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'Give it to me straight: How's our chapter doing?'
AU Chapter Advisor Jeffrey Schwartz gives us the unvarnished truth about all things at 907 W. 28th plus a call for alums to help with new mentoring in finance, real estate, media, tech and more
By Jeffrey Schwartz
AU Chapter Advisor
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Now is a particularly good time, brothers, to share with you a report on the strength and health of our beloved Alpha Upsilon chapter. As your Chapter Advisor, I am pleased to tell you that can remain incredibly proud of our undergraduate brothers at 907 W. 28th.
ACADEMICS
Alpha Upsilon’s most recent GPA from Spring semester 2021 was 3.52. That is a significant increase in chapter GPA and moves us into the upper rankings for all fraternities at USC. By the way, this GPA was presented to all men going through rush. Congratulations to the chapter leadership, including Consul Andrew Blokdyk and Scholarship Chairman Kasra Hadavi.
RECRUITING AND INITIATION
Even while still hampered by the pandemic, the AU brothers had an incredibly successful rush this fall and initiated 66 new brothers, combined with a previous group of brothers who could not receive the full ceremony until now. It was a truly remarkable event and the culmination of a lot of effort by rush chairman Garrett Murphy, executive committee and the entire chapter.
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PHYSICAL CONDITION OF CHAPTER HOUSE
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Our beloved house is feeling its age - to be sure. The House Corporation, the legal entity that owns and manages the building - continues to keep up with maintenance needs. But, when the time is right, we'll need far more than a facelift or renovation. The undergrads are keeping the house clean but that's their definition of 'clean'. Have you ever known a fraternity to be 'clean' by an adult definition? Probably not. So that's a continuing battle. But try to remember it was likely not any different when you were an undergrad.
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RUSH: Some of the undergrad brothers get ready for a day of rush at the house this fall. Rush Chairman Garrett Murphy reports Alpha Upsilon did exceedingly well despite the fact that USC rush was still feeling the effects of Covid-19 continuing to keep numbers down. For rush recommendations, email Garrett at gjmurphy77@gmail.com
ALUMNI PARTICIPATION
Want to participate in chapter activities? Just send me a note: jeffrey@jeffreyschwartz.com It was wonderful to see 22 alums from a multitude of chapters attending the recent initiation ceremonies. In fact, more than half of them participated in the ceremonies. It reminded us of the immense loyalty of our alumni base, and it showed the undergraduates that Sigma Chi’s lifelong commitment is a real thing. As Covid continues to wane, we are kicking off three clubs in the spring for which we need alumni support: Real Estate, Entertainment, Media and Technology, and Finance and Banking. These clubs will be Zoom and in person meetings with alumni to discuss their career path and answer questions from undergrads, plus possible internships etc.
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HOUSE CORPORATION AWARD...AGAIN
For four years in a row, the Alpha Upsilon House Corporation won a prestigious award for top housing corporations among all Sig chapters across North America. It’s a demonstration of the sound financial and business footing of the legal entity operating the chapter house.
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PHILANTHROPY
Our boys continue to lead the way among USC Greek Houses in charity and philanthropic endeavors this year, coming off the heels of bringing the very highest amount of money raised among all Sigma Chi chapters to benefit the Huntsman Cancer Research Institute. Such philanthropy is truly woven into the fabric of our chapter.
COVID-19
No, we’re not out of the woods yet when it comes to the pandemic. But the men of Alpha Upsilon have kept spirits high and adapted wisely wherever needed. We’ve had no one in the chapter house become seriously ill. And our vaccination rate is extremely high. They call them “Covid Consuls,” those guys who have had to lead chapters during an unprecedented pandemic. Cooper Allen (2020) and now Andrew Blokdyk (2021) have manned the helm well.
Alumni brothers, please know you can reach me any time with questions or observations about things at the chapter house. To contact me or the others, click here.
Jeffrey Schwartz
CLASS OF 1988
AU CHAPTER ADVISOR
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CHAPTER ADVISOR Jeffrey Schwartz (AU '88) is a tech entrepreneur. He is the founder of Dentity, the people-to-people app that makes it easy to build trust online through verification. Jeffrey is also a leader in the app-based auto sales industry and has been in leadership positions with Autobytel, AutoWeb and Disney.
1980's: Ya gotta love those 1980's Sigs. New Chapter Advisor Jeffrey Schwartz, second from left, hangs out with his undergrad brothers.