To CROWS

The Original History of the Alpha Chi Rho Fraternity

Tau Chi Phi Chapter

Fall 1994 – Fall 1997

Written by:
Brothers Adriano Muolo and Michael De Pope

Fall 1994 Semester

The history of Alpha Chi Rho begins on August 31, 1994, with Brother William F. Cerra and Brother Gino P. Rose. Both were freshmen attending the first day of classes at Monmouth College, and were both scheduled for Professor Baitinger’s English class, which was originally held in Bey Hall 222. Brother Rose lived on campus, in Elmwood Hall, Room 115. Brother Cerra was a commuter, living at 429 Spring Valley Rd., in Old Bridge, NJ. The class was one of many that had room changes, but because both were first time college students, neither realized that a sign had been posted informing students of the room change. After some time, they began conversing. Because the teacher never arrived, and after knowing each other for only 15 minutes, Brothers Cerra and Rose decided to go to The Monmouth Mall, located at the intersection of Routes 35 and 36, in Eatontown, NJ.

The next day, September 1, 1994, Brothers Cerra and Rose realized that they were also in the same Freshman Seminar course, held in Wilson Hall 305. The class was taught by Professor Natasha Maximoff, who was assisted by Monmouth student Luke Littell. Brother Louis Biagianti was also in this class, and as it turned out, he was also in Professor Baitinger’s English class, but was not in attendance when Brothers Cerra and Rose met. Brother Rose befriended Brother Biagianti, who lived upstairs from him, in Elmwood Hall room 215 he then introduced him to Brother Cerra, who had become a good friend.

Spring 1995 Semester

During the Spring 1995 semester Brothers Cerra, Rose, and Biagianti visited Professor Maximoff in her office as the Head of Alumni Affairs. When she saw that the three of them were still together, she jokingly made a remark that they should start a new fraternity. Little did she know that she had planted the seed for change of Greek Life on campus. At this time, Brother Cerra also contacted and included Brother Anthony Tesoriero, whom he had been a friend with in high school, and agreed with their desire to increase Greek life on the Monmouth College campus.

The four of them investigated different fraternities, including Zeta Beta Tau, Sigma Phi Epsilon, and Alpha Chi Rho. Brothers Cerra, Rose, Biagianti and Tesoriero discovered that Alpha Chi Rho was much more interested in starting a new chapter, and the Alpha Chi Rho National Headquarters is located in Neptune, New Jersey, which was and is only fifteen minutes from the Monmouth College campus. The Landmarks that Alpha Chi Rho is founded on also appealed to them as worthwhile ideals to live by. The rest of the semester was spent recruiting other interested men.

Fall 1995 Semester

By the beginning of the Fall 1995 semester there were eight interested men. They were Brothers William F. Cerra, Gino P. Rose, Louis Biagianti, Anthony Tesoriero, David M. Rosen, Mark Grausso, Brian Zawid, and Justin R. Lahullier. Brother Cerra still lived in Old Bridge. Brother Rose lived in Elmwood Hall, room 301, and was the Resident Assistant on that floor. Brothers’ Biagianti, Rosen, and Zawid all lived in Willow Hall, J Suite. Brother Tesoriero lived at 15 Harold Street, Old Bridge, N J. Brother Grausso lived in Willow Hall, N Suite. At that time Brother Lahullier lived on the second floor of the Ramada Inn, located on Route 36 in West Long Branch, NJ.

The next man interested in joining Alpha Chi Rho was Brother Adriano Muolo, who also lived in Willow Hall, J Suite. He was approached during the first week of the semester, and joined forces in bringing Alpha Chi Rho to Monmouth University. After him, Brother Edward Lauer was included. At that time, he was a commuter, living at 8 Pine Needle Street, Howell, NJ. He was approached by Brother Rose, who was in Professor Reigner’s Western Civilization I class with him, which was held in Bey Hall, room 231. Brother Rose became friends with him, then introduced him to everyone else involved. The last man to join who was not already an Alpha Chi Rho Brother was Brother James Barlow, who lived at 1001 Norwood Ave., Apt. #8, Elberon, NJ. Brother Tesoriero, who met him through the Student Government, approached him.

The first step that these eleven took to become a fraternity was to approach Dean Maryann Nagy in Student Development who, in conjunction with Dean Kevin Banks of Residential Life, approved Alpha Chi Rho as a social interest group. The group then approached Greek Senate, which needed to vote to allow a new fraternity to begin and be recognized on campus. Greek Senate voted in favor of allowing Alpha Chi Rho to be recognized as a new interest group on campus. This placed the "interest group" of Alpha Chi Rho on a probationary period for two full semesters, beginning with Spring 1996 semester.

Formal meeting also began during the Fall 1995 semester. The Fraternity held them Wednesday nights at 10:15 p.m., in Anacon, room 202B. This remained the meeting place until the Fall 1996 semester. Brother Cerra was elected the Founding President. Brother Biagianti was elected the Founding Vice President. Brother Rose was elected the Founding Treasurer. Brother Tesoriero was elected the Founding Secretary. Brother Muolo was appointed the Historian, which was considered an Executive Board position during that school year.

Near the end of this semester, the fraternity came to learn of Brother Kenneth Pevovar, who was a commuter student who had transferred in. He lived at 37 Bernard Street, Eatontown, NJ. He had transferred from Drexel University, where he had been a Founding Father of the L C F Chapter. He had transferred from Drexel University to Rowan, where he was also a brother of the IC F Chapter.

