The CaldronFALL 2019 www.virginiabeta.org - Omicron Chapter Omicron Chapter: 2018-2019 Updates Officer Elections: At the start of the spring semester, the newly-elected officers of the Omicron chapter officially transitioned into their leadership roles for the next year. We are really excited about the direction that these brothers will take the chapter during their tenures and are optimistic that they will be able to build upon the great work of their pre- decessors. The contact information for the new executive board and non-exec office holders is below. Feel free to reach out to any individual listed with questions or concerns. Executive Board Spring Rush: Our annual spring rush yielded a pledge class of 22 President: Campbell Shelhoss | wcs5eu young men (17 first-years and five second-years), with new members coming from Virginia, Florida, Georgia, Vice President: Tasman Ridgely | trr7qh Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. We are confident that this group, which includes three Treasurer: Timothy Freeman | tjf7ya Jefferson Scholars, six Echols Scholars, seven club ath- letes, and a member of the , will Recruitment Chair: Ryan Klein | rmk2kg contribute tremendously to our chapter during their time at UVA. Communications Chair: Andrew Prince | acp8ww Thank you to outgoing Recruitment Chair Taylor Shu- Co-Social Chair: Grant Campion | gic5uw ford ’19 for organizing a great rush, which included events such as a Pig Roast, a Brotherhood Dinner at Co-Social Chair: Jack Woods | jrw2gw The Local, and a trip to a Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs hockey game. Risk Manager: Daniel Bass | rdb2ek Keystone Conference: Pledge Educator: Thomas Finkelston | tjf3aj From February 22- 24, 2019 our executive board at- tended the annual Keystone Regional Leadership Con- Non- Executive Board ference in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The weekend was a great opportunity for the new chapter officers to learn Alumni Relations Chair: Matthew Mandell | mnm2ew skills and strategies beneficial to their respective roles and for the executive board to practice working togeth- Outreach Chair: Luis de la Espriella | lfd2tb er as a team. We look forward to implementing the Philanthropy Chair: William Gatchel | wdg5hb action plan that we developed in order to achieve three primary goals for the rest of the year: Scholarship Chair: Matthew Ducker | mcd4vb 1. Expanding outreach to groups historically under- Member Educator: Jason Sheridan | jds9ap represented in Greek Life through recruitment and philanthropy efforts. House Manager: Jack Woods | jrw2gw 2. Improving cohesion between pledge classes through brotherhood events. 3. Engaging in more consistent community service Please note: all email addresses end in as a chapter beyond our one or two major philan- @virginia.edu thropy events each semester. 1 www.virginiabeta.org New Member Report Our current brotherhood is a diverse group of 67 active brothers who are deeply involved in the University academ- ically, socially, and philanthropically. Our newly-initiated pledge class of 22 includes many from all over Virginia and other states around the country, including Florida, Georgia, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. The full list of new brothers can be found on pages four and five.

Slade Sinak ’22 and John Castello ’22 receiving their bids Philanthropy Supporting Olivia’s Girl Scout Troop On February 15, 2019, Beta hosted a cookie sale for a lo- cal Girl Scout named Olivia, who has a heart condition that has required multiple surgeries throughout her life. The event was combined with a cookout in support of the Mended Little Hearts of Charlottesville and was a follow-up to events in previous years in support of Olivia and her Girl Scout troop. In total, Olivia sold 183 boxes of cookies on the day, and her entire family, the brothers of Beta, and guests had a ton of fun! Bridgefest 2018 & 2019 Brothers pose with Olivia and the Girl Scouts

Fall 2018 and again in the fall of 2019, Beta co-hosted Class of 2019 Bridgefest with the Alpha Chi Omega sorority at the Congratulations to the 21 Beta brothers who complet- Beta house. Guests enjoyed barbecue and live music ed their undergraduate studies this May! We wish these from local bands, and all proceeds benefited the Shelter individuals the best of luck in their endeavors after for Help in Emergency. It was a beautiful day, and the graduation! Be sure to update your mailing address and house was filled with members of Beta and AXO and email information with the UVA Alumni Association others from the University community! to stay connected to Beta Theta Pi.

