2 down...36 to go...

Well I guess I'll update this blog from time to time and just record what Phi Psi has been up to (I'll be sure to keep it PG to PG-13). SO the semester is finally? over. I add a question mark after finally because this semester went really fast. It felt like yesterday I was riding Deuce's BMX bike to go pick up SUSHI *Gucci Man Voice* in my cargo shorts and now I can't even go outside with out having my coat due to the blistering cold anyways...We had our semi-annual Brother Party where we said our Good-byes to Jayson and Igor. We started off the night by watching the Historian's slideshow of the semester followed by the Rush Video Puedo been working on. Vadhil and I then presented the graduating seniors with awards, where we pretty much roasted them. Jayson then said his Goodbyes which went on for about 30 minutes then Igor said his goodbyes which went on for 30 seconds. We then had our first ever secret santa which went OK...some brothers were left giftless but they didn't mind at all. Overall it was a great night! We're all going to miss the two and we wish them the best with whatever they decide to do. Live Ever Die Never.

Congratulations Omicrons

After a successful rush week, NY Kappa is proud to announce eight prospective members, our Omicron class, to join the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity.

Hal Galardi
Brandon Heer
Dan Hylas
Chris Jones
Kevin Nelson
Jonathan Vargas
Jonathon Worden
Bobby Zinke

Congratulations!

Rush Schedule

Fall '09 Rush Events
Aug 23 - Block Party - Tobey Hall - 8pm
Aug 26 - Meet the Greeks - Quad - 3pm-6pm
Aug 27 - Dinner at Mills - 6pm
Aug 28 - Dinner at Hulbert- 6pm
Aug 29 - Softball or Wiffle ball w/ Sigma Delta Tau - Wilber Field - 1pm
Aug 30 - Video Games @ Dragon's Lair for free - 3pm-4pm
Aug 30 - BBQ @ 56 Maple w/ Sigma Gamma Phi - 5:30pm
Aug 31 - Dinner @ Wilsbach - 6pm
Sept 1 - Movie @ Hunt Union Ballroom - 7pm
Sept 2 - Football in front of Tobey Hall - 4pm
Sept 2 - Informational @ Hunt Union - 8pm

