In our monthly eDelt over the last few years, we’ve been providing updates from many Alumni, and articles from and about many of our Alumni Brothers. We’ve also tried to keep you updated on the various aspects of turning the “new” house at 1705 Hill St. into a home for all Delta Chis, past and present, by highlighting the History and Heritage Wall of Composites, the acquisition of picnic tables, and the updating of the wireless capabilities, among other activities.
Admittedly, we’ve fallen short in one area… providing updates from the current brothers and giving you an idea of what life is like in the house.
We’ve recently received some inputs from the Brothers, and wanted to share what we’ve learned with you.
Michigan Delta Chi is the largest Fraternity on Campus
In a far cry from the days of life in the old house, when we counted the 20 (+/-) brothers who live at 1705 Hill as the entire active chapter population, today’s Michigan Delta Chi Chapter has over 100 total active members. Of that total, we have a full house, with 34, living there.
To give you an idea of the growth, the latest list of new associates (pledges in the old vernacular) includes 26 students!
And the chapter is happy to report that the groups is made up of students from across the country. The states represented include Michigan (1), California (2), Connecticut (1), Florida (4), Illinois (1), Indiana (1), Maryland (1), Massachusetts (1), New York (12)), and New Jersey (2). The New England area is well represented!
Life in the House
The Delta Chi house, like most other fraternities/sororities these days, have moved on from the more traditional aspects of house life, including having live-in cooks like our fondly remembered long-time cook, John Henry Russell.
They’ve contracted with “Gill Grilling,” a Maryland-based company that bills itself as “the premier provider of meal service and kitchen management to Fraternities and Sororities across the country.”
The brothers receive breakfast/lunch and can order eggs, pancakes, a sandwich, salad, quesadilla, etc. And they can choose any time from 11 am to 2 pm to receive their food.
Dinner is a scheduled menu and the brothers can choose any time from 6-7 to receive dinner.
As we learned, many a bond is formed over dinners together. Today’s group enjoys eating together and watching sports at around 6:30 each evening. The brothers have also gone on lots of group dinners together to Pizza House, Ichiban and other places.
Additionally, as many of us did during our time in A2, they’ve found ways to make the house their own, most notably by making a small gym in the laundry room that is both useful and convenient for the brotherhood.
Sports/Social/Charitable events
Camaraderie and Brotherhood are also strengthened by their involvement in Campus sports/social/charitable endeavors:
- They’ve started a fraternity basketball league.
- They are participating in a flag football tournament for a club called Go Blue Wear Pink. Go Blue Wear Pink is a student-run organization at the University of Michigan that raises money to fund
- breast cancer research at the U-M Rogel Cancer Center. Since 2007, students have raised over $360,000 to accelerate groundbreaking research at one of the nation’s leading cancer research centers.
- They’ve also continued a long-standing Michigan Delta Chi tradition of supporting the Jimmy V Foundation, this year by participating in a Bracket Challenge. Since its formation in 1993 by ESPN and legendary basketball coach Jim Valvano, the V Foundation for Cancer Research has awarded nearly $290 million in cancer research grants nationwide with one goal in mind: to achieve Victory Over Cancer.
- They hosted a successful Parents Weekend, where many parents got to meet each other and see their students on Campus, something they couldn’t do last year due to COVID-19 restrictions.
- Building on that success, they are planning Mom and Dad weekends for February and March.
- And finally, the brothers have introduced a bouncy house at tailgates that they’ve found to be very fun.
Strengthening and Building the Brotherhood
As we all found out when we attended Michigan and lived at Delta Chi, The Bond we formed takes work within the Chapter to foster and grow.
Today’s Brothers continue to contribute to that effort by:
- Adding a Scholarship Chair and a Brother Development Chair to the chapter leadership team. Neither of these will be a part of the eBoard, but separate committees.
- Implementing “F-talks”, where the F highlights key elements to the risk management policies of Delta Chi.
- Focusing on Diversity and Inclusion. A group of brothers attended a screening of a movie about the relationship of the Black community and Jewish community. One of those Brothers was quoted in the Michigan Daily about the experience.
So there you have it… a snapshot of the Life of the Men of the Michigan Delta Chapter in the 2021-2022 school year.
As we all learned, college is more than just the classes and studying.
Just as we did in our days, today’s Delta Chis are making the most of their time together at Michigan… and in the House at 1705 Hill St.
The Bond of Brotherhood remains strong.
In the Bond,
Joe Gradisher ‘79
New Associate Members
Jacob Burstein- Westchester, NY
Daniel Dimarco- Miami, FL
Jake Ferraro- Weston, CT
Ethan Finestone- San Francisco, CA
Justin Gordon- Armonk, NY
Reed Hakim- Harrison, NY
Ethan Josefsberg- Miami, FL
Hayden Katz- Deerfield, IL
Trey Leuchter- Scarsdale, NY
Elan Lukin- Miami, FL
Ethan Lulkin- Birmingham, MI
Matthew Jedwab- Long Island, NY
Aidan Neidoff- Boca Raton, FL
August Neubauer- Newport Beach, CA
Damola Olaiaya- South Bend, IN
Jonah Ostroff- Baltimore, MD
Niki Papaioannou- NJ
Levi Ring- Scarsdale, NY
Aaron Rubin- Dix Hills, NY
Sam Ross- Boston, MA
Max Schrader- New York City, NY
Jared Shiffman- North Jersey, NJ
Alec Tabs- North Cardwell, NY
Isaac Turofsky- Great Neck, NY
Jake Wollman- Bedford, NY
Noah Weber- Scarsdale, NY
