last
several years here at BU. The chapter began it's financial debt slowly; the
chapter at some point in time had failed to pay the initiations of several
new brothers. This created a rollover effect, where the dues of new pledges
were being used for initiation of older brothers and not themselves. This
only caused the problem to get larger and for more and more people's
Lifetime Membership Charges to not have yet been paid for by our chapter.
National debt accumulated to amounts simply unable to be paid by the dues of
the ever smaller active brother roll. At the entrance of the last council
(Prior: Oren Simon (sanders), VP: John Bagni (myself-Pussy), EX: Brandon
Katz (little bitch), Recorder: Brian Flaxman (mr. burns) Gamma Sigma chapter
came clean with Dave Phillips (Fmr. Supreme Prior)upon his visit to our
chapter and at that point we wrote him a check for \\$1000. We continued to
make progress with nationals even up to this past summer where we sent two
members (Matt Terry (shermanator) and Eric Kuzcinkas (baba booey)) to the
national conference in Cleveland Ohio at our own expense. Upon the return
to school in August we were presented with a bill from the new Insurance
company (insurance is now being outsourced by nationals and not affiliated
with them) for \\$9000. Now between 29 active brothers this amounts to about
\\$300 per person, on top of $60/brother national fee and local dues. This
amount is, understandably unfeasible for many brothers (not everyone's
parents pay there dues). This money was due on Nov. 1st 2001 and as you
know not paid by our chapter. This failure of payment was not a malicious,
irresponsible action upon our chapter but yet a sorry case of not enough
cash flow. It was after this point of delinquency that the national
fraternity decided to shut us down. A meeting between several reps from
nationals and our entire fraternity was held roughly two weekends ago; I
believe our impression left upon our visitors was one of a true
disapointment on the circumstances as well as a desire and commitment to
resolve the issue at hand. This action might be what we need to reorg the
way our fraternity is run. It is not the way it was ten or even five years
ago at BU. A reorg has already began with the election of a council to work
on a proposal to present to nationals as well as to assess the current
running of the fraternity. Also an assistant exchequer has been elected, in
essence to split up the task of accountant and collector. More plans are
ahead and I can assure you, all alumni will now be kept updated by the new
council on any changes to fraternal order as well as the contents of our
meetings.
Our chapter of 60, 70 people is no more, more and more our school is
becoming the elite and the level of kids entering into our school is also
elite. Our school is getting tougher and let's face it the kids here don't
have a lot of extra time to dedicate to extra curricular activities,
especially to something where they might actually have to work for something
other than a grade. With an active brother roll of 29 people, a \\$9000
insurance bill is unfeasible. We will be in contact with the insurance
company to try and re-evaluate our premium. ---my major qualm with the
insurance is that they claim we are high risk, yet any high risk activities
are not covered by insurance (underage drinking, hazing) so then why are we
paying for high risk coverage--- Yes, Greek life at this campus is slowing,
but our presence as EAM is not; I can assure you that our name is well
respected and the title of brother well deserved by those who carry it. We
are still very actively involved in events, such as the recent alpha phi
star search, where all the ushers were EAM brothers and our fraternity
(during suspension) had block seating in the front row. Our fraternity was
the best represented at that event and easily outnumbered all the other
fraternities in attendance.
I would also like to convey to you that the feelings of this chapter's
brothers are sincere. We will be discussing an alumni event for early next
semester so you can make an evaluation on our character yourselves; I see
how you can question the character of the active brothers, but remember it
only takes one snowball to start an avalanche. My point is that this
chapter has had our problems and, perhaps its responses were not serious
enough in the past, but it is now that we will be tested and I know we will
prevail. There are several plans in discussion by our chapter for
re-admittance to the national fraternity and you will be updated when these
plans are further discussed and can be better explained. So keep your heads
up and understand that we pledged hard and are obviously not afraid of hard
work, the real world has bitten our fraternity in the ass, but our
fraternity will not falter...Gamma Sigma is all of you and all of us...not a
new group of guys..so we will gain your trust back and hopefully be able to
unite the pledge classes of old with that of the new.
The January 12th event sounds great and will be presented to the active
brothers at our Saturday meeting (after we beat APD in football), and I hope
you can get us some definite information on time and location so we can
better organize this year's event and have significant attendance from
active brothers.
We greatly appreciate the time and consideration of all active alumni,
and hope that we can bridge the gap between old and new and keep a great
fraternity at a great University alive."
