Seeing Red

What are the Fraternity colors? Red and white, of course!

But what does "red" actually mean?  This is red, and so is this, and this. There are dark reds, light reds, rosy reds, blood reds, red signs, red apples, and red riding hoods--just to name a few. So what's Mu Beta Psi red?

It may not surprise you to hear that Mu Beta Psi red matches another red we're pretty familiar with--North Carolina State University's crimson color. Mu Beta Psi, like a lot of Fraternities around the country, takes its colors from the university of its Alpha Chapter.

But NC State wasn't always draped in red and white. They originally chose pink and blue, which represented one of the first literary societies of the new college. The student body voted in 1895 to change the school colors to brown and white, but after one football game with these colors (notably, against UNC-Chapel Hill), another vote was held in November. This time the colors we know today, red and white, were chosen by the student body and have been unchanged for 117 years.

As an interesting aside, it's often said that NC State chose the color red to compliment the state bird of North Carolina, the cardinal. But while NC State went red in 1895, the cardinal didn't become the official state bird of North Carolina until 1943.

So, we know where Mu Beta Psi red comes from, but what exactly is it? There are a few ways of determining colors, but the most standardized deal with online colors and physical colors.

Painters know that all pigments can be created by mixing the three primary colors of red, yellow, and blue. Colors in light can be mixed with the three primary light colors of red, green, and blue. Similarly, on the web, colors are represented by a six-digit hexadecimal code indicating how much red, green, and blue it takes to add up to the desired color. Each digit ranges from 1 to F--instead of counting to 10 after 9, you move to the letter A after 9. So it goes: ...8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F, 10, 11... The first two digits indicate red, the middle two green, and the last two digits are blue. Our red doesn't contain any green or blue, so those digits are all zeros. It contains only red, but not 100% red, which would be FF. Instead it contains a little less than full red, indicated by CC. Mu Beta Psi red on the web, therefor, is represented by the code #CC0000.

When it comes to physical materials, like printing ink, paint, fabrics, and the like, there are a host of color systems out there. One of the most widely-used in printing is the Pantone Color Matching System (abbreviated PMS). Each individual color is given an identifying number. Mu Beta Psi red is PMS 186, so that's the one to use if you're printing out brochures and posters (and the one to match if you're looking for accuracy in clothing, fabrics, paints, etc.)

If you're looking for some further complimentary colors that go with the official colors, NC State's website has a nice style guide for web and print. There you can find inspiration for other colors that will go well with a red and white color scheme.

So, go on, paint the town MBPsi red!

IBh,
Andrew Fleming
C-BOT, Standards Advisor

The Gremlin Allegory

Brothers,

Several of our Chapters are fighting tooth and nail against Gremlins this semester.

If you've never seen the hit 1984 film directed by Joe Dante and produced by Steven Spielberg, I encourage you to rent it, pick up some movie-style popcorn at the grocery store, grab your favorite soft drink and treat yourself to something nice.

To give you a little teaser-description, picture the tiniest, cutest little Furbee-esque (Mogwai came first, but you'll get the reference this way) creature you've ever seen. Feed it after midnight and it morphs into an evil reptilian demon. Just add water, and you have a horde of horror on your hands.

What the heck does this have to do with Mu Beta Psi? you ask.

Brothers getting submissions in on the last day before they're due. Re-prioritizing Psi business somewhere lower on the chain to free up some 'me' time. Skipping out on a rush event because this one night out of the whole rush week they were invited to a party by some guys in a social.

Alone, each of these circumstantial excuses are fine. Once in a long while, they're not exactly a big deal. Harmless, even. But string them together, or spread them among several Brothers at a time, and we end up with a serious problem. Last-minute submissions leave no time for revisions on mistakes, and late submissions slow down the whole organization. If half the Brothers skip a rush event, it's not much of a rush event. Who's there for the potential pledges to meet? Putting off Psi business collectively means not doing anything, not fulfilling our purposes, not having a Brotherhood. Just add water, and our small excuse-powered indiscretions become major problems.

Don't get me wrong; we all need a break in our schedules, and Mu Beta Psi is absolutely an additional responsibility. However, it's one that has HUGE rewards for the work we put in. If we all commit to every rush event, we demonstrate and reinforce solidarity in our Brotherhood - and we have more fun there, anyway, knowing we've all made the same time for each other. If we get all of our submissions in early, not only will the National Office be better equipped to help us when we need it, but we'll totally get bragging rights as the most responsible Chapter (Oh, and did I mention I'm giving a prize at Convention for that this year? Yeah that's happening).

