Spring Break
Alumni remember Greek life at reunion
Group shares common bond
Nami Yasue
Daily Staff Writer
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The reunion was organized by the Greek Reunion Committee, members of the Alumni Association and Student Life and Leadership.
Under a large tent, alumni shared memories with food and drinks, and a playground and games were offered for their children.
Paul Richardson, director of marketing for the Alumni Association, said the Alumni Association held various types of reunions in the past, but they first helped to coordinate the event, which reunited the 107 years of Greek Life.
"No one has ever done one for all of the Greeks," Richardson said. Richardson said after Angela Harper, the Greek Life coordinator, proposed to hold the reunion, about 20 people voluntarily worked as the committee members and prepared for many months to make the reunion successful.
"We had a whole group of people who are really committed to make this successful," said Jeff Batuhan, Greek reunion event chair and a former president of Sigma Chi.
Batuhan, who has been a chapter adviser since he graduated in 2000, said he was associated with Sigma Chi because their values and brotherhood were appealing.
Greek is a lifelong experience and lifetime commitment, Batuhan said.
"We maybe come from different fraternities and sororities, but we have a common bond of experiences," Batuhan said.
Frank Jewett, a San Jose State University alumnus from Sigma Nu, said he has been adviser for 15 years and is pleased to see the development of the students.
Jewett, who was in Sigma Nu from 1985 to 1988, said there were more Greeks on campus during the '80s, and said they were operative to building the Event Center during the mid- '80s, as well as being supportive of the Spartan Athletics.
He also said he began to see more diversity in Greek Life during the '80s when the demography of California, as well as the student body of SJSU, began to change.
"If you look at the Greek organizations today, they are extremely diversifi ed compared with 10 or 15 years ago," Jewett said.
Chuck Bell, the director of intercollegiate athletics and an alumnus from Sigma Chi, said there were structures and strict rules in his fraternity house including the mandatory study hall for freshmen and sophomores.
"It's kind of like being on a sports team," Bell said.
"One of the things that I remember in the fraternity house is teaching table manners," Bell said.
Some 40 years ago, Bell said he learned that pepper and salt must be passed together. Students were supposed to look up to the seniors, and they taught freshmen to care about manners, looks and dress.
"Those are the things that I didn't learn when I grew up on a farm," Bell said.
Torrie Nute, a former president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, participated in the reunion with his family because his family members are familiar with some of his fraternity friends, he said.
"Social aspects are big part of college life then and now," Nute said. Nute said he had great experiences getting along with his fraternity brothers during college, and that they are still big part of his life.
"I'm very proud of our organizations and some of my friends I made there," Nute said.
Robert Ramirez, an SJSU alumnus from Sigma Alpha Epsilon, said he had a sense of responsibility as well as a sense of friendships.
"Being a member of a Greek Life is like being a member of a family," Ramirez said.
Getting involved in any student organizations can be great experiences, but only being in the Greek Life can give a family feeling, he said. Although it has been 10 years after he graduated from SJSU, his friends still call him for their weddings or their children's baptisms. He also said it is amazing to call someone his brother who is around the age of his grandfather and get along.
"College is not just education. It's an experience," Ramirez said.
"At least half of my education came from my fraternity experiences," said Edwin Mosher, an SJSU alumnus from Delta Upsilon.
Mosher, who is the president of a corporation and is also deeply involved in the field of education, said he wouldn't be prosperous without the experiences he'd had in fraternity.
Greek houses are places where students learn about leadership, people and communication skills, he said.
"Anyone who doesn't belong to a fraternity or sorority is cheating themselves out of half of their education,"
Mosher said. "That's how you learn all the things you need in business and life."
Mosher said, living with others under the same roof, he was forced to understand and consider others, although they sometimes disagreed with each other, because he could lose his lifetime friends.
Eighty percent of those in the Congress and Senate are people who joined Greek Life, and 75 percent of the top 500 in Fortune are from Greek Life as well, Mosher said.
Students in Greek Life may not always get the best grades, but they developed leadership skills during college, he said.
Knight Pitsker, an 81-year-old SJSU alumnus from Gamma Phi Sigma, came to the reunion with his fraternity brother who taught basketball in a junior high school with him.
Pitsker said he made many friends during 34 years of service in the military, but he never had the same connection with them that he has with
his fraternity friends. Pitsker entered SJSU in 1940, but he was initiated into the military in 1942 during World War II. After he went to Europe and served three years of military service, he came back to SJSU and graduated in 1947, he said.
"When we came back, there were really only two fraternities," Pitsker said.
Pitsker said he could not find anyone he knew back then except his friends who came to the reunion together.
"I'm a little disappointed that I didn't see at least one person that I knew when I was in college," he said.
Joy Weiss, an SJSU alumna from Chi Omega and a committee member, said she also didn't recognize any friends there because there are many fraternities and sororities that don't exist today, including her sorority, and the committee wasn't able to find information on members from those years.
When Weiss was at SJSU, she met her husband Bob Weiss, who is an SJSU alumnus from Sigma Alpha Epsilon and also a committee member, and they were also members of the Associated Students at the time, she said. Being together for 50 years, they now have three children and nine grandchildren, she said.
"We were both Greeks and married in college," Weiss said. "That's a kind of romantic story."
Deanna Del Grande, a senior marketing major and the president of Alpha Phi, said there are tremendous benefi ts to joining a sorority, including being involved in the community and experiencing sisterhood.
"We help students to become better citizens, better workers and better people," Del Grande said.
Del Grande also said, despite some of the negative images about Greek Life, students in sororities and fraternities are very productive, and many Greek alumni are successful leaders today.
Alpha Phi set higher standards in both academics and involvement for the members to become better individuals, Del Grande said.
Del Grande has shared many great moments with her sisters and hopes to give back to her sisters and future sisters, she said.
"I know that Alpha Phi will always be a part of my life," she said.
Batuhan, who was also the president of A.S., said the relationships with many of his friends from A.S. stopped after he graduated, but he still has strong connections to his fraternity brothers.
"We never say 'I was a Sigma Chi',
but we always say 'I am a Sigma Chi until the day I die,' " Batuhan said.
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