POSTED 11/29/01:
Siegler, Howie wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"Thanks for your eMail.
I happen to agree with you, and would much rather see the fraternity
continue without any type of hiatus. I think restarting from scratch at
some future date will be very tough to attract new brothers. It sounds like
the problems with National were truly a combination of the financial mess
AND the rules infractions. If you had one set of problems without the
other, they may have not reacted so strongly. However, that is in the past.
How many current active brothers are there? What is the status of 6
Florence? Was there a fall rush this semester? What are the prospects of
the "underground" spring rush? Why were there such problems collecting
dues?
If there are guys that graduated owing the chapter money, they should step
up to the plate as alumni and make good on their debt. In fact, if they are
not willing to do so (unless there is a damm good reason why), they should
not be welcome at any alumni events. Part of being in the fraternity is
being a responsible person.
Show the alumni you "are on the right path" by getting as many current
brothers to the January 12 get together in NYC as possible. Most of the
alumni are extremely supportive, and are willing to spend time (and money)
to help, but need to be certain that our efforts are not goinig to be in
vain."
POSTED 11/29/01:
Leyderman, Lawrence
wrote:
"My name is Lawrence Leyderman, "Pokemon". I am a active brother of the gamma
zeta plegde class,(juniors now).
I have read all of the messages that have been posted by the alumni. Those of
you that think that closing the chapter and reopening it in the future is a good
idea are extremely mistaken. I cant believe that the thought even ran through
some of your heads.
The active brothers are extremely motivated and love this fraternity. It means
soo much to us, you have no clue. We are willing to do anything to keep us
alive.
WE are the gamma sigma chapter. If this fraternity is closed and is started up
by new members, they will never be what we are, we might as well give them a new
chapter name. WE continue the tradition, WE pass them on, WE are what all of you
have made, WE pledged just as all of you have. If you guys can recall how much
the frat meant to you when you where here, I can assure you thats how much it
means to us.
Maybe we have went off the right path a little bit, but we were heading right
back onto it. This event happened at such a time in the fraternity when we were
becoming more organized, stronger, and just plainly more responsible. The new
brothers that just got in last semester are the future, they are a great and
probably the most motivated pledge class yet. Imagine just pledging and, and not
even having a pledge class of your own.
A flyer was sent to nationals. A "FLYER", that is nothing, it could have
happened at anytime. That is what got us in the most trouble. Are you alumni
telling me you never flyered on campus. We are in a bit of financial debt. That
is mostly due to older brothers that have graduated. This semester had the
highest amount of dues turned in since I have been a brother. All we need
financially is simply to get back on our feet and I promise you that we will
never fall again.
I want to end this by saying that I really appreciate the care that you alumni
are showing. Its nice to know that we have a such a tightly knit fraternity. I
think that its a great idea for you all to come down and see for yourselves
whats going on, and see that there is only one option: SIGMA ALPHA MU, GAMMA
SIGMA CHAPTER MUST SURVIVE AND CONTINUE."
POSTED 11/28/01:
Radin, Tim
wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"Let us remember that once we all were 18-21 year old irresponsible, carefree
college students once, without a clear idea of the realities of life and
possible dire consequences of our actions; and not be overly harsh. Yes, we
should be sure that the money will not be squandered (although I hope we can
all get over the potential hundred bucks), but to place unrealistic
expectations and oversight on these guys is not fair. We should also just
use this as an excuse to mobilize a massive alumni get-together, the likes of
which have not been seen since the alum weekend many moons ago. And yes,
they should have made a more serious effort to include the alumni, but
we/they do not have the history of weighty alumni involvement ( I was the
first alumni recorder). Since when did all of you get so f___ing old?!"
POSTED 11/28/01:
Oxburger, Dewey wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"First off, I don't know about you but I get a lot of e-
mail each day. I have no problems maintaining a
discussion on this list but people will stop reading
these if everyone joins in with personal messages to a
buddy they haven't spoken to in years. When you reply
to these messages they go to everyone. To quote Evan
Weiss, who I don't think I know:
The alumni website http://sixflorence.freeservers.com
has everyone's individual e-mail, so please don't write
personal e-mails to the listserv.
The real reason I'm writing is because I am very much in
favor of setting up a meeting in the NYC area when the
active brothers are home for Christmas. They deserve a
chance to explain their side and I think it would be a
good idea to meet face to face so we can all make our
own decisions.