Spring 1996 Semester

The Spring 1996 semester brought major changes to Alpha Chi Rho. The meetings were moved to the SGA meeting room, on the third floor of the Student Center Brother Rosen was appointed Postulant Educator by Founding President Cerra. Brother Rosen’s assistant was Brother Grausso. Brother Barlow was appointed to Rush Chair. Brothers’ Rosen and Cerra were appointed Greek Senate Correspondents. Alpha Chi Rho also became very involved in the Greek Community, although they were not officially recognized as a fraternity on campus. The Brothers participated in the annual Greek Week festivities as referees.

Fall 1996 Semester

During the summer, many Brothers decided to live off-campus. Brothers’ Muolo, Rosen and Lauer lived together, at 441 Sairs Ave., Apt. #4, in Long Branch. Brothers’ Cerra, Biagianti and Grausso also lived in Long Branch, at 340 Ocean Ave. Brother Rose was the Hall Director in Spruce Hall. Brother Lahullier and Zawid lived in Oakwood Hall, rooms 305 and 306, respectively. All other Brothers lived at the same address. Elections were also held to take effect in the spring. Brother Lahullier was elected President, and Brother Rosen was elected Vice President. Brother Pevovar was elected Treasurer. Brother Grausso was elected Secretary. Brother Muolo kept his position as Historian, but the position was no longer considered an Executive Board position. Risk Management Officer became a new Executive Board position, for which Brother Muolo was elected. Chaplain also became an Executive Board position, and Brother Rose was elected as the colony’s first Chaplain. Other Chairs that gained existence that semester included National Correspondent, to which Brother Cerra was appointed, and Scholarship Chair, to which Brother Tesoriero was appointed. Brother Zawid was elected Social Chair. Alpha Chi Rho also attended rush for the first time, although, because still on probation, they were unable to take postulants. A momentous step into becoming a full-fledged chapter of Alpha Chi Rho occurred, when the Monmouth Colony was granted Fraternity status on December 12, 1996 by the Greek Senate.

Spring 1997 Semester

Spring 1997 semester will be regarded as an important milestone in our history. The brotherhood grew to thirteen, when Brother Michael Holder, from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania chapter of Alpha Chi Rho, transferred to Monmouth University. He was appointed to Philanthropy and Athletic Chairs, which had just been created. Brothers’ Muolo, Rosen, Lahullier, Pevovar and Zawid were given Founding positions in Order of Omega, an honor society for Greeks. Brother Cerra was also elected as the newly formed Interfraternal Council (IFC) President, and Brother Tesoriero was awarded with IFC Man of the Year. Brother Holder was elected as his replacement for Greek Senate and IFC Correspondent. Brother Cerra was also appointed to the Public Relations Chair, whose responsibilities were added to the Correspondent Chair position.

It was also time for the Crow to grow, and Alpha Chi Rho was able to attend rush and take postulants. Ten men were offered bids, and Alpha Class was formed. On March 21, 1997 these men became new members of Alpha Chi Rho and the brotherhood grew to 22 strong. Brothers’ Jim Beanan, Dave Bower, Brian Boyd, Mike De Pope, Michael Drobny, Daniel Gizzi, Tim Marks, Dennis Romano and James Urcioli joined the bond. During the semester the Brothers painted their rock on campus, which is displayed on the North Campus near the crosswalk on Cedar Avenue, a prominent place to show off the Crow pride.

The First Annual Formal was held at the Shadowbrook in Shrewsberry, New Jersey. Awards were given out that evening to Brother Lahullier for Brother of the Year, to Brother Rosen for his Excellence in Leadership and Scholarship, Brother Pevovar for his Outstanding Contribution to the Chapter, and Brother Beanan was named Postulant of the Year. A special award was given to Brother Cerra, Brother Rose, Brother Biagianti, and Brother Tesoriero for their dedication, persistence and desire to bring a prominent and influential brotherhood to our campus, if it wasn’t for them we would not be here today.

These were not the only awards given to Brothers this semester. Brother Lahullier was named Greek Man of the Year, and Alpha Chi Rho was given four awards at the Greek Awards Dinner for their Scholarship Programming, New Member Programming, sponsoring of an Outstanding Educational Program, River Huston, and Outstanding Academic Achievement. Once again Alpha Chi Rho had the highest GPA of any organization. Brother Barlow, Brother De Pope, Brother Marks, and Brother Tesoriero were inducted as new members of the Order of Omega under President Justin Lahullier. Alpha Chi Rho participated in its first Greek Week, and placed 2nd behind Phi Sigma Kappa by only 8 points, a major accomplishment. Brother Muolo was reelected Risk Management and Brother Zawid was elected Chaplain. Brother Rose was elected Postulant Educator for the Beta Class, and the committees were appointed for the following term. Brother Cerra was elected Senior Class President by the Class of 1998. Our scrapbook and web page were completed by Brothers De Pope, Gizzi, and Beanan respectively, while Brother Lahullier began our petition for charter.

Summer 1997

During the summer many brothers got together to celebrate Brother Gino Rose and Mike De Pope’s birthday, providing the first time everyone could get together since the semester ended. During late August brothers attended the semi-annual LSI Conference and National Convention where brother Pevovar was named "Undergraduate Man of the Year."

Fall 1997 Semester

The invasion is on! The fall ’97 semester started unlike any other before. It was the first semester that Alpha Chi Rho was actually established. We had a strong following by students and administrators alike. The semester started off with a strong social life, as a result of Freshmen move-ins, a Brother Day in the quad and our tailgating. RUSH was revamped and AXP worked hard to recruit. Over 40 young men sparked an interest in pledging in either the Fall or Spring semesters. Fourteen men were interviewed and five men were offered and accepted bids for the Beta Class of Fall 1997.

