Beta Tau Returns
After a 32 year absence, Beta Tau was re-chartered
on November 23, 1968. Again a group of men got together on campus,
wanting to start a new fraternity, so they associated themselves with the
National Organization of Pi Kappa Alpha. Initially, Beta Tau did
not have a house, so meeting and social gatherings were held at member's
houses or at the Pretzel Bell restaurant on Liberty Street, or the Brown
Jug on South University, both popular "hang-outs" of the time. Eventually,
the members of Beta Tau consolidated the living arrangements of its members
by renting an entire floor of an apartment building at 406 Packard (the
triangular building at the corner of Division and Packard, across from
South Quad). At this time, the construction of a new chapter house
for Beta Tau was underway on Geddes. This was not the premier location
for a fraternity because it was quite far away from campus, but it was
on the edge of Nichols Arboretum. In the early 1970's, campus-wide
Greek enrollment again declined with the wide-spread anti-establishment
feelings of the Vietnam era. Also, Beta Tau guickly lost the ideals
which make our fraternity so great, and this compounded the problem.
After six years on campus, Beta Tau once again lost its charter.
A Refounding in the Making
In 1990, William Jarman Davis III pledged the Delta Gamma chapter
of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
He was his pledge class president at Miami and was initiated into the fraternity
at the end of his pledge term. The next year, Jarman decided that
Miami was not the school for him, and he transferred to the University
of Michigan. When he came to Ann Arbor, he was a pre-med. student
and a member of Navy R.O.T.C. This was one of the many organizations
he became involved with at the University. Jarman was disappointed,
though, that at that time there was no chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha at Michigan.
He decided that since there was no chapter present, he would start his
own chapter of Pike. He contacted the expansion staff at the National
Headquarters in Memphis and told them of his interest. Pi Kappa Alpha
had been waiting for an opportunity to re-colonize the Beta Tau chapter
at the University of Michigan because of its reputation and prominence.
Fraternity chapters at schools like Michigan are flagships of the Greek
world. The expansion staff set up a time to come up to Ann Arbor
and meet with Jarman to lay the ground-work necessary to re-establish Beta
Tau.
Jarman's vision was to establish a unique fraternity; one founded on integrity, respect and friendship. Unlike most fraternities on campus, Beta Tau would not haze in any way, and it would strive to be more than just a social institution. He adopted the motto of S.L.A.G - Scholars, Leaders, Athletes and Gentlemen - and vowed that Beta Tau would never vary from this motto, nor would this motto be a simple front. Jarman was prepared to put in all the time and effort needed to begin a new fraternity in the highly competitive and well-established Greek system at the University of Michigan.
The Early Days of the Beta Tau
Colony
In the Winter term of 1992, the expansion staff of Pi Kappa Alpha
met Jarman Davis in Ann Arbor, and together, they established a plan for
the re-founding of the Beta Tau colony. Jarman began recruiting men
in class and across campus who he felt fit the high standards of Beta Tau.
Also, the expansion team from National met with the Greek Coordinators,
I.F.C.. and Panhel, and members of the University's administration to spread
the word of the re-founding of Pike and to ask for names of men who fit
the Pike image. In addition, both Jarman and the National expansion
staff went to sorority chapter meetings to solicit names of prospective
members of Pi Kappa Alpha. It was obvious that the men of the University
of Michigan were looking for a fraternity that was not average and ordinary;
the list of members of the Beta Tau colony quickly grew.
Once the membership of Beta Tau grew, it was time to get direction, and the Beta Tau colony met for the first time at the Cottage Inn restaurant on Liberty. At this meeting the object and goals of the fraternity were set. Also, it was decided that the colony would meet weekly at the Michigan Union on Mondays at 6 PM. In addition, it was decided that the colony needed to solicit the support and advice of local Pi Kappa Alpha alumni, so it was decided that the colony would invite local alumni to a special colony meeting to be held at the Modern Language Building. Quite a few alumni expressed interest and attended the meeting. Two alumni who were outstanding were Mike Nelson, who volunteered to be Beta Tau's first chapter advisor, and Dean Gomoll, who became the colony's financial advisor. Beta Tau was now well on its way toward its goal of becoming a chartered chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.
