A history of the end: My experiences in Gamma Zeta and the final years.

[GammaZeta]

Bill 2

I got to know Bill pretty well over the years. He loved and cared for the fraternity, but he really never understood today's generation completely.

The best thing about Bill as high pi, was that he knew he was in an advisory role. He didn't come in and try to run everything, or tell us what to do or how to do it. He let us figure alot out on our own. He let us grow, experiment, and find out what worked best. He knew he was part of Gamma Zeta and LXA, but he also knew that he was an alumni, and that the pain and glory should be for the actives.

Bill was obsessive about records keeping. Which was good and bad in a way. He kept business cards, scrap papers, receipts for $.25 worth of nails, light bulb instructions, EVERYTHING. He was always nagging about getting this and that, which is good, but you really shouldn't be nagging a brother about his class schedule the morning after his 21st birthday at 8:00 am.

I can remember every event, he would bring this rattered tattered 3 ring binder with him. Every event he would hound you and ask what your address was, etc. for the alumni directory. Bill, I just gave you my address last week!

Bill wasn't an angel either. He had his own agenda for Gamma Zeta and there were people that were more accepting of it than others. Bill favored those people. But he always wanted the best for Gamma Zeta.

I remember 1 summer Umass was selling all their old, and I mean OLD office furniture. Sitting on the porch, I see his station wagon pulling a trailers of about 15 desks, 10 tables and dozens of chairs.

I thought to myself: "There goes my day."

I couldn't argue with Bill or make him see that we didn't need rusty old metal desks. There were no use or room for them. It was just easier to spend a few hours moving them into the house and chucking them the next day.

But Bill got things done. He would just nag you until you did it. Sometimes that really was the only way alot of brothers would have pulled their fair share.

Bill also wanted to bring the Umass Greek system into the new age. He advocated for no drinking, hazing, etc., not just in our house but across the campus, especially to the fraternities without those regulations. I remember one hot summer day several years back. Me and some of the older guys decided to come down to prepare the house for move in, rush and to clean. It was hot out, we were all broke. All of a sudden Bill pulled up. He pulled out of his car three big brown bags. I heard the clanking of beer bottles a mile away and came running. There's nothing better than doing work, hanging out with guys on a hot summer day, and having a few drinks while working. Bill had brought us a couple of sixers. So there we were, chugging some bottles, working hard in the summer sun, getting ALOT accomplished now that we had some refreshment. A few hours passed and I looked around. I saw the table where we were putting our empties, and it was pretty full. We've been drinking for a good 2 1/2 hours while working. I asked the other guys, who have also been drinking on pace with me, "Hey guys, do you feel anything?" They looked at me with a puzzled expression, realizing that they did in fact not feel anything. I walked over, grabbed a bottle, and there it was: O'Douls Non-Alcoholic Beer.

Bill was still probably a better brother, being a 70 something alumni, then most of our actives. I don't think he ever got the appreciation that he deserved though. He spent hours upon hours a week helping the house. He was at every meeting. He was at every crisis. He was at every event. Again, that's something I didn't realize until I was out of college.

So guys, consider yourself lucky that you have alumni support. Treat them with respect. They may seem old, out of touch, annoying and old fashioned, but they do know a thing or two. Take the time to get to know them. Listen to them. Let them be involved. Sometimes when they stay a bit too long, or tell a story that doesn't go anywhere, just bite your tongue and smile. Give them the respect they deserved and earned, hell, you may even learn a thing or two.