***Phi Kappa News

Last Updated: 09/13/2024  

Your news, comments and suggestions are always welcome. Please send to illinicrows@gmail.com.  SITE UNDER REPAIR AND RENOVATION

Phi Kappa Colony Disbanded
   The Graduate Chapter and the National Fraternity have made the difficult decision to disband the Phi Kappa Colony at the University of Illinois. The Building Association has secured a lease with DKE for the 2024-2025 school year, which will provide the cash flow necessary to keep the house in order.
 Alpha Phi Iota Chapter Closed

  The AXP National Council closed the Alpha Phi Iota Chapter at Coastal Carolina University (CCU) on December 2, 2023 after an off campus hazing incident on October 11, 2022.
   A CCU spokesman said the hazing violations were first reported to CCU on March 29, 2023.  School leaders slapped the fraternity with an interim suspension two days later and brought in a national firm to investigate the claims.  Those findings were submitted to CCU on Oct. 24, 2023 and confirmed that hazing took place. The Alpha Chi Rho chapter appealed the decision on Nov. 17, and it was later denied on Jan. 3, 2024.
   In that report, it states new members were told to line up outside and play something called, "the name game."  According to witnesses, those new members sat in a circle and were told to list the names and majors of all the brotherhood's members.  If the new members got the names wrong, they were sprayed with water or an egg was cracked on their head.
   In the following months it was reported that the hazing intensified to include alcohol abuse and physical injury.
   Alpha Phi Iota was installed as the 102nd AXP Chapter on April 23, 2022.
 
Into The Chapter Eternal
Darrell Dean March '56 (1/9/2023) 
Dale Francis Conde '45 Obit-7945 (2/25/2023) 
Charles Harris Gouveia '64 Obit-8004 (01/03/2023)
Richard Francis Figura '69 (4/10/2023) 
Allen Eugene Harless '71 Obit-8368 (April 13, 2023) 
John Arnold Dickson '57 Obit-51259 (May 23, 2023)
Armand Lee Johnson '65 Obit-7521 (September 9, 2023)
Russell Lee Bolton '55 Obit-7980 (December 26, 2023)
Don George Sanders '64 Obit-7941 (January 31, 2024)
Ward Garrett Brown '78  Obit-8055  (February 10, 2024)
George William Lynch '79 Obit-8344   (March 16,2024)
Michael R Robinson '78   Obit-8067 (April 12, 2024)
Joseph John (Jay) McCook '57 Obit-7526  (May 18, 2024)
Gerald (Jerry) Andrew Wilson '60  Obit-7933 (March 12, 2024)
   We will all miss our Brothers in our individual ways. As we share the stories and recollections of how they lived their lives, realizing in word and deed, the Brotherhood of all Men, the memories are cherished as we commend their spirit to the Chapter Eternal. 
   To share your memories, stories, and photos about our Brother, send in an email to illinicrows@gmail.com or mail to Site Administrator, 15806 Sorawater Dr, Lithia, FL 33547. Be sure to include your name, phone number in case clarification is needed. Comments may be edited for length and content.  
   Sadly, every year, Phi Kappa Brothers pass into the Chapter Eternal. If you know of the passing of a Brother that is not already noted in The Brothers of Phi Kappa section, please send a brief note to illinicrows@gmail.com with the Brother's name, and when possible, the date of death and a contact address for the next of kin. Family members are always welcome and encouraged to donate a Brother's Badge and Phi Kappa photos and memorabilia to the Chapter Archives.
Council Minutes Rescued, Archived 
   Minutes of Chapter Councils 929 (9/7/1976) through 1047 (8/29/1983) have been found and digitized. The Minutes from Council 861 (11/1971) through Council 928 (9/1976) and Minutes of all the Councils held after September 1, 1983 still need to be located to complete the Chapter's history and the reconstruction of the Chapter Roster. Please look through your old papers and see if you have a copy of any of the missing Minutes, newsletters, photos or other memorabilia. Your help would be greatly appreciated. 

Brother Directory Updated.  
   Since its founding in 1916, available records show that the Phi Kappa Chapter has initiated 1,197 undergraduate Brothers into the Resident Chapter plus 22 Brothers directly into its Graduate Chapter at the time the Chapter was founded. Thus, the Chapter Roster currently numbers 1,219 Brothers. In addition, the Chapter welcomed 12 Brothers from other Phi's when they transferred to Illinois and the Resident Chapter. Of these, 638 Brothers are believed to be still living and are listed in the Chapter Directory. A number of these Brothers are among the "missing" and no doubt a number of the entries are out of date. Efforts to maintain and update the Directory are ongoing and extensive. If you know of the passing of a Brother or know a Brother has moved, please send an Email note to illinicrows@gmail.com. If you don't have an exact postal address, even a state and/or city is helpful. And a current Email address is particularly appreciated. Brothers have a number of options on how much or how little information is included in their Directory listing. To aid in the maintenance of the Directory, Illinicrows periodically searches Social Media for Brothers.    
More at All Brothers...  

Chimes Concert The Altgeld Hall Chimes celebrated its Centennial in 2020.  Here is a Chimes Concert accompanied by the Marching Illini Band. Chimes Concert 
 Phi Kappa's First Day  
   Chapter history starts a little after 10 AM on May 30, 1916 in a rented hall on the Illinois campus. AXP's National President, Van Court Carwithen, aided by other National Officers and Brothers from existing Chapters began the formal Institution of the Phi Kappa Chapter as the 14th Chapter of Alpha Chi Rho and the initiation of the Chapter's Founding Brothers. It was a day-long ceremony, requiring two initiation teams, and it wasn't concluded until after 7 PM. Then everyone returned to the Chapter House where the newest AXP Brothers hosted the Institution Banquet as their very first activity as a Chapter. In the first and oldest piece of Chapter memorabilia, we have the original Program, signed by the Founding Brothers and guests. The evening began with Maraschino Oranges and concluded with Cigars. Check it out at 1916 Institution Banquet 
Garnet & White Articles Indexed 
   The Garnet & White (G&W) began publication in 1900 as a quarterly magazine of the National Fraternity of Alpha Chi Rho. A paper publication for most of its first century, it has evolved into a digital publication in recent years. Most issues of the G&W have been digitized and are available at: Garnet & White . More than 100 years of digitized files have been reviewed and the news and articles about the Phi Kappa Chapter and its Brothers are now indexed and available here at illinicrows.com.  Take a trip down memory lane and relive your days on campus.