Some people think the most important reason for handling your elected or appointed positions well, for getting your requirements out of the way -- for takin' care of business, if you will (oh, it's gonna be stuck in your head all day now. I'm not sorry.) -- is that sense of accomplishment, that knowledge that our Fraternity is continuing on the right track and we're getting stuff done. Sure, that's a valuable feeling and a vital *result*. But I really believe the most important reason for living up to our fraternal responsibilities is exactly that - they are *fraternal* responsibilities - obligations to our Brothers. When I take on a position, a project, even a small task in this organization, I take it seriously not just because I'm an upstanding citizen with a conscientious attitude (though I am that, and modest, too ;-D) but because I treat each new accepted responsibility as a promise to my Brothers. They're counting on me to do what I've taken on and to do it well, and I refuse to let them down. That's what Brotherhood is based on, after all - our trust in one another, the fact that we can count on each other to be there. What better way to demonstrate trustworthiness than to make good on promises, even those that are only implicit?

I'm not going to pull any preachy rhetorical stunt by returning to my Gremlins parallel - I think you got the point. If you love your Brothers, do your job better than you ever expected to be able to. They will love you back for it, and you'll avert disaster. Two gremlins, one stone...

In Brotherhood always,
Garrett Cooperman
NVPCM

Running for office

Brothers,

As Convention draws nearer, I am disposed to offer what I feel is a necessary insight into the ups and downs of serving as a National Officer. I haven't heard much in the way of responses to a call for letters of intent to run for office, and thus have come to believe that not enough of you are considering it strongly. Truly, it is a worthwhile endeavor and a HUGE help to the Fraternity.

I'll get the downers out of the way first. Like any office, being a National Officer (NO) is a time commitment. You need to devote a small chunk of each week to maintaining the important duties of your office and developing the projects you're working on. You need to continually keep contact with other officers, Chapter officers, and Brothers in general.

It can be draining to be a National Officer. You might find yourself disappointed in responses to your inquiries, disappointed in the frequency of incoming communication, or eventually just burned out from spending your Psi-energy on business all the time. There are times when I need to refresh myself by calling up some Brothers and going out for lunch or drinks to remind me why this is so important and for whom I'm doing the work I do. I love my Brothers, and that's why I chose to take on a National office.

But it's entirely worth it. I get to give back to the Brotherhood that gave me so much. I get to help manage the organization that gave me the best friends I could ever dream up -- people who would stand by me in a heartbeat, give me a ride to the car shop and a loan to get it fixed so I can make my student-teaching in the morning; people who would invite me to spend a weekend at their place just so I could meet the rest of their Chapter and get a breather from being lonely in a state I'm not used to... I get to help give stability and direction to the organization that gave me a stronger purpose in college, a better appreciation for the music I've always loved, and a TON of awesome people to share it with.

It's also got some pretty good perks. I have a much easier time staying in touch with Brothers, new and old, because I'm a NO. People generally know who I am and how to get in touch with me when they want to, which helps me organize get-togethers and trips. I find that it's easier to get out of work for things like Convention and installations, etc., because I've got a role to play in Executive Committee. Oh, and it certainly doesn't hurt the old resume to have "National [Officer], Mu Beta Psi" on there.

And even the business side of my office can be fun. Despite the stress involved, I really love planning Convention. I enjoy scheduling things outside of the usual meetings, like workshops and luncheons. I like getting to know more about schools I didn't attend as a student, too. Most of all, I love reconnecting with Brothers on a Chapter level as we work together to plan our yearly gathering of the Brotherhood. Beyond Convention, I thoroughly enjoy the NEC. I have some awesome Brothers working as MALs and NOs in there. In all, being a NO ensures that I stay connected to my Fraternity in an incomparable way.

So consider whether you might want to give back to Mu Beta Psi by running for a National Office. If you have any questions about it, ask any of us. We'd be happy to help you learn more about how each office or the NEC as a whole works, and help you prepare to run for office.

In Brotherhood,
Garrett Cooperman
National President

In the Loop (and Prepped for Soup? And Shooting Hoops? And... you come up with one.)

Brothers,

The summer tends to be a time of relaxation and rejuvenation for much of our Brotherhood. Lots of us make plans to travel, to work and recoup funds lost during the previous semester, to lounge around the house doing absolutely nothing for a change…

And some of us are National Officers who manage to find something to do to keep Fraternally active during these quasi-slow months. Unfortunately, it often happens that all the busy work and planning done in the summer is lost on the rest of the Brotherhood until AFTER the first NEC meeting of the fall semester (which, in my experience, makes it terribly hard to prepare for what’s coming in time for its arrival). I’ve taken it upon myself to prevent that this time by updating you with the following program:

What’s up N.O.W.? (National Officers of Win)

On the desk of the National President (that’d be me, Garrett Cooperman) is, well, my main job – keeping track of the rest of the organization and trying to keep everyone in touch – and also the National Scholarship Program. The committee got off to a good start towards the end of last semester, and we’re taking our careful time with the document that will govern such a momentous, novel undertaking for the whole organization. We’re ready to kick back into full gear with Articles 1 and 2 of the policy in September. Oh, and I went to Israel – my first trip overseas.