I've seen lots of postings from alumni. I don't know
which of you are in touch with active brothers and I
hope some of them are reading this. I think it's
obvious there's a lot of support from the alumni for the
chapter. It's out there if they want to ask for it.
I'm not saying they should beg but if they want to keep
their chapter alive then they should be putting in some
effort to make this happen.
I'd like to hear what they have to say."
-Dewey Oxburger, beta
POSTED 11/28/01:
Robin, Larry
wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"I also think that Neal has an excellent point, BUT i also think that we
should hear what both national and the guys at Binghamton have to say about
this.
After exchanging a few emails with Howie Siegler, I left a message for the
Executive Director at national and should hear back from him early next week
(he is currently traveling for business). I also spoke with someone from
Binghamton today (i believe his name is Mike Bauer....the current
pledgemaster). He is claiming that the MAIN reason for the problems with
national are financial and they are currently in the process of appealing the
chapter closure. I also sent an email to the local prior and am waiting to
hear from him. Mike offered to get together with some or all of us over the
holiday break. I think thats a great start and might give us a feeling if
they are truly capable of continuing the fraternity.
I will pass on another email when i hear from National."
POSTED 11/28/01:
Schlatner, Adam
wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"Okay--now I know I've sat here silent for too long. A parenting lesson??!!
Kleinberg the voice of reason??!! For 18 or 20 years??!! Minutes??!!
Seconds??!! No offense--or at least not much--but, c'mon now. He's been the
voice of a lot of different things for a long time, but REASON??!! (and
fraternal fiscal responsibility??!!)
Mr. Gavigan, you've always been a good and seemingly pretty sharp guy--plus
you're in Stonehill's lineage--so I'll forgive you this one fleeting
transgression of sanity. I'll write it off to the fact that you're probably
deeply indebted to Kleinberg for providing you with countless bags of
entertainment during college, at what he convinced you (and you believed) were
discounted rates. (You being scared and all, you never questioned him.....)
In any event, the point raised by your supplier and tormentor, and echoed by
Josh, Stoney and yourself, is a good one. It's essentially the same point
raised by Dick Matteis' departure from involvement with the fraternity. I think
Howie's efforts to find out exactly what happened were tremendously helpful, and
to the extent anyone else has any further info, they need to disseminate it.
While I imagine the overwhelming sentiment among us is that we would do whatever
it takes to see that what we built is maintained, we do need to be smart, and
cautious about it.
Of course, none of this should deter us from following through on Howie's
suggestion--ROAD TRIP!!!!! (Please note that if pressed by my wife--the mother
of my 4 month old daughter--I never suggested or condoned such an activity!)
And, hands up for Evan Weiss, who's at least trying to keep the alumni network
up and running."
POSTED 11/28/01:
Goldstein, Howie wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"Can someone post the response that national gave to Howie?
I spoke with some guys who graduated in 1993 and 1994 who were interested in helping out the Fraternity as well. They also expressed an interest with coordinating with National in order to make sure that the chapter can be and is actually "saved".
Realistically, if the chapter is completely gone from campus, the likelihood of the alumni to be able to restart the chapter is slim. We would be better off trying to help these guys, but only if they showed a willingness to help themselves.
If the current members were responsible for raising a small sum per person (say \\$50 per active brother) the alumni might feel comfortable enough that the current fraternity value the affiliation with national.
Honestly, there were always people questioning the value of National. Only now in our old age do we think that it is such an important thing that ties us with gamma sigma and our college days. A reasonable committment from the active brothers should satisfy alumni that its worth keeping the chapter alive.
If they would prefer the underground rush, then we are just wasting our time anyway - they would rather us buy them a keg and be done with it. "
POSTED 11/28/01:
Rothman, Rob wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"Kleinberg preaching about responsibility?
Radin questioning whether it is appropriate to be hitting on freshman??
What's next???
In any event, it would have been nice to have heard from National before the
situation got out of hand. The response that National sent to Howie indicates
that the Chapter was put into alumni receivership more than a year ago. Why
didn't National tell the Gamma Sigma alumni about this? They can keep their
Octogonian; I, for one, don't care what's happening at the University of Toledo
chapter. I would have like to have been told that our chapter was in trouble."
