rodzik@www

Tonight I officially became an alumnus member of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity. Since even before I signed my bid card with Pike my freshman year I have poured tons of my time and energy into this chapter, and it was an excellent feeling to become an alumni. I finished with Exec at the end of last quarter, and did not take a new chairmanship (although I've been our SGA rep all year), and despite this I still stayed involved, attending Exec and Chapter meetings, among other events. I did so because I still cared and wanted to make a difference. But I will no longer be a student here at the end of this week, and as of chapter tonight, I am no longer an active member of this Fraternity.

I still plan on staying involved next quarter, but certainly a lot less so than I was this quarter, or previous quarters. It's not my chapter anymore, it's up to those whose chapter it still is to take the appropriate actions and lead this chapter in the right direction. I'll still offer my input when I feel it's necessary, but will likely comment a lot less frequently than I usually do.

It's a bit weird to think that I don't have a direct say in what the chapter does anymore, but at the same time, the chapter no longer has a say in what I do. My actions are no longer governed by by-laws, a constitution, and reams of policies. Not that these were ever negative, but not being required to show up to a handful of events, not feeling obligated to participate in Exec or Chapter, and not being subject to fines is certainly a breath of fresh air.

At the same time, I was nominated for the chapter's Greek of the Year award tonight. I made it to the 3rd or 4th run-off (down to 3 candidates) and then lost, but oh well, it was close. It was still nice to make it that far, and while formal recognitions aren't necessarily of particular importance, I suppose it would've been nice to receive something more than some Pike of the Week or Chairman of the Week certificates. Though, I'm not really surprised given the visibility of the fun I have compared to the work I do...