When deferred recruitment first came to the University of Miami in the Fall of 2008, many students in the Greek community were appalled. Many couldn’t believe that freshmen had to wait a semester before being allowed to join a fraternal organization.

It posed new challenges to the Greek community, many of which hindered several chapters during the transitional period into deferred recruitment. However, having successfully adapted to the new policies, the Florida Alpha chapter has mastered the challenges that deferred rush poses.

Spring 2010 recruitment concluded Friday, Feb. 5 when FL-A accepted 19 new members into pledgeship. Congratulations to the Omicron pledge class: Adam Bofill, Nick Gubitosi, Tucker Isgrig, Alex Saenz, Bryan Alexander, Harrison Bryant, Jake Kopczyk, Kapil Gupta, Lee Werner, David Azar, Josh Bitran, Ryan Faulstich, Thiago Azevedo, Chris Thome, Jordan Magid, Justin Combs, Michael Tokunaga, Scott Bergman, and Mark Veevers-Carter.

These men have already begun pledgeship into the fraternity. In the coming weeks, they will learn about the history of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, the University of Miami, and of the Florida Alpha chapter. They will also grow closer to brothers and alumni as the semester unfolds.

Thank you Brother Rappaport, our fantastic recruitment chair, and to everyone who helped make this recruitment a success!

Welcome back from the break!

As the University of Miami prepares for another great semester, the brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon have been hard at work to present the best rush experience that Greek life has to offer. Spring 2010 recruitment will begin this coming Tuesday at the intramural fields by Hecht Residential College at 6:30 p.m. Come ready to play and meet the brothers of SAE. Be sure to join the Facebook group, “Sigma Alpha Epsilon Spring Rush 2010” to keep up with the rest of the schedule:

• Tuesday 1/19/10 – Flag Football, IM Fields 6:30 pm
• Thursday 1/21/10 – Fraternity Forum, UC Ballroom 7pm
• Saturday 1/23/10 – House BBQ, 12-3pm
• Monday 1/25/10 – Dodgeball, Wellness Indoor Court 5-7pm
• Tuesday 1/26/10 – BBQ/UM v Maryland BBall watch party, House 7pm
• Thursday 1/28/10 – Dinner at Shorty’s BBQ, time not yet determined
• Saturday 1/30/10 - Meet the brothers, House 2:30pm
• Sunday 1/31/10 – Airboating (invite only)
• Tuesday 2/2/10 – Smoker (invite only)
• Friday 2/5/10 – Bid Day

If you have any questions about recruitment, please feel free to contact Joey Rappaport, our Recruitment Chairman, at j.rappaport@umiami.edu.

In September, the Greek community at the University of Miami concluded its second deferred-recruitment period with remarkable results. Although only sophomores and upperclassmen could join Greek life, the Florida Alpha Chapter resiliently proved that it adapted to the challenges of this new style of recruitment. The five True Gentlemen of the Xi pledge class concluded their pledgeship in late November with initiation at the First United Methodist Church of South Miami.

After recruitment, the brotherhood embarked on a retreat in Everglades City, where a number of cabins were rented for the weekend. Brotherhood building exercises helped bring brothers closer together with one another, as well as the new pledge class. The large presence of local alumni helped make this past retreat a truly memorable one!

The chapter’s participation in sorority philanthropy events throughout the semester was not only enthusiastic; it demonstrated our commitment to all of the Greek community’s philanthropic efforts. Having placed third in Delta Gamma’s AnchorSplash and second in Delta Phi Epsilon’s “Deepher Dudes” competition, Florida Alpha held competitive throughout the entire semester.
Our academic prowess was once again the best on campus; Florida Alpha attained first place in Fraternity GPA’s, with an impressive cumulative average of 3.34; well above the non-Greek men’s average.

Similarly, our chapter’s participation in the university’s Homecoming week bears testimony to our pride as Miami Hurricanes. Brother Elias Hionidies was named the 2009 Homecoming Prince, and he participated in the annual Homecoming parade. Check out Elias performing here. Our chapter also participated in every event organized by the Homecoming Executive Committee for the entire week, including Hurricanes Help the Hometown,the university’s Homecoming community service event.

