The Hype

From the Venerable Deans (2006 and 2007)

My Final Hour: A letter from outgoing Venerable Dean Jacob Sloan

from Jacob Sloan, Venerable Dean (2006)

I am saddened but also very proud that this will be my final letter for The Hype as Venerable Dean of the Texas Chapter. This December, we elected an entire new slate of officers to take us through 2007. I can assure each and every one of you that the men chosen to lead this chapter are extremely capable and well-equipped to do everything in their power to make Acacia one of the most rewarding fraternities on the Texas campus.

Marcus Velasquez will be replacing me at Venerable Dean. He was a member of the first Fall 2005 pledge class who really stepped up during recruitment this fall to become a major player in this fraternity. Our new rush chairman will be Brant Christiansen, one of the newly initiated members of our Fall 2006 class. He replaces Marcus Velasquez and Evan Sylvester, but we have the greatest confidence that he will lead us to a great spring class in 2007. He has already begun to create and publicize our spring recruitment events. At Senior Dean, David Metter replaces Adam Miller. Brother Metter was a member of our second Fall 2005 pledge class who is also a member of the Interfraternity Council Judicial Board and Order of Omega. Ben Alarcon, a member of the Spring 2006 class, will take on the role of Vice-President of Communications from Chris Wolfe, managing our Web site, our listserv, chapter minutes and all chapter correspondence. Our Junior Dean for 2007 will be Richard Cary, a member of the Spring 2004 class who has been with us from the very start. He has a lot of great ideas to bring the chapter together and increase brotherhood with our social calendar. Finally, Aneesh Bapodra, another member of our second Fall 2005 class, will take on Robert York’s role as treasurer.

Our appointed positions currently await the approval of the chapter at our first chapter meeting in January, but the appointed brothers have already begun to plan for their position and make this year one to remember for both alumni and actives.

This semester was a busy one for us. We came off the high of our Conclave awards in Communications Technology, Best Young Chapter and our advisor Robert Mickam winning Chapter Advisor of the Biennium as well as our re-chartering ceremony that was just held last May. We have come a long way in the last year, and this semester was a good chance for us to reset our footing and move on toward new goals.

Adjusting to our new house at 2614 was a challenge. Both our budget and our duties as officers became more complicated, but our executive board handled the changes well. The biggest challenge has been getting the house back in to shape from the previous occupants and years of abandonment. Much of the structure still needs a few repairs to get it back to good condition for our use as a chapter, but we are encouraged by the support of the many alumni who have helped us improve the house already.

What we are lacking is a matching furniture set for the common living room area and equipment for the kitchen such as a large refrigerator and an ice machine. In addition, what we desperately would like to get is regalia of the Texas Chapter. Unfortunately, the composites and historical items of our history were lost in the downtime between the first colonization effort and our re-colonization in 2003, so we currently don’t have much to adorn the large walls of 2614. If any of you have in your possession smaller composites that you wouldn’t mind having blown up and shipped to our house, we would appreciate your donation. We are also looking to purchase two banners for recruitment and several other items that will make the house more complete.

This May, several of the re-founding fathers including myself will graduate and begin our journey as alumni like you. I can safely say that with your continued and increasing support, we will be able to enjoy hearing about the incredible achievements of this chapter for our entire lifetime. This chapter offers something to undergraduates and alumni that no other fraternity can—a distinction among mankind that cannot be understood by anyone outside of Acacia. I hope that you will all be reinvigorated with that spirit that you each enjoyed at 2614, and if you haven’t been to it this year, please stop by and see what YOUR chapter is doing these days.

Our current wish list can be found here.

Zero Hour: A letter from the incoming Venerable Dean Marcus Velasquez

from Marcus Velasquez, Venerable Dean (2007)

It is with great excitement that I write my first article in The Hype. I look forward to this upcoming year and have the utmost confidence in the newly elected officers. From what I could tell from this last election, a lot of different people ran for various positions within the fraternity which displayed a great deal of member involvement. The transition between the old officers to the new officers gives this chapter a lot to look forward to in the coming months. This winter break, the new officers and I have been busy finalizing our overall schedules, goals, and shirt designs for our rush schedule which begins January 15. We have spent this last semester working out the kinks of living in a new house which allows us to look forward to a more successful and efficient rush.

As previously stated by Jacob, there are some very important things that we need for the house. I would like to once again re-emphasize the importance of having some regalia, old composites, and two banners for recruitment. Any blown up prints of old composites are welcome due to the sense of pride it instills in us and you as alumni as well as the benefit it brings to the house itself. If you have any wish list donations then please contact our house managers Adam Miller or Seamus McAfee or our chapter advisor Rob Mickam.

I assure you gentlemen that our occupation into 2614 Rio Grande is long term. We are proud to be in the true Acacia house and even prouder to be Acacians. Here at the Texas Chapter of Acacia Fraternity, we welcome, if not encourage, any and all alumni to stop by and take a look at the house that you started and have fostered so that those of us actives now a part of the Texas Chapter of Acacia may enjoy a fine fraternal opportunity.