As we push forward through the last months of the 2007-2008 school year, our Brotherhood is taking a bold step in an effort to forever improve the distinction of Lambda Chi Alpha at USC. With recent improvements to our Fraternity, such as, the Hunter’s Study Lounge, enhanced relations with Alumni, and new game rooms both in front and upstairs, there is no better opportunity than now for us to give back to our community. Therefore, it is with great honor that our Brotherhood is bringing back “BUST” (Brothers Uniting to Serve Together), a week of philanthropic and social events aimed at raising money and awareness for The Friendship Circle. This 501 (c) 3 organization, which was founded nearly 15 years ago, assists and supports families in local communities who have children living with special needs. In fact, through The Friendship House, Life Town, and other interactive experiences with volunteers across the country, The Friendship Circle is constantly giving children with special needs the chance to flourish and succeed while practicing important life skills with new friends. To learn more about this unique organization, please visit www.friendshipcircleSB.com.

BUST ,which will take place April 21-26, has the potential to be an incredible and noteworthy event for not only Lambda Chi Alpha, but for the entire USC community. The week will consist of a series of social and charitable activities, in which brothers and other Greek members will work together in both community service and fundraising efforts. The week will culminate with our main fundraising and social event, Lambda Chi Academy on April 26, featuring a headliner band and worldwide sponsors. It is our hope that through BUST, we will be able to raise over $40,000 for The Friendship Circle. We are very proud to announce that as a result of the generous contribution of certain community members, any amount we raise up to $15,000 will be matched dollar for dollar. If you have any questions or ideas, please feel free to contact any officer of Lambda Chi Alpha.

Copyright 2008 USC Interfraternity Council |

Greeks Advocating the Mature Management of Alcohol(GAMMA) and Healthy Eating and Living (HEAL) were the two organizations who hosted the event. As Greek-affiliated on-campus organizations, we felt that it was crucial to demonstrate to the non-greek undergraduate students that we are committed to promoting safe and healthy lifestyles. Because of this we teamed up with the Program Board Speaker’s Division, Women’s Student Assembly, and the Graduate Professional Student Senate so that we could promote the event to our non-greek peers. Drawing more than 700 students, the event was a huge success!
Dr. Drew opened with a frank and humorous discussion about how he got into the business of being America’s favorite “sex and drugs” doctor. Then, he took questions from the audience, with students asking general questions about anything and everything. Both male and female students participated with engagement as they asked him about how safe condoms really are all the way to asking advice for a friend who may have a drug addiction. There were a lot of laughs as can be expected when someone asked how to perfect the art of the female orgasm. All in all though, the message of how to live our lives much more safely and how to manage the balance of college fun and experimentation with safety came across loud and clear!

Additionally, GAMMA and HEAL are proud to present to Sigma Chi and Gamma Phi Beta the prizes for best attendance by a fraternity and sorority. Dr. Drew signed posters congratulating the houses which are going to be customed framed with the winning house’s colors. He was particularly impressed when we let him know that Gamma Phi Beta had 57 girls in attendance! 

Keep an ear out for the GAMMA executive board when we attend his radio show in the next few weeks.

President: Mike Drachkovitch
VP Recruitment: Chris Reilly
VP Events: Stephanie Chung
Co-VP Conference: Annie Gillman
Co-VP Conference: Robert Moore
VP Finance: Rebecca Goodrich
VP Communication: Lauren Gaw
VP Public Relations: Tim Vossler
Co-VP Proposal: Lara Levin
Co-VP Proposal: Chris Copping

Sincerely,
The 2007-2008 Executive Board

By: Michael Drachkovitch | Order of Omega |

April 15, 2008

Copyright 2008 USC Order of Omega

USC Greeks come together to present a check to founder Mike Nyeholt at the Saturday Swim with Mike Event.

IFC & PHC Vice Presidents of Scholarship, Dennis Roberts and Rachel Caton, present awards at the biannual scholarship dinner.

© Copyright 2008 USC Interfraternity Council

The Western Regional Greek Association (WRGA) is the prominent leadership association for interfraternalism in the Western United States. Councils from all over the country send representatives to partake in breakout groups, case studies, and hear motivational leadership speakers share their greek experiences. USC sent 6 members from the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and 11 members from the Panhellenic Council (PHC), along with their respective advisors.

The weekend was a great way for members to share ideas with councils at other schools, along with getting to see where they are compared to other greek communities around the country.

On Saturday night a banquet was held for the over 40 councils that submitted packets for award recognition. It was a lively event with over 600 student leaders attending and cheering on award-winning councils, students, and advisors.

At the banquet, USC’s Interfraternity Council took home awards for Scholarship Programming, Scholarship Achievement, Inter-Greek Community Programming. USC’s Panhellenic Council took home Scholarship Achievement, Community Involvement, and University Programming. IFC and PHC received joint council awards for Multimedia Innovation in the Newsletter category, and was an Honorable Mention for programming from the Order of Omega Honor Society.

“I really appreciated getting to speak with past Greek leaders that have served the same position as me and receive insight into specific issues that many communities are dealing with,” said Jens Midthun, Vice President of Recruitment for IFC and Attendee of the conference. Jens has also recently been installed as the Undergraduate Student Government President for USC.

For more information on the WRGA and its conference, please visit www.WRGA.org.

Regional IFC & PHC Conference

© Copyright 2008 USC IFC

By: Ray Carlos | Office of Residential & Greek Life |

April 7th, 2008

The Omega Phi chapter of Order of Omega initiated 64 new members on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 in front of Doheny Memorial Library on the campus of the University of Southern California. The Omega Phi chapter received 99 applications and increase from last year.