Brothers

Founding Fathers

1 Evan Rakowski

2 Richardo Francis

3 Paul Habernig

Founding Brothers

4 Ryan Butler 12 Travis Smith

5 Ryan Harrington 13 Matthew Kurz

6 Tyler Obenauf 14 Frank Striano Jr.

7 Michael Pignotti 15 Zack Wischnia

8 Andrew Toczydlowski 21 Eric Adame

9 Matthew Sullivan 22 Joseph Richards

10 Joshua Lunior 23 Nathan MacLean

11 Timothy Bullock

Altruistic Alphas

16 Fred Acquavita

17 Vincent Rodriguez

Benevolent Betas

18 Joshua Beams 20 Richard Dryden

19 Matthew Darius 24 Eugenio Martinez

Honorable Gammas

25 Mark Newell

26 Todd Baron

27 Ryan Brodhead

Dynamic Deltas

28 Richard Eyring

29 Joshua McAllister

31 Luke Niederhofer

Elite Epsilons

32 Zachary Mandell

33 Patrick Monaco

Zealous Zetas

35 Michael Knapp

36 Robert Rudkin

38 Andrew Tooker

Epic Etas

39 Steven Brauer 43 Jared Lefkowitz

40 William Davidson 44 Matthew Martinez

41 Daniel Doyle 45 Sean O'Brien

42 Benjamin Jacqueney

Triumphant Thetas

46 Jason Allen 48 Jared Urda

47 Brooks Rahmer 49 Jayson Wright

Iconic Iotas

50 Jacob Baumel 54 Edward Drantch

51 James Perez 55 John Juhasz

52 Kevin Moley Jr. 56 James Van Eron

53 Edward Clarke 58 Mathew Axelrod

Kingly Kappas

59 Joshua Symer 63 Vadhil Amadiz

60 Jose Polanco 64 Kadeem Ho Sang

61 Franklyn Savinon 65 Matthew Rosas

62 Joseph Sauro

Legendary Lambdas

66 Garrett Schnettler 70 Brendan Walker

67 Joseph Miller 71 Zachary Silver

68 Jonathon Starring 72 Myles McBride

69 Kevin O'Braskin 73 Kyle Sullivan

Mighty Mus

75 Igor Tavuzhnyanskiy

76 Steve Jenkins

Noble Nus

78 Gregory Barra 81 Rocco Matra

79 Michael Radley 82 Joseph Boehlert

80 Evan Englander 83 Steven Hunsberger

Zamenis Xis

84 Brett Esan 87 James McLaughlin

85 Jacob Donnell 88 David Lucas

86 Lee Raines

Omnipotent Omicrons

89 Hal Galardi 93 Kevin Nelson

90 Brandon Heer 94 Robert "Bobby" Zinke

91 Jonathan Vargas 95 Daniel Hylas

92 Jonathon Worden 96 Christian Jones

Pictures

Click here to view our photo gallery 

Academics

Academics are an important part of being a Brother of Phi Kappa Psi. We at Phi Psi continually work towards academic excellence. Through accepting into membership men with serious academic commitment and through a structured program of academic support (Phi Psi academic mentor program), we constantly try to strengthen our members' academic performance and our academic standing on campus. A cumulative GPA of 2.5 is needed to pledge to any organization on campus by the Inter-Greek Council. Once in Phi Kappa Psi one must maintain a GPA of 2.5 to be an active member.

Creed

I believe that Phi Kappa Psi is a brotherhood of honorable men, courteous and cultured, who pledge throughout their lives to be generous, compassionate, and loyal comrades;

I believe that I am honor bound to strive manfully for intellectual, moral, and spiritual excellence; to help and forgive my Brothers; to discharge promptly all just debts; to give aid and sympathy to all who are less fortunate;

I believe that I am honor bound to strengthen my character and deepen my integrity; to counsel and guide my Brothers who stray from their obligations; to respect and emulate my Brothers who practice moderation in their manners and morals; to be ever mindful that loyalty to my Fraternity should not weaken loyalty to my college, but rather increase devotion to it, to my country, and to my God;

I believe that to all I meet, wherever I go, I represent not only Phi Kappa Psi, but indeed the spirit of all fraternities; thus I must ever conduct myself so as to bring respect and honor not to myself alone, but also to my Fraternity;

To the fulfillment of these beliefs, of these ideals, in the noble perfection of Phi Kappa Psi, I pledge my life and my sacred honor.

Written by John Henry Frizzell, Massachusetts Alpha 1898, and Kent Christopher Owen, Indiana Beta 1958. Adopted by the 1964 Grand Arch Council.

Fun Facts

Flower: Jacquesminot Rose
Colors: Cardinal Red and Hunter Green
Philanthropy: The Boys' and Girl's Club of America

New York Kappa: was the fastest Chapter to charter and the only Chapter at their National Convention, Grand Archon Council, on July 8, 2004. Phi Kappa Psi was installed on this campus on December 5, 2003.

Notable Alumni:

Government

• U.S. President Woodrow Wilson (Virginia Alpha, University of Virginia, 1879)
• U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell (Missouri Alpha, University of Missouri, 1959)
• U.S. Senator Evan Bayh (Indiana Beta, Indiana University, 1975)
• United States National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley (New York Alpha, Cornell University, 1966)
• Pennsylvania Governor Raymond P. Shafer (Pennsylvania Beta, Allegheny College)
• New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (Maryland Alpha, Johns Hopkins University, 1961)
• Georgia State Senator David Shafer (Georgia Alpha, University of Georgia)
• Georgia State Representative Earl "Butch" Ehrhart (Georgia Alpha, University of Georgia)