​If you or an organization with which you are involved would like the support of our chapter, please do not hesitate to contact our current philanthropy chair, William Gatchel, at [email protected], or simply fill out the contact form on our website www.virginiabeta.org with any information necessary and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

2 www.virginiabeta.org Fall 2018 Incident at the Beta House Last fall, many of you may have read a series of articles in about allegations of discrimination at a party held at the Beta house. This event began as an attempted outreach by the Betas to groups within the University Community that have been historically underrepresented in Greek life. The Betas offered the use of the chapter house for a joint party to be held with the I.M.P.’s and the Student Hip Hop Organization on October 27, 2018. The event was publicized online by those organizations, their bouncers were not in place (resulting in Betas filling that role), the party size grew beyond the capacity of the house, and when Betas were entering the house while others were denied access, accusations of discrimination were made in the Cavalier Daily. The Beta statement about the event and public apology can be found at https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2018/11/beta-theta-pi-issues-apology-follow- ing-allegations-of-discrimination-at-recent-party. Note that the University and the General Fraternity investigated the charges and the incident. Several mistakes were made by the chapter and individual members of the chapter, including hosting a party in the chapter house where alcohol was served. As a result, the General Fraternity and the Omicron Chapter agreed to several sanctions and educational initiatives to address the various mistakes and violations of conduct. Men of Principle The selection process occurs in the fall, which involves applications, essays, and interviews with Omicron chapter brothers, ending with a brotherhood and ap- plicant banquet where the recipients of the scholarship are announced. In fall 2018, we were proud to award a total of $2,000 in scholarships to four outstanding recipients. We look forward to seeking out and meeting young men of principle in the next application period, fall 2019. The Men of Principle dinner is to be held on November 8, 2019 from 6-8 p.m. at the Colonnade Club.

For more information regarding the scholarship, feel free to email our scholarship chair, Matthew Ducker, at [email protected].

Cole Chisom & Sam Lefew Congratulations to Cole Chisom ’20 and Sam LeFew ’20 for being selected to live on this year! Cole is currently the President of the University’s Inter- Fraternity Council and previously served as the Omi- cron chapter’s Risk Manager. Sam was formerly the chapter’s Communications Chair and was chosen to live in the Gus Blagden “Good Guy” Lawn room—an honor awarded annually to a rising fourth-year who “selflessly commits their time to serving the University community [and] displays genuine concern and care for fellow students.” 3 www.virginiabeta.org Nu Pledge Class ‘18 Beta Theta Pi New Members Xi Pledge Class ‘19

Matthew Abate ‘21 William Gatchel ‘21 Alejandro Rush ‘21 Jason Badu ‘21 Wellesley, MA Oakton, VA Lexington, VA Hewlett, NY

Cameron Bailey ‘21 Johan Ketkar ‘21 Benjamin Swales ‘21 Scott Barkley ‘22 Virginia Beach, VA McLean, VA Crozet, VA Charlottesville, VA

Robert Bass ‘21 Ryan Klein ‘21 Graham Walters ‘21 Christian Boxley ‘21 Lynchburg, VA Gainesville, VA Nashville, TN Chesapeake, VA

Grant Campion ‘21 Trent Levy ‘21 Jack Woods ‘21 John Castello ‘22 Virginia Beach, VA Richmond, VA Arlington, VA Scotch Plains, NJ

John Carroll ‘20 Matthew Mandell ‘21 Matthew Ziegelbaur ‘21 Noah Duncan ‘22 Hanover, MA Charlottesville, VA Vienna, VA Salem, VA

Luis de la Espriella ‘20 Mason McCallum ‘21 Sohail Ghatnekar ‘22 Panama City, Panama Newport News, VA Atlanta, GA

Benjamin Donahue ‘21 Hunter Otteni ‘21 Benjamin Gustafson ‘22 Similar to the classes The Xi Pledge class Aidan Pope ‘22 Danville, VA Staunton, VA Edina, MN before them, the Nu included 22 out- Montclair, NJ Matthew Ducker ‘21 Pledge class consist- standing new mem- Benjamin Hazelton ‘22 Jimmy Perry ‘21 ed of 23 exceptional bers. We continue Andrew Rehr ‘21 Blacksburg, VA Vienna, VA Arlington, VA Richmond, VA members. Of the 23, to reflect our efforts four are out of state of recruiting diverse Timothy Freeman ‘21 Connor Sheehan ‘22 Andrew Liu ‘22 Andrew Prince ‘21 and one international. leaders. Warner Robbins, GA Vienna, VA Bernville, PA Herndon, VA

