letter from the sage
Pi Men,
This semester has been filled with great experiences for the brothers of Sigma Pi. Now with three years of undergraduates represented in the house, the sentiment of brotherhood has grown more deeply among the brothers. By far the most memorable event of the semester has been Adolphus “Dolly” C. Hailstork’s posthumous initiation into the brotherhood, for which over 100 alumni who were touched by his magnetic personality gathered in Ithaca to relive the secrets and mysteries of the fraternal experience. The weekend reached its finale Saturday night with a catered dinner, touching remembrance ceremony, initiation ritual for Dolly, the rocking of Men With Big Hips late into the night. The entire weekend was moving for both undergraduates and alumni, as we discussed the many differences, and—more importantly—the many similarities between the Mu Chapter of 20, 30, 40 years ago and the Mu Chapter of today. The most beautiful moment came when alumni and actives alike broke out in song in the Memorial Library, sharing with one another the songs our brotherhoods sang together and even joining forces to sing the ever present “Pi Phi Song.” We sincerely hope that our future alumni events are so well attended and carry the same energy. Also due to the phenomenal support of our alumni the undergraduate experience continues to improve. We are looking forward to making better use of the educational fund to support the brotherhood’s academic pursuits.
The house is under continuous maintenance (and I mean this in the best possible way), and our chef, Patrick, has dramatically improved his performance this semester. Brothers now sit down for meals together twice a week, and we hope to expand the practice to more days in the future. Unfortunately, despite having the largest membership in recent years, we have fallen short of capacity in the house due to an unusually large number of brothers abroad and living in Collegetown. The chapter had to make extra funds available to help pay for the shortfall, and although the situation is less than ideal, it is one we can learn from and will certainly avoid in the future. The long time trend of seniors moving to Collegetown will slowly start to reverse when several seniors (myself included) live in the house next year as well. Going forward, the Chapter is looking ahead to Rush Week and to becoming an even more selective house in terms of the quality of men we pledge and initiate. I am personally hoping that this spring we can have alumni back to welcome new members, so please stay on the look out for announcements regarding initiation. I believe the other chapter leaders have outlined the house’s progress in their respective areas, so rather than recap more of the developments around the house, I would like to take one more opportunity to thank the alumni for their continuous support of the house. I have felt their efforts particularly poignantly this semester, and I am personally (as is the house) indebted to many of them. Sigma Pi is an experience that makes Cornell special, and we hope to keep it that way for many years to come.
Alex Rawitz '13
Sage, Mu Chapter