Arts & entertainment

• Author James Thurber (Ohio Delta, Ohio State University, 1918)
• Actor/Band Leader Charles "Buddy" Rogers (Kansas Alpha, University of Kansas, 1923)
• Actor Peter Graves (Minnesota Beta, University of Minnesota, 1946)
• Actor John Astin (Pennsylvania Alpha, Washington and Jefferson College, 1949)
• Actor Roy Scheider (Pennsylvania Eta, Franklin and Marshall College, 1954)
• Actor Edward Herrmann (Pennsylvania Gamma, Bucknell University, 1965)
• Olympian Mark Spitz (Indiana Beta, Indiana University, 1969)
• Actor Zach Braff (Illinois Alpha, Northwestern University, 1997)

Business

• Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang (California Beta, Stanford University, 1987)
• Excite co-founder Benjamin Lutch (California Beta, Stanford University, 1991)
• Ticketmaster founder Jerry Nelson (California Epsilon, UCLA, 1948)

Miscellaneous

• John F. Kennedy Jr. (Rhode Island Alpha, Brown University, 1979)
• Astronaut Owen Garriott

Local History

As undergraduate students together for three years, college friends Richardo Francis and Paul Habernig began to wonder what more college life could offer. They pondered the idea of starting a fraternity. After being in many clubs and organization, they sought a closer bond to be had with colleagues. Additionally, they wanted to be able to give back to the campus through service in a way that they had not done before. Greek Life at SUNY Oneonta was at a very low point, and their idea was met with some immediate criticism from those closest to them. However, Brother Francis and Brother Habernig pressed on. They sent letters to the men of high character that they knew. Paul and Richardo sought only the hardest working, most dedicated men that they could find. These letters led to the creation of an interest group that contained seven men, all hoping to start something truly unique on campus.

This group contained campus leaders from all walks of life. They set out to find a fraternity based on their core values of leadership, scholarship, character, brotherhood, and service. Throughout the spring of 2003, the group searched tirelessly to find a perfect match, but found none. At one point, one fraternity was loosely decided on, but the men decided that the national organization was unimpressive and not suited to their tastes. The constant struggle to find the right fraternity left some men disheartened, and the group dwindled to only three men: Richardo Francis, Paul Habernig, and a new member, Evan Rakowski.

As the summer of 2003 approached, the three men realized they were at a crossroads, and wanted to figure out how to keep their idea alive. Evan Rakowski remembered that one of his cousins constantly spoke highly of his fraternity, and so he placed a call to his cousin for more information. Brother Brett Topche of Pennsylvania Iota told Brother Rakowski he should look into becoming a chapter of Phi Kappa Psi. Brother Topche said that he valued his experience greatly and thought Phi Psi fit with all of our stated goals.

That summer, Brother Rakowski and Brother Francis contacted the Director of Expansion for Phi Kappa Psi. He eagerly pursued the group's interest and sent large amounts of information to our colony founders. This communication took place all summer, and was the very first step in creating the excellent relationship that New York Kappa will always strive to have with the National Headquarters.

When everyone got back to SUNY Oneonta, they immediately set out to recruit more potential members. The group added Tyler Obenauf, Ryan Harrington, and Ryan Butler and the six men worked even harder to grow. That fall, the Director of Expansion came to visit SUNY Oneonta. The six men said that although they were small, they were committed to their vision of a fraternity, and of a Phi Kappa Psi chapter. The group worked to establish some goals for the future. Within one month of his leaving, the group had grown from six to fifteen men, all who were excited about the idea of starting a new kind of Greek Life for Oneonta. Upon learning of our expansion and dedication to success, the Executive Council voted to officially recognize New York Kappa as a colony.

With a constant connection with the National Headquarters and support from the Oneonta campus, Phi Kappa Psi quickly grew. The men of the group continued to excel in all walks of life, from athletics, to student government, to community service, and more. On December 5th, 2003, Brother Eric Parker and Brother Josh Perrin came to Oneonta to officially install the men of New York Kappa as a colony. This instilled a deep sense of purpose within the group, and that night each of the men pledged to settle for nothing less than the best, promising to make New York Kappa well known locally, and even nationwide.

