December Consul Column

Homecoming weekend showcased what has been an active and fulfilling start to the 2007 school year. We welcomed numerous alumni and their families throughout the weekend, beginning with a wine and cheese reception on Friday, October 13. It was a great opportunity to give tours to many alumni who had not yet seen the renovated chapter house.

Chapter Advisor Joseph Chung, Johns Hopkins ’05, hosted a chapter retreat on October 21. The active chapter spent an afternoon discussing chapter improvements and strategic planning for the remainder of the year. Much of the dialogue was focused on the Northern California Province Workshop, which we will be hosting in 2008. Hundreds of brothers from Northern California chapters are expected to attend the workshop, which will be an excellent opportunity to show off our chapter, brotherhood, house, and campus. We are making plans to execute the most meaningful meeting in the history of our Province.

At the chapter retreat Alpha Omega made plans to develop and improve the annual Derby Days philanthropy event on Stanford’s campus. This year we hope to raise $10,000 for the Huntsman Cancer Institute through this event. Please contact me at cgrace@stanford.edu if you are willing to help sponsor us during this ambitious effort! We also discussed our risk management policies in depth at the chapter retreat. We are striving to strengthen our party planning procedures and have created a comprehensive Party Planning Guide. We will share this progressive new guide with Sigma Chi chapters as well as other Stanford Greek organizations during the Province workshop in early March.

Throughout the quarter, Philanthropy Chairmen Renaud Vann ’09 and Brad Bachelder ’08 have spearheaded our weekly Palo Alto homeless feeds. They also arranged for 40 members to volunteer for freshman move-in day on September 18. Magister Ian Abernathy ’08 has led an impressive fall new member program, including a camping trip to Big Basin. Brotherhood Chairmen Chris Sater ’08 and Greg Boden ’09 have planned day trips and events for the sole purpose of fortifying bonds between brothers.

As always, Alpha Omegas are involved at Stanford and around the globe. Brothers proudly contribute to rugby, lacrosse, cycling, crew, and squash teams. Others serve as Stanford tour guides, IFC officers, EPAT tutors, members of the sophomore class cabinet, NAACP volunteers, and SLE advisors. In addition, some junior Sigs are studying in locations as diverse as Florence, Paris, Washington, D.C., and Beijing. We look forward to hearing their stories when they return in the winter.

Another highlight of the quarter was the October 6 weekend in Los Angeles, when most actives and new members took a trip down south to attend the football game against USC. It was amazing to experience one of the greatest upsets in college and Stanford football history together. We’re hoping for a similar result later this year against Cal! During the trip we also managed to visit Sigma Chi chapters at both UCLA and USC. As we move toward the winter quarter we look forward to Derby Days, initiation of the new member class, and the anticipation of recruitment.

We are thankful for the support of our Housing Corporation and for the guidance of Chapter Advisor Joseph Chung. Until next time, I encourage all of you to stop by to see the new house, reminisce, or just chat!

In Hoc,

Cameron Grace ’08
(808) 630-4517
cgrace@stanford.edu

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