POSTED 11/28/01:
Kranz, Josh wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"I'm with Dewey. I think that National's suggestion (for those who have not
read it) that we form an alumni committee that would start fresh and target
the formation of a new chapter in the next couple of years (say 2003) would
be a much better use of our resources. This strategy would also make it
more likely that we would have National's support, and the creation of such
a committee could enhance the relationship between alumni and actives for
the foreseeable future. Neither of those benefits will be engendered by
throwing good money after bad - again.
POSTED 11/28/01:
Kleinberg, Neil wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"Believe me, I would like nothing more than to spend the weekend drinking in
Binghamton. And I would gladly do my part to help with their debt.
BUT
The e-mail that Evan Weiss forwarded us from Mike Bauer has me extremely
concerned and very wary about giving this group money. They want to go
underground and continue as a fraternity bringing in new members. They're
planning an underground rush that they feel is good because, since they're
underground, they're not limited by the regular 'above ground' restrictions
imposed by the school. Do you all think this will help them get their charter
back?
The response National sent Howie gave me the impression that these guys didn't
try very hard to keep the charter. We got contacted last year but they made no
real effort to make something happen. There's a lot they could have done to get
alumni support, from scheduling a weekend get-together or contacting the
alumni's directly ... a serious effort to get some help. They could still do
this. You guys see anything?
It sounds to me like their plans for an underground rush, complete with house
parties, is only going to make matters worse. Do you really want to give your
hard earned cash to continue this situation? I'm not saying I wouldn't give
money to keep the chapter going ... I'm just saying if we're going to do it
let's make sure we do it for a group of guys that are serious about the
fraternity and their responsibilities.
I don't get the feeling these guys are.
-Dewey"
POSTED 11/27/01:
Siegler, Howie wrote an e-mail to the listserv:
"This EMail is being sent to all addresses that have appeared on EMails that
I have received over the past week or so. I presume you are all alumni and
it looks like a few of you are active brothers. I recognized many of the
alumni names, but not necessarily all of them.
As you all know, word got around last week that the Sigma Alpha Mu chapter
at Binghamton was shut down by National. The reaction among most alumni
that heard this news was to try to find out exactly what happened, and if
anything could be done to help or reverse the situation.
I went "to the top" and sent an EMail to the executive director at National
asking him those very questions. He replied within a day, and the attached
file is the EMail he sent me. Judging by his response, I am not overly
enthusiastic about the prospect of being able to get the chapter reactivated
at anytime soon. It seems that there were a number of warnings, probation,
etc. issued by National over the past year or so and that the chapter
apparently did not heed National's warnings. If more alumni were aware of
the situation sooner, it is likely that this mess could have been avoided.
I have not heared from anybody at the chapter to see if National's position
is unjustified.
If anybody has any further information or suggestions, please let us all
know.
Some guys were interested in going up to Binghamton to speak with the
current brothers. Even if the chapter can't be saved at this time, this
seems like a good excuse to go up to Binghamton anyway and stay intoxicated
for an entire weekend. Maybe somtime early next semester (mid-February?).
It would be great to get as many of the alumni together as possible.
Also, please feel free to pass this on to any and all other brothers and
alumni.
My best to everybody,
Howie Siegler, '89
Dear Fra Siegler:
Thank you for your email. A letter will be sent to all Gamma Sigma Alumni next month regarding the chapter's closing. I will provide you the detail that I am able.
The chapter was permanently suspended (closed) for the following reasons:
1) Violation of probation. The chapter was on probation for hazing last spring, part of the probation was that the chapter could not have any risk management policy violations. This fall the chapter advertised and held an open party in violation of Sigma Alpha Mu Risk Management Policy.
2) Violation of Alumni Receivership Status. Gamma Sigma was also operating under alumni receivership for poor chapter performance. Chapters in alumni receivership get one year to impove or they are close, reorganized or given directed action. In August Gamma Sigma was rated in alumni receivership for the second consutive year, while the Octagon could have closed the chapter at that time, the chapter was given another chance. To get another year to improve the chapter had to do a few basic things. One of these was a payment plan and payments on back debt. The chapter did not work out a payment plan on the debt nor were any payments made. Information on the Chapter Performance Standards program can be found on the SAM website (sam.org).
3. Failure to maintain liability insurance. All SAM chapters are required to maintain liability insurance. Premiums were due to the insurance company on November 1 and the chapter did not pay and indicated to me that they were unable to pay.
4. Financial delinquency. At the time of closing the chapter had a past due balance of \\$7878. This includes $4750 that was unpaid last year. Please note that in the past three years the Octagon forgave $5700 in chapter debt in an effort to help the chapter get back on track.