Sarah Wilson, Omega Phi chapter president, presided over the initiation ceremony and Jessica Orkin, vice-president of recruitment, planned an organized the event. A number of current fraternity and sorority presidents, as well as council officers were inducted.

The purpose of Order of Omega is to recognize those students who have attained a high standard of leadership in inter-Greek activities, to encourage them to continue along this line, and to inspire others to strive for similar conspicuous attainment; to bring together the most representative fraternity and sorority members, and to create an organization which will help mold the sentiment of the institution on questions of local and intercollegiate affairs; and to bring together members of the faculty, alumni, and student members of the institution's fraternities and sororities on a basis of mutual interest, understanding, and cooperation.

Much of what goes on in a fraternity house is not what the average brother would like to share with a rabbi. And yet, increasingly, Jewish frat houses on campuses are partnering with Chabad.

(lubavitch.com/LNS) All twenty pledges at USC’s newest fraternity turned their first Friday night as brothers into Shabbat at Chabad last week.
Rohr Chabad Jewish Student Center, located right on Fraternity Row, always gets a lively crowd on Friday nights, with plenty of fraternity brothers and sorority sisters digging into director Runya Wagner’s fresh salads and roasted chicken. By hosting bigwigs from Sigma Alpha Mu’s executive board and parents proud to see their boys become official Sammys, it demonstrated just how comfortable fraternity brothers are with Chabad.

“Chabad has been very gracious to us, and we like hanging out with them,” said Nathan Pikover, SAM’s president.

Fraternity guys and rabbis, Torah and togas, are not obvious combinations. Rabbi Dov Wagner, director of Chabad at USC, attended yeshivas and rabbinical schools his entire life, where there’s a lot of brotherhood but nary a Greek-lettered sweatshirt in sight. And much of what goes on in a fraternity house is not what the average brother would like to share with a rabbi.


That SAM, founded by Jewish students at the College of the City of New York back in 1909, is seeking stronger Jewish involvement is indicative of a wider trend,
But Matt Wittenstein, assistant executive director of the SAM national office, sees Chabad and SAM as natural partners.

Wittenstein told Lubavitch.com about a SAM brother who suddenly took ill in the middle of a semester. At the hospital, “Who came to help him? His chapter brothers and Chabad. Sammy and Chabad both take care of you like family. They are both home and both places you can turn to for help.”

Chabad welcomed SAM guys to host their Monday night dinners and meetings at their spacious Chabad House, right off of USC’s storied fraternity row. “We are always open to Jewish students hanging out together, strengthening their Jewish identity,” said Mrs. Wagner. “We have a good relationship with all the Jewish Greek houses at ‘SC.”

That SAM, founded by Jewish students at the College of the City of New York back in 1909, is seeking stronger Jewish involvement is indicative of a wider trend, according to Rabbi Wagner.

“Increasingly Jewish fraternities, both the national organization and individual houses, have recognized that their Jewish identity is what makes them unique. Many of them are getting very actively engaged with Chabad and Hillel.” USC’s Jewish fraternities have co-sponsored Shabbat meals and members help set up for last week’s massive Purim bash.

For Pikover, reinstalling SAM at USC gave him and his friends an opportunity to “build the fraternity in our own images, to be Jewish in more than name, to keep the Jewish spirit a little bit more, beyond the stereotypical fraternity craziness.”

SAM, open to “male students of good moral character” of all faiths since 1953, does not compel observance in any way. When the idea of meeting at Chabad was floated, a few students who had never met the Wagners personally hesitated.

“They thought only religious students go there.” To which Pikover replied, “Look at me. The rabbi just wants us to be comfortable and hang out.”

Lounging around at Chabad, all this talk of ‘getting comfortable’, has a purpose, Rabbi Wagner said. “When a student is looking to have a conversation about meaningful issues, they already know us, and we’re there for that crucial interaction.”

By: Jeriel Ong | Alpha Gamma Omega

Thirteen members of USC’s Alpha Gamma Omega (AGO) chapter along with one member from San Diego State University’s AGO chapter went to the slums of Tijuana, Mexico on Saturday April 29th to help build houses for impoverished Mexican families. The effort was done with Amor Ministries, an organization that helps build housing structures for families throughout Mexico, though a lot of efforts are in and around cities such as Tijuana. The 14 brothers were split into two groups of seven at two different work sites. The housing structures that the actives and pledges helped build could be finished in four days. However, since this was only a one day trip, only the concrete foundations of two houses were laid. Also, the sites were limited in man power with only seven guys working on each foundation even though the recommended number of men was 10 to 15. The work was arduous labor, hand-mixing concrete with shovels and sore backs. Labor began at 9 AM and was scheduled to end at 6pm in order to leave the neighborhood before nightfall. Both groups worked past night fall finishing up under spotlights until the foundation was fully laid. Sophomore, Jonathan Lee commented on the efforts of the brothers, “People who go on service-oriented missions in my experience are always super passionate and gung ho in the beginning, but their zeal kind of fades away as they begin to get tired. All of the guys I worked with just kept working and working, though, so it was awesome.”

The hardships in coordinating all the efforts and enthusiasm of the brothers were difficult as well. “It was challenging trying to coordinate and lead everyone. Fortunately, our group was really cohesive, so there were few problems,” said Junior, Charles Plubell. “However, I could see that in a larger group in which people don't really know each other, completing such a huge task could be very hard.”

Many brothers were humbled at the poverty level in Tijuana. “We saw people who did not have flushing toilets, and their ‘houses’ were patchwork plywood assemblies…This was alarming, but sobering, and helped me to understand the people in impoverished areas,” said newly activated member, Jeriel Ong.

Alpha Gamma Omega hopes to make these service trips to Mexico a semesterly effort in the coming years, possibly on long weekends of the semester, where more work can be accomplished.

For more information please visit www.amor.org.