Alpha Chi Rho again entered the Homecoming parade with the sisters of Alpha Sigma Tau. The float was 42 feet long and was named "Discover M.U.", and was based on an alien theme. Although the float was too large for the normal parade route it received the Best Homecoming Float Award and was entered in the Long Branch Columbus Day parade, marking the first time in many years that a Greek Organization represented Monmouth in a local parade. During Homecoming AXP also won Best Tailgating, pretty impressive for not having any alumni. Brothers were also active in many community service projects that occurred on and off campus and sponsored Dave Stollman to come and speak to fellow greeks regarding making the change from Rush to Recruitment.

This semester also marked the first time Monmouth Crows participated in the annual Crow Bowl East. Although they lost both games the nine brothers came back with a better sense of pride about the colony and Alpha Chi Rho as a whole. On November 9, 1997 the Crow grew for the 2nd time when Beta Class was initiated. Jon Morris, Brian Ferraro, Brian Buraszeski, Rob Ploussas, and Mike Di Pietro joined the bond. The Brothers placed 2nd to Theta Xi in intramural football and had good showings in soccer and volleyball.

During this semester the colony petitioned for charter with the petition written by Brothers Lahullier, Rosen, Gizzi, Muolo, De Pope, and Rose. The presentation was given by Brothers Gizzi, Rosen, Muolo, Lahullier, Cerra, and Pevovar. Brother De Pope was also present. After three years in the making, the vision of four men became a reality when the National Council of Alpha Chi Rho voted unanimously at 4:13 pm on November 15, 1997 to acknowledge the Monmouth Colony as the Tau Chi Phi Chapter of Alpha Chi Rho. The charter was granted with initiation scheduled for March 21, 1998.

Other activities included a Brother Retreat at Allaire State Park, November 21st to 23rd, a trip to Drexel University Thanksgiving weekend, and the annual Christmas party held on December 13, 1997.

A DREAM

COME TRUE

THE SPRING 1998 HISTORY OF A C R / T C F ,

WRITTEN BY BROTHER JONATHAN MORRIS

The Spring 1998 semester was one of change. As the harsh weather of winter gave way to the blue skies of springtime, the Monmouth Colony of Alpha Chi Rho gave way to the "sky’s the limit" attitude of the Tau Chi Phi Chapter. Here’s a brief look at how this historic semester unraveled...

After a Winter Recess that saw a handful of Brothers trek to Times Square to celebrate the New Year, the semester that was Spring 1998 began on January 20th. Eight days later, tradition gave way to practicality. On January 28th, the final, regularly scheduled Wednesday night meeting occurred. The Wednesday evening rendezvous, a staple of the colony for several semesters, was replaced by a Sunday night congregation on February 1st. The old meeting time of 10:30 PM was changed to 7:00 PM.

The fraternity’s annual E-Board turnover went into effect with the new semester. The elected officials were: Brother Gino Rose, President; Brother David Bower, Vice President; Brother James Beanan, Secretary; Brother Anthony Tesoriero, Treasurer; Brother Daniel Gizzi, Member-at-Large.

Brother Kenneth Pevovar was elected Ritual Officer, but the duties were later assumed by Brother Justin Lahullier. Brother Brian Zawid relinquished the role of Chaplain; on February 8th, Brother Michael Drobny was elected to that position. Other posts held: Brother David Rosen, Sergeant-at-Arms; Brother William Cerra, Parliamentarian.

Just a week after nine Brothers visited Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, for Spring Break, the day that the colony had been waiting for finally arrived: chartering was upon us.

Originally, the weekend of March 20th-22nd was slated to host not only the chartering of the colony, but the annual Crow Bowl basketball tournament as well. Unfortunately, the tourney was cancelled, but the weekend was still a success, as Brothers from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Ramapo College, and Worcester Polytechnic Institute helped celebrate the birth of a chapter.

Beechwood Hall I-Suite, which was home to Brothers Jonathan Morris, James Beanan, Daniel Gizzi, Kenneth Pevovar, Dennis Romano, and Michael Holder, became "Hotel Crow" on Friday, March 20th, as nearly 30 Brothers from various schools camped out in the common area.

The next morning, March 21st, local Brothers met in Wilson Hall at 2 PM. Several National Officers, including the President of the National Fraternity, Reverend Charles Brinkman, greeted them. The group then traveled to The Club, near the school’s Dining Hall. During the hours of 2-4 PM, twenty-two Brothers were nationally ritualized behind closed doors. Those Brothers, as they appear on our charter, were:

A two hour reception followed the esoteric ceremony, with Reverend Charles Brinkman as the Master of Ceremonies. Reverend Brinkman read the National Charter then awarded it to the Brothers of Monmouth University. More than 3 1/2 years removed from the day Brothers Cerra and Rose happened to wander into the same classroom, the Tau Chi Phi Chapter of Alpha Chi Rho was born.

A week after that historic weekend, the Tau Chi Phi Chapter welcomed its first nationally recognized postulant class, the Gamma Class, into the fraternity. Brother Justin Lahullier was the Postulant Educator, with Brother David Rosen his Assistant Educator. The postulant period, which ended on April 4th, at approximately 10:30 PM, brought Brothers Rodney Houle, Robert Meringolo, Kevin Heck, Brian Colfer, Anthony Dios, Roberto Muolo, and Randy Tyler into the bond.

Later that evening, the new Brothers of Alpha Chi Rho and the new Sisters of Alpha Sigma Tau were celebrated at Great Lawn Apartment 3A, home to Brothers Gino Rose, David Bower, and Michael DePope.

On April 5th, at 4 AM, thirty Brothers formed a circle in the quad and completed four "Squaws." The tradition, begun by Brother Mike DePope on the night that Alpha Class was initiated, was executed to the applause of passers-by.

The Gamma Class was ritualized on Friday, April 10th, at approximately 7 PM. The ritual was held at Robert B. Stewart National Headquarters.

