Pi Kappa Alpha Iota Delta Chapter

Last Saturday was Winter Work Day. Even though it was optional, brothers still made the effort to wake up early and get to work on making Pike an even better place to live. Brothers repainted the inside of the Main House, gutted the Cottage, and renovated the Chapter Office.

The Beta Epsilon associate class spent last Tuesday night wooing the young ladies of Rose-Hulman and Indiana State University. The song was "Sweet Caroline." The goal was to win their hearts and invite them to the Associate Party. And, with the help of their Associate Educator Brian Cherbak, as well as Luke Swanson, Ken Shimomoto, and Rob Andrews, the serenading proved to be a success.

"Bike for Tykes" has gone stunningly well for another year as over 350 Rose students showed up early on the morning of Saturday, December 10th to assemble approximately 500 bicycles and tricycles. The event started at 8:00 am and the last bicycle was assembled around noon. For more information, please click here.

The beginning of winter quarter marks a change in leadership in the chapter as all new chairmen are appointed and a new executive council is elected. Here are all the following newly appointed and elected leaders of Iota Delta:

President: Michael Johnson
Secretary: Kevin Collins

External Vice President: Matthew Spurr
Alumni Relations - Aaron Jackson
Fire Truck - John Daly
Grounds - Lance Niebrugge
Historian - Brad Bork
Housing - Kaleb Kleine
Information Technology - Geoffrey Ong
Risk Management - Michael McDonald

Internal Vice President: Brandon Hasenour
Athletics - Mitchell Feldhake
Brotherhood - Trey Porter
Campus Involvement - Jorge Leon
Chapter Education - Collin Crowson
Community Service - Dustin Morris
Philanthropy - Nathan Shumway
Public Relations - Luke Reynolds
Scholarship- Brian Kodalen
Social - Garrett Tepen

Luke Reynolds will now be taking over as manager of the Pike website. If you ever have any questions, suggestions, or concerns about the website, feel free to email him at reynollk@rose-hulman.edu.

This past weekend, three brothers (Adam Esch, Andrew Schmidt, and Jesse Cherbak), the current dream girl (Carley Shumate), and a friend (Katie) ventured to Springfield, Missouri to attend Skepticon IV, a student-organized skeptic and atheist convention. At the conference, big name skeptics and atheists such as PZ Myers, David Silverman, Hemant Mehta, Greta Christina, and Rebecca Watson (and others) spoke about subjects including (but not limited to) genetics, women's rights, anger at religion, emotion and rationality, death, math, and paranormal investigations, which were all extremely interesting and enlightening when viewd from a skeptical/atheistic perspective. In total, about 1200 people attended the conference, and everybody was extremely friendly and approachable. The group met a few of the speakers that were in attendance, the most notable of which were David Silverman (President of American Atheists) and PZ Myers (Professor at University of Minnesota Morris and Blogger of Pharyngula), which are photographed below.

Just yesterday, a group of around 30 Pikes and a few others journeyed to Hanover College to see the Rose-Hulman Lady Engineers crush the competition and win their first ever Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) championship in volleyball. The fifth seeded Lady Engineers demolished the third seeded Bluffton Beavers with a convincing three set sweep. The Pikes led cheers, shouted positive encouragement, and willed the Lady Engineers to victory. In one of the most successful seasons in Rose-Hulman volleyball history, the HCAC champs set their sights on Wittenburg in the NCAA D3 regional match-up.

This past Saturday night, the first annual Pike and Chi Omega faculty banquet was held in the Alden Dining Hall. This joint venture involved a total of around 60 people including 15 Chi Omegas, 15 Pikes, and a number of faculty, their spouses, and their children. The Alden Dining Room transformed into a nice dining area for the night and the menu included succulent baked chicken, green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, and a wonderful brownie sundae. Students enjoyed interacting with the faculty over dinner. They thanked the professors for furthering their education and putting in a lot of hard work to do so. Thanks to all who helped in making this event possible and thank you to all the men and women who continue to guide us along in our engineering education.

The brotherhood of Pi Kappa Alpha grew in number yesterday; 23 new men signed bids and joined the fraternity. The milk and cookies boys celebrated the occasion with the fire truck ride, the milk chug, dodge ball, brotherhood ball, and a number of other Bid Tuesday traditions. A big thank you goes out to Rush Chairman Collin Crowson, and to all who helped in the rush process.

This past weekend, a group of six brothers, Geoff Schellack, Adam Reke, Rob Andrews, Alex Krull, Bruce Coston, and Jake Sheets, ventured into Virginia’s wilderness on a 40 mile hike along the Appalachian Trail. The group journeyed to Grayson Highlands where there were a plethora of both wild ponies and beautiful landscapes. The event was a great chance for the brothers to grow closer. Brother Geoff Schellack, a senior mechanical engineering major, loved the experience, “When you go on a trip like this, there are endless opportunities for brothers to get to know each other on a deeper level. An outdoor experience allows brothers to bond in close community.” Schellack and Brother Adam Reke, veteran outdoor enthusiasts, taught the inexperienced backpackers how to hike the right way. The younger brothers really enjoyed spending quality time in the wilderness. They also jumped at the chance to learn about new hiking skills and tricks of the trade concerning the outdoors. In fact, Brother Schellack instructed everyone in the art of riding a wild pony.

This past weekend, nearly 250 actives and alumni gathered together to celebrate Homecoming 2011. The wonderful weekend started off with a bang at the bonfire Friday night. Fireworks illuminated the sky and sometime later four explosives detonated and started the gargantuan bonfire that we have come to know and love. After the fire, the party began back at the Pike grounds. Alumni and actives reunited and spent quality time together talking about Rose, work, and the good ol' days.

Alumni Relations chairman Matt Spurr organized the weekend events, one of which was a volleyball tournament in the name of Mike Kohlmeier, our brother who recently passed away after a tough fight with cancer. His love, faithfulness, and determined spirit will surely be missed by all. While addressing the chapter, one of the alumni spoke of Mike's character and deep convictions, "...most importantly, you could tell that he was a disciple of Jesus Christ." Our continued prayers are with his family in this time.

Saturday night’s ceremony in the gym featured a succulent pig, mac and cheese, and much more delicious food. After the feast, many rode on the hayride pulled by our very own firetruck. Others chose to enjoy the ridiculously large fire. All in all, the weekend was filled with remembrance, fun, and celebration.