Slade Sinak ‘22 Brody McDevitt ‘22 Dallas, TX Poquoson, VA

Eli Smolen ‘22 Jathniel Moody ‘22 Fairfax, VA Hampton, VA

Enrique Unruh ‘22 Connar Mulcahy ‘21 Fairfax, VA McLean, VA

Alejandro Williams ‘22 Kevin O’Kane ‘21 Fairfax, VA Orlando, FL

Benjamin Wuesthoff ‘22 Joseph Orrico ‘22 Falmouth, ME Surf City, NJ

4 5 www.virginiabeta.org www.virginiabeta.org Betas in the News Have news about you or a brother? Share it with us on www.virginiabeta.org. We’d love to hear from you! Blind Japanese Sailor Completes Non-Stop Pacific Voyage “Mitsuhiro Iwamoto, 52, sailed the 8,700-mile (14,000 km) crossing with the help of a sighted navigator, Doug Smith. He is the first blind person to successfully sail across the Pacific without stopping, the Japan Blind Sailing Association says. He and Mr. Smith made the voyage to raise money for charity and for ef- forts to prevent diseases that cause blindness.” Doug is a 1986 gradu- ate from the College of Arts & Sci- ences and a Beta alumnus. Source: BBC News www.bbc.com/news

A Cure for Alcohol Abuse? Alum-Led Company Targets Deadly, Costly Problem

Graduating in 1997, Bill is a Beta brother from Darden. “William ‘Bill’ Stilley serves as CEO of Adial Pharmaceuticals, a company with a promis- ing treatment for alcohol addiction. “We were founded to help people with addiction,” said Stilley, also a 1990 graduate of UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce. “In particular, we are going to use science to develop medicines to help them with their addictions.” About one-third of the U.S. popula- tion has the genetic makeup that responds to AD04. The percentage is as high as 50 percent in other parts of the world. The drug specifically aims to reduce heavy drinking, defined as about five or more drinks for a man or four or more for a woman. Reducing those heavy drinking days would Source: UVA Today www.news.virginia.edu have a significant impact on the health of patients and costs to society.”

UVA’s Four-Decade Quest to Cure the Common Cold is Nearing an End “The volunteers are taking part in the cold study, a UVA institution that has subsidized many a tuition since its inception in the 1970s. Over the years, the study has shed much light on the common cold, illustrating the ways in which the virus can spread – and the difficulty of treating it. Dr. Ronald B. Turner did his training here in the late 1970s with Dr. Jack Gwaltney and Dr. Owen Hendley, who were the first at UVA to conduct the rhinovirus human challenge studies, in which a healthy volunteer is in- fected to study the virus and its treatments.” Dr. Jack Gwaltney a 1952 and 1960 UVA graduate is a Beta alumnus. Many of our brothers participated in the cold study – Dr. Gwaltney would come by and round up brothers Source: UVA Today www.news.virginia.edu when he needed ‘volunteers’! 6 www.virginiabeta.org UVA Reunions Weekend ‘19

Small but nice gathering during the June Reunions Dave Ryan ’89 shows his excitement to see a younger Weekend at the Beta House where class of ’69 Kip version of himself during his days on Grounds. Laughlin, A. Ross Rommel Jr, St George Pinckney, and Rod Myers all received their Fraternal Fifty pins from Garrett Smith ’84

Chris Kalmar ’09, Chip George ’89, Keller Hardy ’09, Christian PL West ’09, William Bissell ’89, Richard Haddon ’89, and friend, Mike O’Hanlon

Chip George ’89, William Bissell ’89, and Richard Keller Hardy ’09 and Christian Pierre-Louis West ’09 Haddon ’89 7 www.virginiabeta.org Memory and Our Mystic Shrine We regret to inform you of the passing of the following Omicron Chapter Alumni

Grover C. Wright Jr. COL ’56 Dillard C. Laughlin COL ’50 Deceased: June 28, 2017 Deceased: March 1, 2019

John M. Payne COL ’57 John S. Walker III COL ’51 Deceased: February 14, 2018 Deceased: June 9, 2019

Sherwood S. Cadwell LAW ’57 Leighton M. Lobdell COL ’52 Deceased: February 14, 2018 Deceased: June 16, 2019

William Rector COL ’57 Benjamin Huger II COL ’56 Deceased: July 13, 2018 Deceased: June 19, 2019

Andrew D. Hart Jr. COL ’51 W. Tilgham Scott Jr. COL ’52 Deceased: January 13, 2019 Deceased: July 20, 2019

Beta will host an Open House at 180 on the Saturday (June 6 and June 13) of each Reunions Weekend. All Betas are invited and welcome to attend, regardless of graduation year! June 4-7, 2020 Classes of 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, and members of the Thomas Jefferson Society June 12-14, 2020 Classes of 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015

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