Thanks to such recruitment events as Meet the Greeks (Thursday, January 29th) and a Pot Luck Dinner hosted by the Brothers in Great Lawn Apartment 3A (1/30/98), the Spring 1998 recruitment period garnered much attention from independent students. The total number of new Brothers for the school year was 12, exceeding other fraternities.

April 4th was also the day that fraternities and sororities participated in the Touchstone-sponsored "Beach Clean-Up," an event organized by Brother Mike DePope. On April 8th, the chapter sponsored the 5th Annual 3-Mile Walk/Run Aids Benefit. Other sponsors included the Aids Task Force and the Alpha Sigma Tau and Phi Sigma Sigma sororities. The charity event raised roughly $500. In the men’s field, the 3rd place finisher was Brother Mike DiPietro. Alpha Chi Rho finished 3rd at Greek Week in April, falling just short of Theta Xi and Phi Sigma Kappa in overall points.

On May 1st, many Brothers moved into a new house, located at 263 Bath Avenue. Later that evening, the chapter’s Spring Formal was held at the local hall of the Knights of Columbus.

The Brothers of the Tau Chi Phi Chapter were influential members of the community during this semester. Brothers Justin Lahullier, William Cerra, and Dennis Romano were employed by National Headquarters. Brother Tim Marks was the President of the Order of Omega. At the university’s annual Greek Awards, the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity took home most every award. Following in the footsteps of Brother Justin Lahullier’s 1997 win, Brother Michael DePope won the Greek Man of the Year award. The fraternity also won the Dean’s Cup, an award given to the best overall Greek organization on campus. The Dean’s Cup had been discontinued for 35 years, making Alpha Chi Rho the first organization to win the trophy in the new era.

From the success of Brothers in on-campus activities to the overwhelming magnitude of the weekend-long Chartering ceremonies, the Tau Chi Phi chapter of Alpha Chi Rho clearly had its most monumental semester to date. Upon graduation, the chapter had to say goodbye to many influential members from the Founding Fathers regime (Brothers James Barlow, William Cerra, Michael DePope, Mike DiPietro, Justin Lahullier, David Rosen, Anthony Tesoriero and Brian Zawid). But with a group as eager to succeed as this one, new leaders will emerge and ensure us that the future of the Tau Chi Phi chapter will be even more successful than its past.

FALL 1998-SPRING 2000
Written by Randy Tyler

Fall 1998

The fall 1998 semester represented a time of change for the brothers of Tau Chi Phi. First off, many brothers had either graduated or left school, leaving the position of Treaurer open. Second, Brother Gino Rose stepped down as President on September 3rd, creating another vacancy. However, the brothers were able to regroup from their losses, and the new executive board, consisting of David Bower as President, Dan Gizzi as Vice President, Jon Morris as Treasurer, Rodney Houle as Brother at Large, Mike Drobny as Chaplain, Dennis Romano as Ritual Officer, Tim Marks as Sargent-at-arms, Randy Tyler as Secretary and Brian Colfer as Risk Management Officer, were able to pull things together rather quickly. On October 4th, the same night Delta class began their Postulant program, the brothers of Tau Chi Phi ritualized two more members at Robert B. Stewart National Headquarters, Brother Edward Lauer and Brother William Gorman, our faculty advisor. Soon after, on October 11th, Brother James Urcioli was also ritualized.
Homecoming festivities came upon the Brothers sooner than expected, as the festivities were kicked off October 15th with a bonfire in the quad, at which Brother Mike Drobny was the DJ. Brother Dan Gizzi was AXP's homecoming king nominee. On Oct. 17th, the day of the Homecoming game itself, Brothers Drobny and Dave Rosen were DJ's in the parking lot for AXP's tailgating. Also, AXP lived up to the challenge of repeating as Homecoming Float champions, working with the sisters of Phi Sigma Sigma. The Brothers (as well as a sizable amount of acquaintances) celebrated their victory with a somewhat large gathering at the house. Soon after Homecoming, the Brothers received their first set of Crows athletic jerseys, which was hoped to have become a tradition in Tau Chi Phi.
During the semester the fraternity received monthly visits from John Tedesco, a Brother from Thiel College who was the Director of Programs and Services for the National Fraternity, where he worked along side Tau Chi Phi graduate Justin Lahullier, who served as Director of Marketing and Expansion. Brother Tedesco helped the chapter in organization and development; under his recommendation, several chairs were consolidated into one chair, as well as the newfound rule that the Chaplain was to take on the duties of Brother at Large; the latter position would only be elected if the Brotherhood grew in excess of 35.
On November 14th, after 6 weeks of dedication, the Delta Class was initiated. Brothers Vincent Oyola, James Nulle, Patrick Maloney, Nicholas Balady, Michael Nicosia, and Anthony SanFilippo were ritualized in accordance with National Procedure on December 13th.
On December 6th, Tau Chi Phi was dealt another blow as David Bower relinquished his role as President to Brother Dan Gizzi, at which point the new E-Board, elected on November 1st, was installed: President Dan Gizzi, Vice President Dennis Romano, Treasurer Brian Buraszeski, Secretary Rodney Houle, Ritual Officer Ed Lauer, Risk Management Officer Brian Colfer, Sargent at Arms Brian Boyd and Chaplain Randy Tyler. Brother Jon Morris was elected as Postulant Educator with Brothers Dennis Romano and Brian Colfer to serve as his assistants.
AXP was active in the community this semester as well, participating in Make A Difference Day on Oct. 24th as well as hosting the Monmouth School For Children's Fall Fest on Oct. 29th. The relationship between MSFC and AXP would grow to be a strong one thanks to the perseverance of Community Service Chair Rob Meringolo.
The Brothers celebrated a semester full of accomplishments at the AXP Christmas Formal, held at the Bath Avenue house on December 12th. During the formal several gifts were presented to the chapter, the first being a plaque commemorating past Presidents, the second being a plaque purchased by the graduate Brothers for the soon to be annual Louis Biagianti Brother Of the Year Award, in honor of Brother Biagianti.
All told it was a joyous end to a hectic semester. The new Executive Board looked forward to making things happen in the new year; however, they had no idea the stormy waters that would lie ahead for them.