Once Monday meetings at the Union became the norm, it was obvious that Beta Tau needed to establish an executive board, write a set of by-laws in accordance with our National Constitution, and appoint committee chairmen to help carry-out the goals of the colony. The first executive board of Beta Tau consisted of:
President - Jarman Davis
Vice President Internal - Chris Prescott
Vice President External - Paul Kosnick
Secretary - Randy Horton
Treasurer - P.J. Felix
Becoming a Fraternity
Beta Tau established the basic structure of the colony, but now it
was time to begin functioning as a fraternity. This included organizing
social events and participating in campus-wide fraternity formal rush.
Since Beta Tau did not have a chapter house, social functions had to be
held at members' houses and at local restaurants and bars. Also,
not having a house posed a problem for rush. Beta Tau needed a central
location for rushees to meet the members of the colony. After searching
for a long time for a place to hold rush, the women of the Pi Beta Phi
sorority were kind enough to offer their house to Beta Tau. Once
rush was finished, Beta Tau had the final members of the Alpha class of
our fraternity. The Beta class of our fraternity came later in the
semester when additional members were added to the colony.
Efforts toward chartering continued in the Winter term of 1992, and the Gamma class of the Beta Tau colony was added after rush at Dominick's bar, across from the Law School. Beta Tau was slated to be inspected for initiation in mid-October and the initiation date was set for November 13. Before making the final plans for the installation banquet, though, Beta Tau had to pass the tough National colony inspection to assure that our colony was prepared to become a chapter. Planning for this inspection began early in the Winter term of 1992, and Beta Tau set goals above the standards for initiation. The members decided they wanted to have 3500 community service hours completed for the year by the inspection date and around 50 colony members. All the colony members also needed to memorize the history of the fraternity and the Preamble to prepare for the open forum quiz which would take place the night of the inspection. The members also needed to put together a Beta Tau handbook, which contained all the information about the members of Beta Tau, complete information about the history of the University of Michigan and its Greek system, the colony's by-laws, and a listing of all colony goals and activities for the previous year. Needless to say, the members of Beta Tau spent many long hours each week preparing for their inspection.
Finally, the day for the inspection came. Members of the National Fraternity's expansion staff and undergraduate members from the Delta Nu chapter at Wayne State University participated in the inspection. All of Beta Tau's hard work paid off, because the colony passed the inspection with flying colors. The date for initiation was set for November 13, 1992.
Members of the National Supreme Council, including then president Tommy Turner, the National expansion staff, undergraduates from the Delta Nu at Wayne State, and members from Delta Gamma at Ohio State University all came to Ann Arbor to initiate the members of Beta Tau. The initiation was held in rooms A, B, and C on the third floor of the Michigan League. It was a long process, because there were 49 colony members to initiate, but in the end, these 49 men finally became the Re-founding Fathers of the Beta Tau chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.
The very next day, Saturday, November 14, Beta Tau held its installation banquet at the Dearborn Hyatt. It was a black-tie affair, and around 45 members, their dates, family members, local alumni and Beta Tau alumni from both the 1922 chapter and the 1968 chapter were in attendance. The highlight of the evening was the key note address which was delivered by our National President, Tommy Turner. At the end of his address, Jarman Davis presented Tommy with a Gary Moeller autographed Michigan football helmet, which is on display at the Pi Kappa Alpha International Museum in Memphis.
Finally a Chapter
The men of Beta Tau did not have much time to enjoy their new status
as full members of the fraternity before it was time for Fall term exams
and Winter break. Being the end of the Fall term, though, it was
time to elect the second executive council of Beta Tau:
Winter term 1993 marked the first full semester that Beta Tau was a full fledged chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha. Now that they achieved their goal of installation, the members of our fraternity now had to try to survive and make their mark in the competitive Michigan Greek system. Pi Kappa Alpha had already established their reputation on campus as being the Gentleman's fraternity. Also, the news was quickly spreading that Pi Kappa Alpha was a very unique fraternity with high standards and integrity. The Pike reputation made relations with sororities and the University administration easy, but Pike represented change to the other fraternities on campus. Many people viewed Pi Kappa Alpha as the next step in the evolution of fraternities, and this was not very popular with other fraternities. This made Michigan's Greek system very difficult to break into at first, especially the very cliquey social scene.
