The Fall Semester at UVA has brought much excitement to the Alpha chapter at 513 Rugby Road. The last two rough semesters are behind us, but the Rolling Stone article as well as the Hannah Graham tragedy both took their toll on all aspects of life here. The University was under heavy internal scrutiny, which in turn had affected the entire Greek community in the forms of conditional contracts and newly implemented social regulations. However, the PiKA house, and the University as a whole, is looking forward to meeting these new challenges with determination.
We are still in the ongoing process of renovating, as the house is always need of improvements. While there were no substantial changes to the house this year, we were recently regranted access to our side-porch which had previously fallen into disrepair. Overall the house itself is still standing strong.
After last year, we decided some stronger connections with our alumni might help alleviate some of the stress. We are now constantly working with our older alumni so as to perpetuate the vertical accumulation of knowledge and experience between Alpha chapter classes. As our alumni network grows, the active members are able to learn and gain from their advice, and to work towards building a more holistic brotherhood.
This past spring the Alpha chapter took a pledge class of 15 men from around the globe. Among them are varsity athletes, determined scholars, and men destined for our military. They continue to surprise us. Our chapter is up to 44 men for the fall, and expecting to take an equally strong class this coming spring. Only 364 days until the next Pretzel Day.
Here are the names of the newest members.
Pi Kappa Alpha pledge class of 2015:
John Collins (Virginia Beach, VA) ’18
William Gerrard (Summit, NJ) ’18
Lewis Goode (Virginia Beach, VA) ’18
Thacher Hoch (Concord, MA) ’17
Clark Kipp (Chicago, IL) ’18
Brett Libowitz (Baltimore, MD) ’18
Erik Magnussen (McLean, VA) ’18
Matthew McAden (Lynchburg, VA) ’18
Connor McKee (Richmond, VA) ’18
Devon Navon (Los Angeles, CA) ’18
Sajan Sheth (Yorktown, PA) ’18
Tunahan Sonat (Istanbul, Turkey) ’17
Chase Walker (McLean, VA) ’16
Nicholas Wall – [PCP] – (Andover, MA) ’18
Robert Wallace (Richmond, VA) ’18