SPRING 99

The spring 1999 semester started off with a tremendous amount of potential, despite the fact that several changes were made in the elected E-Board. Brother Rodney Houle took over the Treasurer position from Brother Brian Buraszeski, with Brother Anthony Dios filling in as Secretary. Similarly, Brother Ed Lauer was no longer attending Monmouth, so Brother Jon Morris was elected to take the position of Ritual Officer. Brother Brian Ferraro was ritualized into the bond on Sunday, January 23rd. The Brothers who lived at the house on 263 Bath Ave. played hosts to several large parties, one of which included members from every fraternity on campus. Relationships with the school and community were going along well also, and it seemed as if AXP was headed in the right direction. The Postulant Program began on February 9th, and it seemed as if everything was going as planned.
Unfortunately, however, AXP was again dealt a huge blow when both Brothers Dan Gizzi and Dennis Romano stepped down from their roles as President and Vice President; Brother Gizzi for conflicts with his job (Associate Web Master for the school), and Brother Romano for personal reasons. This would mean that Tau Chi Phi would wind up having four Presidents in one school year, which is hardly beneficial for fraternity success. Regardless, upon their resignations on February 21st, Brothers Randy Tyler and Rodney Houle were elected President and Vice President, respectively; with Brother James Beanan elected to take Chaplain and Brother James Nulle elected to take Treasurer. This would mean that the three highest executive board positions in the fraternity would be held by three Brothers who had been in the fraternity for less than one year, something that, initially, did not bode well for the future.
More problems began to mount as the Brothers ran out of control with the parties being had on 263 Bath Ave. On Saturday, February 27th, police came to the house and issued a noise summons to one of the house residents. This led to a semester long probation of social events held at the house, with the exception of a Founder's day celebration. Clearly things were beginning to get mixed up in the fraternity. There was also a problem with Brothers misbehaving at Postulant events, which led to stiff penalties being handed out as a result.
Slowly but surely, the fraternity was able to get itself back on its feet. On Saturday, March 20th, the local Founder's day celebration was held at the house. That same day, Brother Louis Biagianti was ritualized by the Graduate chapter in a ceremony that was long overdue. On March 27th, the Epsilon class, which included Brothers Ken Crawford, Joseph Sodano, Christoper Zisko, Marc Micciulla, Matthew DeTurk, Gregg Keller and Stephen Paulos, was initiated; on April 11th, Epsilon class was ritualized.
Despite their problems, Brothers were still prominent members of the Monmouth University community. The chapter participated in the Greek Week sponsored beach cleanup on Sunday, March 21st; the Brothers also co-sponsored the annual AIDS walk here at Monmouth. Most importantly, AXP sponsored a dance for the Monmouth School For Children, at which Brother Michael Drobny was the DJ. Brothers were also very involved with other Greek activities; Brother Brian Buraszeski was IFC Vice President and Brother Rodney Houle was IFC Chief Justice; several Brothers were involved on the Greek Week Planning Committee as well. For the second year in a row, AXP finished third in Greek Week, falling behind Theta Xi and Phi Sigma Kappa. Following Greek Week, AXP took home the most awards. Despite the tumultuous year, the chapter was able to claim their second consecutive Dean's Cup for Overall Excellence, as well as Greek Man of the Year for the third year in a row, as Brother Randy Tyler claimed that award.
The Brothers celebrated the hectic school year with a successful formal, held at the Berkeley Carteret in Asbury Park on April 24th. Brother James Nulle was awarded the Louis Biagianti Brother of the year Award for his success as chapter Treasurer and Community service co-chair.
Annual elections took place at the end of the semester, with Brother Anthony Dios being voted as the Fall 99 Postulant educator. Brother Jon Morris, returning once more to the field of education, was to be his assistant. Brother Anthony SanFilippo was elected to take Brother Dios's place as Secretary. Brother James Beanan announced he would not be returning for the Fall 99 semester, and Brother Rob Meringolo was elected as his replacement.
The 1998-99 school year was quite a turbulent one for the Tau Chi Phi chapter of AXP; however, once again, success prevailed. The new and young E-Board was able to propel the Brotherhood back to their high standards, and had their sights set on bigger and better things than ever imagined for the Fall 99 semester.