Beta Tau continued to have its meeting on Monday night in either the Kuenzel or Pond room of the Michigan Union. Pike also had an office on the fourth floor of the Union. Not having a house really was no burden to the members. Since they never had the experience of a fraternity house, it was not something they missed. Beta Tau had a strong enough membership and recruiting tactics that being without a house did not make a difference.
Without a house, Beta Tau needed to find a place to hold Winter Rush. Luckily, the women of Alpha Zi Delta allowed Pi Kappa Alpha to hold rush at their sorority house. Rush was very successful and Pikes finished with the delta associate class, containing 19 members.
Not only did our fraternity have a great rush that semester, but Winter
term 1993 also contained another milestone for Pi Kappa Alpha. As
always, Michigan's Greek Week was held in mid-March. Pi Kappa Alpha
was already having a great semester, and spirits were high in anticipation
of our fraternity's second-ever Greek Week. In addition, Pike was
represented on the Greek Week Steering Committee by Jarman Davis and Adam
Cohen. Our fraternity was paired with the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority
and the Sigma Nu fraternity. All the members of our Greek Week team
worked well together, and the members of Pike contributed greatly to the
team's efforts. In the end, the members of Pi Kappa Alpha joined
Thetas and Sigma Nu on the stage of Hill Auditorium at the conclusion of
"Sing-and-Variety" to celebrate their team's first place finish in Greek
Week.
Beta Tau rounded out its Winter term by having the traditional Pi Kappa
Alpha "Dream Girl Formal" in Chicago in early April.
Since its colony days, Beta Tau had been actively searching for a house. At the end of Winter term 1993, our fraternity finally stumbled upon the break it was looking for. In the previous year, the Alpha Omega Pi sorority had been kicked off campus for violations under their national constitution. After their house had stood empty for a year. AO finally decided it was time to lease their house at 800 Oxford. Our chapter advisor, Mike Nelson, and the Beta Tau Housing Corporation Treasurer, Dean Gomoll negotiated the terms for a two year lease with the sorority. Around 35 members of Pi Kappa Alpha were ready to live-in the following year. In February, though, AO notified Mike Nelson that they had instead accepted a higher offer from another fraternity on campus. When this fraternity backed out of the agreement in late March, AO came crawling back to us. Since most of the members had already committed to different housing arrangements for the next year, only about 15 Pikes were able to commit to a lease. Finally, Pi Kappa Alpha had a fraternity house.
Several changes accompanied moving into a house. For one thing, Beta Tau finally had somewhere aside from the Union to meet. Also, we now had a place other than Pizzeria Uno's to party. Fall rush numbers were disappointing, though, with the epsilon class containing only 9 associates. Also, Beta Tau received its first ever chapter consultant visit from the National Fraternity. Our consultant, T. R., came to Ann Arbor and was not as impressed with Beta Tau as its members thought he would be. In the end, Beta Tau's first National rating was only an "Average". Also, over the summer, our chapter advisor, Mike Nelson, accepted a job in Texas. Beta Tau was left without a chapter advisor, until Dean Gomoll agreed that he would take on the role. In all, Fall term 1993 was a defining time for Beta Tau. Chapter meetings averaged two to three hours a piece, and a few members deactivated in response to our troubled times.
One highlight of the semester was our Fall Formal at the Homestead resort in Traverse City, Michigan. It was a beautiful setting, and everyone had a great time. Also, the end of the Fall term marked the time to vote for a new executive council. Our third exec. consisted of:
Beat Tau made a lot of progress in the Winter term of 1994, led by its new exec. Rush was low again this term, with the Zeta class only containing 8 associates. Many revisions and improvements were made in the programming of the fraternity in areas such as social, brotherhood, community service, and membership development. This was definitely a building semester for Beta Tau.
Some of the highlights of the term were a very successful Founder's Day celebration at the Ann Arbor Inn, a fun "Dream Girl Formal" in Toronto, and Greek Week, with the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority and the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity.