Most importantly, our chapter initiated a long-term effort to augment alumni participation and involvement in brotherhood events. In collaboration with Florida Alpha Association, Inc., the chapter’s housing corporation, our brotherhood hosted a house dedication ceremony to complement the university’s Homecoming weekend. Over 200 brothers, alumni and university officials attended the event to celebrate the opening of the newest Fraternity house in the past 40 years. The Eminent Supreme Recorder, Steve K. Priepke, delivered the keynote address of the ceremony. As an alumnus of the university, Brother Priepke was welcomed back by his chapter for the Homecoming festivities and to experience the new state-of-the-art Fraternity house.

The brothers of Florida Alpha would like to acknowledge a number of individuals without whom none of our successes could be realized. Whether it is through administrative tasks, advising our chapters in various roles, or helping us coordinate the house dedication, these individuals stood by our chapter and generously assisted in our transition to the new Fraternity house.

Thank you and Phi Alpha to the following individuals!
Patricia Whitely, Vice President for Student Affairs; Richard Walker, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs; Gilbert Arias, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs; Ricardo Hall, Dean of Students; Tony Lake, Associate Dean of Students; Michelle Castro, Assistant Dean and Coordinator for Greek Affairs; and Keith Fletcher, Director of the Butler Service and Leadership Center.

The Florida Alpha Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon is proud to announce that it was again named the 2008 – 2009 Outstanding IFC Chapter of the Year. This marks the fourth consecutive year that our Chapter has received this honor, and we are thankful for all of our supporters that have helped to make this possible.

In addition, the Chapter also received a number of organizational and individual awards, including:

• Outstanding Community Service
• Outstanding Campus Involvement
• Outstanding New Member Scholarship
• Outstanding Alumni Programming
• IFC Fraternity Man of the Year: Danny Casamayor
• IFC Fraternity Alumnus of the Year: Daniel Poterek
• IFC Junior of the Year: Jeremy Kruger
• IFC Sophomore of the Year: Ramon Galiana
• Kaplan Education Scholarship: Adam Margol
• GAMMA Chapter Award for Outstanding Risk Management
• GAMMA Individual Award for Outstanding Risk Management: Ramon Galiana
• Gamma Sigma Alpha Award for Outstanding Scholarship: Joseph Dussling
• William R. Butler Scholarship – Jeremy Kruger

Again, we are extremely grateful for all of our alumni, supporters, and members of the University of Miami community that have helped ensure our Chapter’s success. Thank you all and Phi Alpha!

On the evening of April 17th, 2009, Florida Alpha will host a benefit concert in support of the Children’s Miracle Network featuring platinum recording artists The Ying Yang Twins. The concert will take place at 8 pm on the University of Miami Center Patio Stage. Admission is free, althought we will be accepting donations on behalf of the Children’s Miracle Network. If you have any questions about the events or sponsorship opportunities, please contact Paddy Murphy chairmen Daniel Casamayor at 305.588.9530 or d.casamayor@umiami.edu

This past week, the Brothers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon concluded an active spring recruitment at the University of Miami. Though considered an extremely competitive recruitment season, the Florida Alpha Chapter proudly accepted 16 new members this spring. We are proud to announce that Michael Crow, Eli Eisenstadt, Taylor Feldman, Jake Krupa, Ruben Magalhaes, Adam Moskowitz, Patrick Nealon, Joey Rappaport, Kevin Rice, Zach Rutta, Jeremy Scharf, EJ Silver, Jesse Soll, Corey Sudhalter, Jonathan Trock, and Ryan Zangeneh have been formally initiated as the Nu Pledge Class.
Under the instruction of their pledge educator, Scott Kasten, they will begin their eight week pledge process and learn the history and values of the Fraternity throughout the semester. These young men represent the future of the Chapter as we move forward toward the completion of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity House.

Also, congratulations to Recruiment Chairman Adam Margol for all of his efforts this semester! Since his election last fall, Adam has worked diligently to ensure that the Chapter conducted a successful spring recruitment.

Please read the article by The Miami Hurricane about Greek recruitment at the University of Miami: http://www.themiamihurricane.com/2009/02/08/students-react-to-first-year-of-deferred-greek-recruitment/