FALL 1999 HISTORY

The brothers of AXP returned from their summer breaks refreshed and on top- AXP at Monmouth received 3 awards at the 1999 AXP Convention, including best Chapter without a house. Brother Chris Zisko was elected as the National Undergraduate Resident Councilor; graduate Brother Justin Lahullier became the editor of the Garnet and White fraternity magazine, graduate Brother Dave Rosen became head of the National Disciplinary committee, and Brother William Gorman became National Scholarship advisor. AXP also took advantage of a tremendous fundraising opportunity, working with CSC as Event Staff at many summer time concerts, including the Dave Matthews Band, Ozzfest, and Goo Goo Dolls. Several influential brothers had graduated in the Spring, and upon returning the presence of Dave Bower, Brian Colfer, Mark Grausso, and Tim Marks was missed within Tau Chi Phi.
A plethora fundraising events were organized, including another t-shirt drive and a sponsorship with a cellular phone company helped the chapter earn significant amounts of cash, as well as a clean-up day at Robert B. Stewart National Headquarters. Overall, the brothers raised around $1,500 all told. The chapter was extremely active with community service in this particular semester, even more so than in recent years. The chapter kept up their wonderful relationship with the Monmouth School for Children, sponsoring several events such as an Ice cream social as well as a Halloween party. The chapter also co-sponsored the USO show held in Pollak Auditorium on November 5th. Perhaps the most important community event of the semester, however, was when the brothers of Tau Chi Phi teamed up with the Long Branch Police department and performed a community patrol throughout Long Branch on Mischief Night and Halloween. This event helped strengthen the relationship between not only the brothers and the community, but with the University as a whole and the community, as relationships between the two had become quite strained over the course of the semester.
The brothers also made sure to keep tradition alive, and, sure enough, on Saturday, October 23rd, Alpha Chi Rho won its third consecutive Homecoming Float trophy, this time working with the sisters of Zeta Tau Alpha. Just like the previous year, the success was celebrated at the house on 263 Bath Avenue.
The fraternity held their annual E-Board elections on November 6th, and the following officers were elected for the year 2000- President Rodney Houle, Vice President Patrick Maloney, Treasurer Marc Micciulla, Secretary Joe Sodano, Chaplain Randy Tyler, Ritual Officer Chris Zisko, Risk Management Officer Dennis Romano, Sergeant-at-arms Steve Paulos, and Postulant Educator James Urcioli, with Brian Boyd and Dennis Romano as his assistants.
The Postulant Period came and went quickly this semester, and the Crow grew four more, welcoming Andy Stever, Andy Martin, Paul McCarter, and Eric Wasnesky to the bond on Friday November 12th. Zeta Class was ritualized on December 12th.
The Fall 1999 semester saw the introduction of Crow communication to the information superhighway, as many brothers (graduate and undergraduate) signed onto the AXP onelist server, which provided all brothers with e-mail to send and receive mass emails between the whole group. This addition initially seemed to be the source of scorn from many brothers, as it was often filled with online debates and arguments, but in the end it turned out to draw the fraternity much closer, as it provided constant contact between all members of the chapter.
The Brothers held their annual Christmas formal at the house on December 10th, and, thanks to the onelist sever, a mass cleanup of the house was held on Saturday, December 4th, to make the house fit for a black-tie social gathering. Sure enough, the night was fun for all.
The brothers had proved this semester that they were far removed from their days of executive turmoil, and looked toward the first E-Board of the new millenium to take the fraternity even further.

SPRING 2000

Similar to the Spring 1999 semester, Spring 2000 started off with a bang for the Brothers of Tau Chi Phi, and the results, this time, were positive. Thanks to a revamped confidence in themselves and a great deal of encouragement from a new face on the scene (Graduate Student Steve Kelly, a Sigma Phi Epsilon brother from Seton Hall who was a childhood friend of Brother Bill Cerra), the Brothers enjoyed their largest Postulant Class to date, as 17 men were interviewed and 11 men entered into the Postulant Program.
Community Service was, once again, no joke to Alpha Chi Rho. Taking the reigns firmly from Rob Meringolo, Brothers Andy Stever and Andy Martin (cordially known as 'the Andies') made sure that our allegiance with the Monmouth School For Children stayed in tact. Once again, the Brothers played host to a dance in Anacon Hall, an Easter Egg Hunt, and an Ice Cream Social. Similarly, the fraternity started to branch elsewhere within the realm of philanthropy, as efforts were largely focused on the state of the beaches here in New Jersey. Thanks in large part to the beach loving nature of the Andies, many AXP Brothers found themselves outside of Wilson Hall in April, attempting to educate passers-by about the dangers of Ocean dumping. AXP also participated, once again, in the annual AIDS walk.
The semester was not without a few hitches, however. Due to the growing popularity of the house on 263 Bath Avenue, the nature of gatherings at the house had to cease, as many individuals would often show up expecting a party when there was none. This culminated on the second anniversary of the Tau Chi Phi chartering. One individual, who was denied entrance into our house earlier in the evening, was later pulled over after driving home drunk from another off-campus house. This individual erroneously told police he had been drinking at the house on Bath Avenue, setting off an investigation by the IFC at Monmouth University into the liability of the Brothers of AXP. Thankfully, celebration attendees came to the Brothers' support, and the IFC correctly ruled in favor of the fraternity.
Despite that hitch, however, the semester went tremendously well for AXP. On April 1st, after six weeks of tutelage under James Urcioli, Brian Boyd, and Dennis Romano, Eta class entered into the bond. Lawrence Peruzza, Jonathan Noll, Lance Eastwood, Bryan Kessler, Mark Cavagnaro, Nathan Gould, Christian Gropper, Edward Makowski, Robert Nicholson, James Nakayama and Vyomesh Pandit helped the Crow grow to 39, making AXP the largest fraternity on campus. Elections for the Postulant team for the Fall 2000 semester were held soon after, and Brother Randy Tyler was chosen, with Brother Brian Ferraro to serve as assistant. Brother Eric Wasnesky was elected to be Member at Large, as the brotherhood grew in excess of 35 members. Despite a disappointing fourth place finish in Greek Week (behind Theta Xi, Sigma Pi and Phi Sigma Kappa), the Brothers held their own, as tug of war was dominated by AXP for the third time in four years. Though AXP was unnecessarily shut out of the Greek Awards this year (apparently our own bar had been raised so high that we would have been hard pressed to surpass it), Brother Jonathan Morris still came home with the award as Outstanding Greek Senior. Despite somehow not actually receiving the award, Brother Rodney Houle, in the eyes of many, was Monmouth's most deserving candidate for the 1999-2000 Greek Man of the Year award. The Dean's Cup was passed on to the sisters of Zeta Tau Alpha; however, there was a very real expectation that AXP would once again reclaim the award for chapter excellence in the year to follow.
On April 29th, 2000, AXP celebrated its second consecutive formal at the Berkeley Carteret in Asbury Park, NJ. In addition to the mock awards and the annual Louis Biagianti award, several more awards were introduced for the 2000 formal. Brother Anthony Tesoriero received the Graduate of the Year Award from the Graduate Chapter, while the undergraduates awarded Bill Cerra as Graduate Brother of the Year. Brothers Rodney Houle and Dennis Romano were co-recipients of the Undergraduate Chapter's Brother of the Year award, while Randy Tyler received the second annual Louis Biagianti Undergraduate Brother of the Year Award. All told, it was a joyous night for all.
Soon after the formal, the semester came to a close, and AXP had to say goodbye to many influential Brothers of the pre-charter era, but not before several beach-house bashes were held at 123 Kent Avenue in Bradley Beach, which spelled home to Dan Gizzi, Dennis Romano, and Rodney Houle. However, Dan Gizzi, Brian Boyd, Jonathan Morris, Michael Drobny, Brian Buraszeski, all moved on to the real world, as did post charter Brothers Rob Meringolo and Paul McCarter. Luckily, with such a large class during the Spring semester, the chapter should be able to rebound with ease.