Beta Tau continued to build in the Fall term of 1994. This semester,
our fraternity had its best rush in three semesters, culminating in the
very strong Eta class, which contained 17 associate members. Pike's
hard work was paying off, and evidence of this was given in our second
chapter consultant visit. Lance Dowdy came to Ann Arbor from Memphis
and was very impressed with our progress. He noted improvements in
all areas of the fraternity, although Beta Tau was not yet up to "Excellent"
standards. At the end of his visit, brother Dowdy left Beta Tau with
an "Above Average" rating.
The end of the conclusion of the Fall term brought with it the
elections for the new executive board of Beta Tau. The members of
the fourth exec. were:
President - Jeff Montgomery
Vice President Internal - José Bartolomie
Vice President External - Mike Lovelace
Secretary - Jordan Leeds
Treasurer - Jeff Ripple
The Winter term of 1995 also brought with it another outstanding associate class, the Theta class, which consisted of 18 members. Beta Tau again concentrated on ever improving the programming of the fraternity and the bonds of brotherhood. Our fraternity made several improvements in every area of the fraternity. This added to Beta Tau's trend of continually gaining in strength and size. Our social calendar was expanding and Pi Kappa Alpha was finally seen as a serious threat to the top fraternities on campus. Improvement was again noted through the chapter consultant visit. Jeff Meletio visited Beta Tau for four days and was astounded by the great strides our fraternity had made. Jeff gave Beta Tau its first ever "Excellent" rating.
This Winter was also marked by several events. Beta Tau again celebrated Founder's Day, but this time the location was the Michigan Union. This was the most successful Alumni event our chapter had held and the program included a key-note speech by our Founder, Jarman Davis, and a brand new awards ceremony. Pi Kappa Alpha again competed in Greek Week and finished a respectable fourth with its partners, the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and the Sigma Phi fraternity. Also, our fraternity rounded off the school year with a very successful "Dream Girl Formal" in Chicago. The most outstanding accomplishment for Beta Tau for the year, though, came in Athletics. After three years of finishing the Fraternity Inter-Mural race in anywhere from 32nd to 18th, Pi Kappa Alpha finished the season in 2nd.
One final accomplishment of the year came in the area of housing. Our two-year lease with AO? was complete, and as always, Pi Kappa Alpha was looking for additional housing options. In 1993, after review by the board at Lambda Chi Alpha, Lambda Chi decided to remove its chapter from the University of Michigan. This left their house without any tenants. The Lambda Chi housing corporation leased individual rooms of the house to graduate students for the 1994-1995 school year, but it decided that it would accept offers from fraternities on campus for a long-term lease beginning the following year. The house at 1601 Washtenaw on the corner of Hill Street was seen as one of the prime locations in the Greek system. This newly remodeled house was the opportunity Pi Kappa Alpha had been waiting for. After several bids on a lease, Lambda Chi Alpha finally agreed to terms for a three year lease with the Beta Tau Housing Corporation. 31 members signed leases for the following year.
Beta Tau moved into its new home for the Fall term of 1995. This was an exciting time to be a Pike. Our fraternity was at its strongest point and it continued to improve. Pi Kappa Alpha was the talk of the Greek system and our social schedule continued to expand. Also, the bonds of brotherhood within the house continued to grow throughout the term.
Beta Tau started the semester with another strong rush. The Iota associate class consisted of 16 members and increased our membership to 76. This term was also marked with our best Alumni event ever. Over 25 alumni members and 50 undergraduate members attended our Homecoming celebration. One highlight of the event was a live broadcast by 96.3 fm, The Planet, a popular rock station from Detroit. On Sunday, Beta Tau held its first joint alumni/undergraduate meeting, and several members, both new and old, participated in our second annual golf scramble at the U of M golf course. Beta Tau also received its second "Excellent" rating from Jef Meletio, chapter consultant. One of the best events of the term was our Winter Formal. The theme was Honeymoon in Vegas and it was our first-ever in-house formal. As a result of the reduced cost of this formal, almost 50 couples attended.
Once again the end of the Fall term came and it was time to elect a new Executive Board. This exec. was unique, because it marked the first time that a Re-Founding Father was not President of our fraternity.
President - Mike Lovelace
Vice President Internal - Erik Ranka
Vice President External - Barry Weldon
Secretary - Josh Henschell
Treasurer - Jeff Ripple