News of Phi Kappa Psi spread quickly in Oneonta. New York Kappa maintained a fine reputation from the very day of its inception, always striving to be gentleman and carry themselves with pride in their every day lives. Four freshmen heard about this group and wanted to be a part of it. However, College at Oneonta policy forbade first-semester freshmen from joining Greek organizations - this is done so that they have a chance to acclimate themselves to the campus before making any large commitments to an organization. That would not stop these four, however, from spending every second possible with the Phi Psi brothers. Matthew Kurz, Nathan MacLean, Frank Striano, and Zachary Wischnia all got to know the brothers. They went with the group on their own accord to all campus-wide events and anxiously awaited the day that they could become full brothers. The first day of the spring 2004 semester, the four men were initiated, bringing the group to nineteen men.

The spring semester of 2004 was the turning point for this blossoming group. Brother Francis and Brother Rakowski attended the Presidents Leadership Academy in Indianapolis. This was the first time that men of New York Kappa had a chance to meet brothers from across the country. This was truly inspiring, as the two men felt what it was really like to be a part of a national brotherhood. At the conference, the brothers had a chance to meet Executive Director Shawn Collinsworth, and President John Cicarelli. The two men said they had heard great things about the colony, and urged Brothers Francis and Rakowski to push forward and to start thinking about chartering. When they returned to Oneonta, they wanted to do more than just think about it. The two men consulted with several brothers and decided that New York Kappa was going to work at a level never before attempted in order to petition for a charter by the summer of 2004. That semester, the colony initiated both an Alpha and Beta class, wanting to demonstrate the health and recruitment ability of the colony as much as possible.

National History

The founding of Phi Kappa Psi was in distinct contrast to the beginning of most other fraternities which grew, for the most part, from local clubs, formed without any idea of expansion. Phi Kappa Psi was founded as a national fraternity which should assemble within its folds outstanding students of kindred spirits at well-established colleges throughout the country.

Over 140 years ago two college students, William H. Letterman and Charles P.T. Moore, in the little college town of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, in the hills of Western Pennsylvania were nursing and watching their stricken friends during an epidemic of typhoid fever at the college. Through the long night vigils, an appreciation of the great joy of serving others came into their lives. Calling a number of others to join them, a Brotherhood was founded on February 19, 1852. It grew, survived and gradually spread among the college men of the country. Idealists all, these founders of Phi Kappa Psi taught a new fraternity - a fraternity which should supplement the work of the university by cultivating those humanities without which the educated man fails of his greatest usefulness.

At the time of Phi Psi's founding, Jefferson College was considered part of "The Big Three" in what was known as the "Jeffersonian Cradle." The other two institutions comprising this group, Harvard and Princeton, were of very nearly equal size and equal high esteem, graduating predominantly ministers, then lawyers, then physicians, in descending numbers. Jefferson College merged with nearby Washington College in 1865, as did our Penn Alpha and Penn Delta Chapters merge coincident with their host institutions that same year.

Recognizing the need and value of eduacation, Phi Kappa Psi urges upon her members the securing of the best and broadest education possible. But unless actuated by a proper love for and service to mankind, the educated man is too apt to shrink from the human race, to waste his talents. It is to counteract this tendency that Phi Kappa Psi was founded.

Phi Kappa Psi believes that talents should be cultivated to be used for the benefit of our fellowmen, and she seeks to develop among her members a purpose so to use theirs. But life is dreary, indeed, for him who, from a sense of duty alone, pursues and unloved task. He who would serve his fellowman must love his work and exalt those whom he would serve.

It is this heart-filling desire to serve, and this high enthusiasm for an idealized task, that is Phi Psi's mission to supply. It is when a man realizes that he is doing his part of the world's work that he can approach his task with the exaltation of soul that compels success. When to education and the ablility to do this is added the desire to render loving service, and that enthusiasm which is born of high ideals, the result is the development of manhood for which Phi Kappa Psi exists.

The events leading to the founding of the Fraternity have already been mentioned. The outstanding points in connections with its growth are as follows.