I hope that this has answered most of your questions. The chapter's closing was disappointing to many people. Special attention and extra visit were made to the chapter by Dave Phillips (then Supreme Prior), several SAM field reps, and myself. While some of the chapter leaders appeared willing to correct things this fall it became clear that unless the chapter was closed we would continue to have problems. The decision to close the chapter was made with the plan that we would return to reactivate Gamma Sigma in a few years with a new group of men.
My suggestion is that interested alumni begin working to for an advisory board or alumni club that can support the chapter when it is reactivated. We had a good chapter at Binghamton for many years and the Octagon believes that with new men we will again. Alumni involvement will be important in supporting the reactivation effort. In addition, we need to secure the chapter property (pictures, paddles) the group was unwilling to give the stuff up during the visit and I did not wish to force the issue at that time. Perhaps you or another interested alumnus could help me in this matter?
Fraternally,
Aaron Girson."
POSTED 11/25/01:
Bauer, Mike wrote: "Every active brother recieved a letter from nationals detailing our permanent suspension. There is a formal appeals process that we are currently working on. We have elected a committee to handle the appeals process (I am one of them) and we have to submit a plan of action explaining to nationals how we plan to get our chapter back into good standing. This however, like i said in the previous email will probably not hold any weight unless we have the money to clear our debt.
Our problems have been piling up for years now (everyone active in the past few years can vouch for it)
We were put on probation last year- and we were in financial delinquency since last year as well.
We got in trouble this semester for having a party- someone mailed the flyers to nationals
We failed to pay our liability insurance premium and are in debt of approximately \\$7,900
We violated our probation with the above two
So there it is...
all suggestions are greatly appreciated- you can email the listserve or me directly with suggestions, ideas, or questions
"
POSTED 11/23/01:
Yablon, Jeff wrote: "I was a very active charter member-Beta class-I am quite unhappy to hear
that SAM has lost its charter and that it is now an underground
fraternity. It was with a lot of work and effort that I and my fellow
Alpha and Beta brothers founded the chapter, and to hear that after only
a little more than a decade, the chapter has been reduced to the current
situation. I would appreciate it if you could provide more information
regarding the chronology of events, and what, if any steps that you have
taken to restore the chapter to its former prominence.
Please advise..."
POSTED 11/23/01:
Siegler, Howard wrote: "Tim Radin forwarded me a copy of the EMail below. I am a Binghamton Sammy, class of 89, and was the chapter prior in 87-88. There has been a lot of buzz among alumni this week about what is apparently going on with the chapter. Being that we were there at nearly the beginning (most of the guys I am in touch with were the Beta pledge class, which was really the first pledge class since the founders were the Alphas), we are concerned about the problems you apparently are going through.
First, aside from the money issue, what caused national to drop the chapter? Sounds like they are pretty pissed off with you guys. I imagine this just occurred this semester. Is there any type of formal appeal process?
Second, how did you get so far in debt with them? How much does National charge the chapter for insurance and dues? How much does the chapter collect from the current members for dues? What happened to the money? How much money do you have on hand now?
Although \\$8K seems like a lot, the chapter now has hundreds of alumni, many of whom are doing pretty well. 80 guys @ $100 each would solve your problems. Do you have any real alumni records of names and current addresses? If not, maybe national would share their records (even if you guys are in trouble with them) since lots of alumni gave national current addresses and continue to receive that rag, the Octogonian.
How many guys are now in the chapter?
Do you still have the house? It was a falling apart 10 years ago, I cant imagine what it looks like now.
Give me an EMail and I'll see what I can do to rally up the alumni to help you guys out.
Happy Thanksgiving."
POSTED 11/22/01:
Ober, Joseph wrote: "What is the story here? What happened?"
POSTED 11/22/01:
Snyder, Adam wrote: "What exactly is going on? This is the first I'm hearing of lost charters. "
POSTED 11/18/01:
Flaxman, Jason
wrote: "My brother just called me and said that nationals has ended the frat. they going to try and appeal but only once has nationals overturned on this type of ruling. if anyone has any ideas on how to help them feel free to do so."
POSTED 10/22/01:
Leiderman, Darren
wrote: "Rumors are flying around that SAM is in dire straits. 14 of 22 depledged in the spring, no pledge class in the fall and no Greek G-d contestant. If anyone knows the truth..."
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