FALL 2000

The Fall 2000 semester for Alpha Chi Rho can be summarized in one word: Homecoming. Though there were plenty of other important occurrences over the course of the semester, none compare with the overwhelming display of dominance that was evident during Homecoming 2000. The brothers racked up their FOURTH consecutive Homecoming Float championship, as well as one of the three awards given out to the best tailgate parties. As a third generation of brothers came to leadership within AXP, the fraternity demonstrated that it had no intentions of loosening the firm grasp that it had on the Monmouth campus.
Despite seeing the house on 263 Bath Ave on the front page of the Atlanticville referring to an article on slumlords and decrepit fraternity houses, the semester started off pleasant enough. The Brothers who went home for summer break returned to find out that Tau Chi Phi had received their second consecutive R.B. Stewart Award for Best Chapter Without a House. Several Brothers received individual awards, as Jon Noll took home an award for Postulant Academic Success, while Randy Tyler received the William H. Rouse Award for Executive Leadership. It is worth noting, however, that at this point in time, the brothers of Tau Chi Phi had become so accustomed to such accolades that they would consider returning home from a ceremony with anything less than a truckload of awards unprecedented. Over the summer, the brothers also continued their allegiance with the summer concert series as a fund-raiser, working shows like Third Eye Blind, The Who and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The Tau Chi Phi chapter strengthened their relationship with the National Fraternity in the Fall 2000 semester, receiving a virtually perfect report from consultant David Gingras.
Alpha Chi Rho's extensive community service repertoire continued in the Fall 2000 semester. Thanks again to the persistence of the Andies, AXP held several events for the School For Children, organized a beach cleanup, and acted as escorts at a senior citizen's benefit. Joe Sodano continued the AXP allegiance with the Long Branch police department, as the Brothers once again set up and sponsored the Long Branch Community Patrol. Joe also spearheaded the fraternity's fundraising efforts, setting up the summer concert sessions and organizing several cellular phone sponsorships.
The AXP dominance of Homecoming weekend reached new heights in the year 2000. Under the guidance of Homecoming chairs Andy Stever, Andy Martin, Dennis Romano and specifically Josh Chester, Alpha Chi Rho (working with the sisters of Zeta Tau Alpha) put together a veritable homecoming extravaganza, including a 75 foot tent, several DJ's with speakers that reached the football field, a free masseuse, and food & drink for all. To top it off, before the game AXP had an airplane fly over the campus with a banner reading AXP & ZTA HOMECOMING 2000. The Crow tent was populated with students from all over campus, including members of other fraternities that abandoned their own organizations to come celebrate with the best. Needless to say, AXP won the Homecoming Float competition as well as receiving the award for Best Use of Tailgating Theme.
Once again, a few weeks after Homecoming it came time for the Crow to grow again, as Richard Tatham, Daniel Santiago, Ryan Jankowski and Brian Colon joined the bond on November 17th, 2000, under the guidance of Postulant Educators Randy Tyler and Brian Ferraro. Elections for the 2001 Eboard also took place during the month of November; with the following Brothers being elected: Marc Micciullia as President, Andy Stever as Vice President, Larry Perruzza as Treasurer, Rob Nicholson as Secretary, Bryan Kessler as Member-at-Large, Chris Zisko as Chaplain, Lance Eastwood as Ritual Officer, Ed Makowski as Sergeant at Arms, Gregg Keller as Risk Management Officer, Andy Martin as House Manager, and Rodney Houle as Postulant Educator, with Andy Martin and Randy Tyler to serve as his assistants.
AXP was extremely well represented through on-campus leadership during the Fall 2000 semester. Chris Zisko was elected President of the Student Activities Board and Rodney Houle completed his second consecutive term as Editor-In-Chief of the Shadows Yearbook. For the upcoming Spring 2000 semester, Jon Noll was chosen as Rodney's successor on the Yearbook staff, while Randy Tyler was elected President of Monmouth's Interfraternity Council; Chris Zisko would follow up as the IFC Chief Justice.
The semester came to a very happy ending on December 9th, with the annual Winter Formal at the house. Unfortunately, this marked the first year that a significant number of Founding Fathers and graduates were unable to attend; nonetheless, the new Crows (and a few of the old ones) partied well into the night, celebrating the end to a very, very successful semester.