Pennsylvania Alpha was no sooner established than Charles P.T. Moore left his college in search of other schools in which to spread the principles of Phi Kappa Psi. He first went to Union College, New York, then famous place where fraternities flourished. Finding the field already croweded, he abandoned the idea of establishing a Chapter. From Union he went to the University of Virginia, where conditions where more to his liking, and there established the second Chapter of the Fraternity in 1853. Pennsylvania Alpha, being the original Chapter, claimed to have the final decision in all matters pertaining to the Fraternity although the presence of Charles Moore at Virginia gave that Chapter considerable confidence in maintaining a position equal to the parent Chapter.

Thomas Chochran Campbell

The most active man in the Fraternity at this time was Tom Campbell, an enthusiast born in India, of missionary parents and full of the mysticism of the East. To him, more than to its founders, the Fraternity owes its peculiar character and strong foundation.

In 1855, the first Grand Arch council was held in Charlottesville, Virginia. Although little seems to have been accomplished, it is evident that the delegates from Virginia Alpha exerted a strong influence and were the dominant figures. The second Grand Arch Council was held the following year in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and at this meeting Virginia Alpha was formally elected to be the executive head of the Fraternity, succeeding Pennsylvania Alpha. Virginia Alpha continued as Grand Chapter until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, when it, together with the other southern Chapters, suspended operations.

Civil War

At the outbreak of the War between the States, Phi Kappa Psi claimed a membership of approximately 600, 452 of whom enlisted, and by the end of the war, with a membership meantime of nearly 800, 552 had been in service, 254 in the Union and 298 in the Confederate Army. Of this total, 292 became commissioned officers, including three Major Generals, seven Brigadier Generals, ten Colonels and sixteen Lieutenant Colonels. More than 100 of these brave lads joined the eternal bivouac of the dead in this terrible conflict. The late C.F. "Dab" Williams donated to the Fraternity an unidentified, antique, hand-made Phi Kappa Psi badge found on the Hagerstown pike near Gettysburg, Pa., the day after the decisive Civil War battle ended at that place.

A Change in Fraternity Government

Throughout the Fraternity's third decade of existence there had been a growing demand for a change from the Grand Chapter method of government. In 1885, at the Grand Arch Council, sufficient strength was mustered to carry out a change. At this Council a special committee was appointed to draft an entirely new system, providing for a strong, centralized Executive Council, the officers of which should be graduates, with undergraduates elected to serve as the heads of each District of the Fraternity. A special Grand Arch Council was called, to meet at Indianapolis in April, 1886, to pass upon the report of the committee. The report was adopted and the system of Fraternity government was completely revolutionized. The plan is in force today, with only such amendments as the growth and development of the Fraternity have made advisable.

William Clayton Wilson, Drafter of a New Constitution

Brother William Clayton Wilson, who died in 1925, chief claim attorney of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad Company, planned the new form of government and drafted the new constitution. As a result of this farseeing development the Fraternity owes a debt of gratitude to Brother Wilson, second only to that which she owes to her illustrious founders and Thomas Campbell.

The Centennial - 1952

The one-hundredth anniversary of the founding of Phi Kappa Psi was celebrated with a simple but impressive ceremony at the old home of the Widow Letterman in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 1952. Over one hundred members of the Fraternity gathered together for this occasion including three of the grandsons of the Founders. Then a Bronze Tablet was affixed to the wall of the home of the Widow's home. Regretably, the Letterman home was destroyed by fire in 1963, and the bronze tablet commemorating the centennial was removed to the Pennsylvania Alpha Chapter house.

Climaxing one hundred years of glorious achievement, the Fraternity held its Centennial Grand Arch Council June 24-28, 1952, at the Hotel William Penn, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, which is about twenty-five miles from Canonsburg. In the one hundred years from the founding, the Fraternity had grown at that time to fifty-six Chapters, forty Alumni Associations and 40,000 initiates. Today, the Fraternity claims almost 90 Chapters, more than 75,000 initiates, and more than 70 Alumni Associations and Clubs