Greetings and Happy Fall from C’ville. I am Sam Carr ’07, and I serve on the Virginia Omicron Chapter House Corp. board and assumed chapter advisor responsibilities from Joel Gibbons ’85. Joel left some big shoes to fill, and I’d like to thank him for his service to our chapter. Thankfully he remains on the House Corp. Board, which also includes Robert Bailey, John MacKethan, Jake Pittman, Whitney Johnson, and Josh Glubiak.
It’s an exciting time for Wahoos near and far as UVA commences its bicentennial celebration. It was only about eight years ago that we celebrated Virginia Omicron’s 150th anniversary (to be fashionably late, we celebrated two years late). ‘E’s from various decades gathered at the house, and though we didn’t have a high tech projection show on the front of the Rotunda and the Goo Goo Dolls like UVA’s bicentennial kickoff, we had a blast—cocktails in the yard and a great band party at Farmington.
I forgive UVA for leaving us out of the bicentennial show, but simple math shows that Virginia Omicron has been at the University for 80% of the time the University has existed based on its charter (UVA managed to remain open during the Civil War, but our chapter didn’t). I wasn’t a U Guide, so pardon this amateur historian, but our chapter significantly predates most groups like the reputable IMPs, the Z’s, and even the 7 Society (assuming the Internet can reliably provide dates for those groups) whose marks so visibly adorn Grounds. In fact, our organization is older than most others with the notable exception of the Jefferson Literary and Debating Society.
The point is not to boast, but to share the history of our organization. As the U looks ahead, we will be ensuring Virginia Omicron continues to share a bright future with the University. Whether it’s simply a rush recommendation, a visit to a tailgate, or providing an update for the newsletter, we welcome your participation. If you are inclined to make a donation to the SAE House Fund managed by Alumni Hall or the tax-deductible Education Fund managed by SAE Nationals for the benefit of our chapter, we appreciate your support.
Phi Alpha,
Sam Carr