Our neighborhood friendly National Vice President of Chapter Maintenance, Sarah Flourance, is working on the CM website and planning to begin some necessary updates to the CM handbook – you know, that wonderfully large and unbelievably helpful binder you all should have, with everything you need to know about managing a Chapter of Mu Beta Psi. She’s also been to Long Island and seen an epic ton of Brothers this summer.

The sensational Andy Stephens, National Vice President of Expansion, got a message of interest from a student at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ, and hopes for a response to his follow-up early this fall. He’s planning to facilitate work on the Colony Handbook with his committee this semester. With all of this excitement he managed to squeeze in graduating, too!

Famous National Treasurer Jennifer Staten has received her last EIN verification letter and can move forward on our Tax-Exemption Application! Huzzah! She’s soliciting audit materials from all Chapters, so get those in to her ASAP, please. I don’t know how she keeps up with everything while having a brand new baby to take care of 24/7. She’s either insane, Wonder Woman, or both.

Chrissy Fleming and alter-ego Benjamin Griffeth have been serving spectacularly as a tag-team Acting National Secretary to keep that office going. They’re also Alumni Association President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, respectively, if you were unaware. Chrissy ran Mid-Year in Baltimore, MD as part of her summer and Griff spent some time on the beach.

By the way, they’ve been doing a fantastically helpful job, but they really shouldn’t have to. I know we have a ton of Brothers who are more than capable of handling this office with dexterous flair and fervent zeal. Seriously, start considering running for that position now. It’s never too early to get prepared, people. Brother Cooperman wants YOU for NS!

National Historian Nathaniel Kulyk, who needs no verbose introduction, has done us all a solid and begun securely storing the archives. He added some storage bins to better protect documents, etc, and set the oldest documents in sleeves for safety. The rest of the archives should be in the storage unit sometime around Labor Day. Nathaniel’s had a busy summer and apparently hasn’t done anything worthy of note for fun.

Kate Capehart, creative National Editor of the Clef, will be completing Clefly online publications and publishing the next issue this fall, so stay tuned for informatively festive literature (or was it festively informative?). Her favorite part of the summer so far was visiting friends and family in North Carolina.

Chairman Benjamin Griffeth and the Board of Trustees met quite recently, as a matter of fact, and began parsing through the National Goals. They have a lot on their plate for the rest of the year, so expect a high volume of activity in that department.

I hope today’s program has helped you prepare for the upcoming semester with our wonderful Fraternity. It would be cool if everyone who read this the whole way through could post their favorite part of the summer as a comment. ^_^

In Brotherhood always,

Garrett I. Cooperman

National President

The Facebook Privacy War: What is Personal Data?

The Facebook Privacy War: What is Personal Data?

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Papwork and Praise

I think deadlines are the bane of everyone's existence. Though some people find them exhilirating, some find them annoying, and others find them to be nothing more than a whooshing sound in their ears as they fly by almost unnoticed, sooner or later, everyone is held to a deadline.

I've been a Brother for 9 years and have seen deadlines from the side of chapter rep, desperately trying to get the stuff I need to turn them in on time ("To which officer? In what format? Aww hell....") and from that of a national officer, desperately trying to get chapters to turn things in so they don't have to face fines ("Just fill out this form. It takes 5 minutes, you have a month, and it's online...why are you calling me at 11:50pm before the deadline?).

In my days as NVPCM I tried everything from bribery and competition to cajoling and even threats. Nothing worked all the time, but I did find that the more my representatives thought of me as a human being that they wanted to work with, the more likely they were to get their stuff turned in on time. Sometimes, the representatives would send me little notes of thanks or hello; this was my favorite part (hint, hint).

Just after accepting the role of Acting National Secretary, I was faced with the daunting April 30th deadline: 9 chapters submitting 10 different things to 4 different officers. I had heard at Convention that this past year was a terrible one for deadlines, and I was determined to get us back on track. Instead of harassing the chapters individually (a lot of effort on my part) I sent out emails to the national lists reminding of deadlines (as required) and making it sound like a race between the chapters (definitely not required). Two chapters, Zeta and Pi, took up the challenge with gusto, which really led the other chapters to get in on the fun. It wasn't until long after the guantlet had been thrown that I suggested there would be a prize, not just for the winner, but for everyone who got their stuff in on time. This was important to me because I had to see the chapters doing it for the right reasons before I was willing to reward this behavior.

It's May 1st and I'm waiting to hear back from my fellow officers to see how we fared. But if their experience is like mine, they've had 100% completion.

I don't think I can run every deadline like this. The "let's clean up the nursery" game only works so many times before kids realize it's still cleaning--that thing they hate to do. I think what has to happen is chapters get used to the communication, and the responsibility, and that national officers remember that just because we go through this every time, there's almost always some rep that's doing it for the first time. For now, we're off to a good start!

--Chrissy Fleming
Acting National Secretary

Convention is around the corner!

Psyched for UNConvention 2010? I am. Here's the link for the meeting schedule in case you missed it.

UNConvention 2010 Meeting Schedule

Don't forget to bring pennies for Penny Wars!