Spring 2001

What a RUSH! The Spring 2001 semester was a big one for AXP in terms of Greek Involvement. Catalyzed by a very successful recruitment period and capped off by a wonderfully respectable showing in Greek Week (which was foreshadowed by AXP being crowned 2001 intramural volleyball champions), the brothers branched out, threw away the old differences they had with other Greek organizations, and became the stabilizing force behind Greek Unity on Monmouth's campus.
Despite an overwhelmingly successful semester, the brothers did hit a few snags along the way to their success. The Executive Board underwent a change early in the semester, as Gregg Keller stepped down from the position of Risk Management Officer; Member at Large Bryan Kessler assumed the dual responsibilities of Member at Large and Risk Management soon after. The semester began with a strong emphasis on academics; as the brothers had a clear divide within the realm of Grade Point Average; 11 brothers stood strong with a 3.0 or better, while 8 others were held back with grades below 2.0. Overall, AXP continued their trend of having the highest GPA among IFC organizations, but the distinct division within the fraternity regarding academics seemed, initially, to be cause for concern about the future. Similarly, the brotherhood did not initially take well to the proverbial "changing of the guard;" this was the first truly "new" executive board in almost three years, which lead to a "too many chiefs and not enough Indians" sort of feel, as the brotherhood had trouble focusing their attention away from the outgoing E-Board, who had problems letting go. However, after a few heated meetings, President Marc Micciulla and Vice President Andy Stever were able to calm things down and earn the trust of the overall fraternity, while the older brothers learned their lessons and stopped trying to tell everyone what to do.
Instead of bickering, then, the fraternity focused all their excess energy outward, and the results were just plain awesome. During a recruitment period that saw several other fraternities take rather unnecessarily public potshots at AXP, the brothers maintained their cool, took the high road and wound up with 13 signed bids; all other IFC fraternities combined tallied 18 signed bids, which meant that AXP attracted almost half of all men interested. Of those 13, 10 made it through the postulant period under the direction of educator Rodney Houle and his assistants, Andy Martin and Randy Tyler. On March 31st, 2001, the Iota class, consisting of Robert Hegney, Richard Minichino, Javier Cazares-Ramos, Neil Glynn, Jonathan Schoen, Dan Coletta, Mark DeGrassi, Steve Olsen, Ed Silvey and Nicholas Tidswell, became the newest group of brothers to enter into Alpha Chi Rho. Following his term as assistant educator, Andy Martin was elected as the Fall 2001 Postulant Educator, with Bryan Kessler to serve as his assistant.
From a philanthropic standpoint, the brotherhood had a relatively calm semester, participating in several school for children dances, Easter egg hunts, and beach clean ups; however, their efforts were largely focused elsewhere during the spring 2001 months. From a management standpoint, the brothers successfully participated in their first ever Strategic Success 2000 planning session, using the weekend of April 6th- April 8th to help set-up and organize a set of action plans that are intended to help give the fraternity direction and stabilization over the next several years. At the culmination of the program, Theta class was ritualized in a ceremony that was, in the eyes of many, five months later than it should have been.
The biggest week of the year, however, was the week of April 8th-April 13th; GREEK WEEK 2001. The brotherhood took tremendous strides during this week, reaching out to a turbulent Greek System and offering a symbol of brotherhood to all other organizations. Beginning with an informal, impromptu Inter-Greek gathering at the house on Bath Ave, the view of Alpha Chi Rho among other Greeks went from being "the new guys on campus" to being the epitome of all that Greek life should stand for. Under the direction of Greek Week captain Brian Ferraro, the brothers were battling for first place all week, and it came down to the final day before the winner was decided. After a controversial series of events, and despite winning Tug-of-War for the 4th time in 5 years, AXP fell behind Sigma Pi for the Greek Week championship, losing by a mere one point. However, there was no time for the brothers to feel down; following their strongest Greek Week showing ever, many brothers hustled off to the first annual Greek Formal, organized by the Inter-Greek Council and spearheaded in large part by Brother Randy Tyler, who was IFC President for the semester. The night showed several other fraternities giving AXP "shout outs" for their hospitality and effort throughout the week. During the awards ceremony, which took place during the Formal, AXP took home several awards, including their fourth Greek Man of the Year in five years (Chris Zisko) and their second consecutive Outstanding Greek Senior Award (Randy Tyler). Once again, the Dean's Cup eluded the grasp of the brotherhood; nonetheless, it was a monumental semester for AXP.
The brothers held their annual Spring Formal on Saturday, April 28th, at the Berkeley Carteret, where, as usual, the brothers, ate, drank, and danced the night away. The myriad of awards were given out halfway through the night, with the Tau Chi Phi Graduate chapter awarding Dan Gizzi the "Graduate of the Year" Award and Dennis Romano the "Louis Biagianti Undergraduate of the Year" Award. The undergraduates, meanwhile, similarly awarded Mr. Gizzi with a theoretical "Graduate of the Year" Award, while awarding Randy Tyler a theoretical "Undergraduate of the Year" Award. The formal was a rockin' time for everyone; however, the after party turned chaotic, as dates, brothers and sweethearts unable to hold their liquor decided to ruin the fun for the rest of the brotherhood. All told, a broken nose, window, door and picture frame seemed to put a damper on the evening; nontheless, nothing could have been done to cheapen the exhilarating semester and "ass-kickin'" formal that had taken place. Three weeks later, under the watchful eye of celebrated commencement speaker Jon Bon Jovi, Alpha Chi Rho said goodbye to many influential members of the past several years, as Brothers Brian Ferraro, Rodney Houle, James Nulle, Vincent Oyola, Dennis Romano, Anthony SanFilippo, and Randy Tyler said goodbye to the undergraduate days. With a rejuvenated executive board, a large and capable class of N.I.B.s, and a new-found glory amongst the Greek community, the brotherhood seems to be in good hands to continue their success at Monmouth University.