Wilson NC. – After working tirelessly with the college, the active chapter has decided to host the 63rd Founders Day in person. We are very excited to finally start gathering again as we slowly go back to normal. “We were glad that the college finally started loosening up the measures to fit the state standards”, said Caleb Medlock, VP of Programming. “Barton has tried to suppress the amount of ‘outsiders’ coming to college these past two semesters and we can finally do something with more than 10 people involved.”
As usual, you can visit and come up to the house on Friday, April 23rd, starting at 6:00 PM, with the main events being on a Saturday. This year we have switched things around for Saturday night program venue, everything else should stay the same. The current schedule looks like this:
Friday – April 23rd
– Walk-in starting at 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM
Saturday – April 24th – Casual Brunch 10:00am – 11:00am
– Q&A 11:00am – 12:00pm (Q&A for different e-board positions from 12:00pm – 12:00pm)
– Lunch 12:30pm – 1:30pm – Parker’s BBQ
– Afternoon Program – 2:00pm – 6:00pm – Lawn Games, Campus & House Tours, etc.
– Saturday Program – 8:00 PM (coat & tie) – Daniel’s Casual Fine Dining
We will send further updates when we get closer to the actual event. If you already know you will be attending, please fill out the RSVP or contact our VP of Communications here. We are looking forward seeing you all!
Wilson, NC – Active brothers hosted another Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day at the steps of Howard Chapel on center campus. They set up their shop and started giving free coffee and donuts. Line of Barton employees formed fairly quickly, but we managed to respect the campus policies on social distancing. “It has been a hard semester and people usually don’t praise college employees enough, especially during the pandemic. This is why we’re doing this for the second time this school year. We love seeing excited employees coming to get their first coffee and snack of the morning and leaving with a smile on their faces”, said Andrew Jenkins, chapter President. This event, organized by SigEp’s is becoming a tradition that happens every semester. Employees seem to love the gesture and quick casual chat.
Brothers also started their first day of fundraising to help pay medical and travel expenses for AnnaBlair Smith, a three-year-old girl who was recently diagnosed with rare childhood cancer. “I felt we were obliged to help”, says Jaki. “One evening, I saw a post by Brewmasters talking about a child from Beaufort who has cancer. The moment I saw it, I knew we had to do something to help”. Jaki Gabric, a Croatian native, quickly organized the chapter to start the fundraising for AnnaBlair and her family. Having a donation box with a fundraiser flyer at the table this morning was the first part of fundraising for AnnaBlair. Next week SigEp Raiders will be utilizing a regular, “storm the dorm” tactic to raise as much money as they can. For the next year, Smiths will travel to Duke Hospital every day (3.5h) so any type of help is welcomed.
If you’d like to help AnnaBlair, please donate using our Venmo, sigepbc_1958, send a check to the fraternity house, or give us cash or pocket change when you see us in person! The active chapter and the family highly appreciate any help. You can join the support group on Facebook here and follow AnnaBlair’s progress.
Wilson, NC – Last Saturday we have witnessed the first game of Barton Football after 71 years. It was an exciting day on campus even though the pandemic has been limiting our lives for almost a full year. Freshman Bulldog, Tyler Flippen, added onto the excitement by catching a touchdown pass and run in the game’s first play. Bulldogs fell two points short to Erskine College (30-28).
As a reminder, Barton College Board of Trustees with President Douglas Searcy decided to approve the football program on Barton’ Campus on January 27th, 2018. Generous donations were made by Electric Supply Co. and BB&T, now Truist to build the stadium from which it got its name. The last donation came from a Barton College Alumnus, David S. Hicks who is also a brother of the Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. $1 Million donation by Mr. Hicks will be used to build a Sports Operation Center that will primarily be used by the football team, as well as other programs at Barton.
Due to COVID restrictions still in place, spectators are allowed only if they win a ticket through the college’s raffle. That includes only Barton students and employees, with some parents being allowed entry as well. Along with that, tailgating is strictly prohibited for this semester, but we are looking forward to the next year and great tailgating with SigEp. Instead, Barton and Conference Carolinas are providing live stream link for you to tune in. You can watch the following game by clicking here.
Barton Football will play their next game on Saturday, March 13th at 4:00 PM local time facing other bulldogs, Wingate University. Active chapter is organizing a watch party at the fraternity house preceded by Heart Day. If you would like to come, please respond to the RSVP here.
Dear Brothers, Little Sisters, Friends, and Guests of the fraternity,
My name is Jaki Gabric and I have taken on a role of a President this past December after Cameron Loseke who helped us go through and acclimate to some tough situations like suspension on campus and implementing substance free policy that affects all Sigma Phi Epsilon chapters
I have started my SigEp journey my Sophomore year in Fall 2019, but I was close to the chapter all throughout my Freshman year and tried to help them in many different ways that was possible as a non member at the time. We went through a lot since then and a lot has changed on campus, fraternity, and each persons life.
As members of this Great Fraternity we all know that since our local founding in 1958, NC Iota has experienced its shares of triumphs and turmoil. This year has already challenged us, and will keep on challenging us in ways we were never ready for. This year we will need our brotherhood to become stronger than ever in order to keep our legacy going with new classes coming to Barton College. With COVID-19 still spreading across the country and world, we were forced to move most of our recruiting operations to virtual, and implement strict, but reasonable risk management that would keep our house, brothers, students, and community safe.
Everything this year is going to be different, including recruitment. We have to think outside the box once again, and your guidance will help us tremendously. Large gatherings being prohibited, we have to use outdoor as much as possible for recruitment. Still, there is a big misconception about Greek Life in general, and we are often judged by the action of one person, so we have to continue setting a positive example. We have to rise as leaders and set up a standard to follow, and others will follow. SigEp has always been a leader for the Greek System, and community.
For alumni and guests wishing to visit the house in person please try and contact one of the active brothers first so we can plan for it. We are not allowed to exceed 10 people in the house at the time, but we are able to have 25 people per cluster outdoors. You will need to sign in when you come to the house stating your full name, date, and contact information in order to react properly if there is a spread. You will also have to get your temperature checked before entering using no-contact termometar. If you are not able to come and visit in person you can check out this virtual tour of the house that I have made for last Founders Day here.
Don’t forget our principles; Virtue, Diligence, and Brotherly Love. So please, this is the time to reach out to brothers you’ve lost contact with and meet new and active brothers. Ask them how they are, what they’ve been doing. Offer them help and guidance if they are struggling. Sometimes just a kind word is enough to make someone’s day.
Lastly, I would ask you all to reach out to the AVC and actives about the possibility of getting on the alumni board. This situation is allowing us to focus on meeting virtually and bringing in alumni who live far away to get their voices heard and ideas implemented. You can have a life changing impact on NC Iota.
For those of you who haven’t heard already, Barton has postponed in person Homecoming until Fall 2021. Unfortunately, one of the reasons is some students not following college guidelines which resulted in 10 and counting students testing positive this week. Because of safety reasons we decided to shut down in person operations at the house until next Sunday. After football being cancelled until Spring, not having a Homecoming is definitely a bad blow for the community and Greek organizations in particular.
Depending on how the situation will develop throughout next month, we would still like to organize something for you for Homecoming, as well as celebrate 40 years of 606. Active chapter will closely follow the updates and guidelines from CDC, Nationals, and college and make sure to keep you all in the loop.
College will be hosting a virtual meeting for Barton Today that will give you information, announcement, stories, campus tour, etc. If you’d like to tune in, it will be hosted on Friday, October 16th at 6 PM Eastern Time.
More information of a possible in person or virtual Homecoming organized by the chapter will be available in the coming weeks.
