The local newspaper’s Monday edition is usually very light on news. This week, because Monday was a holiday and the newspaper was not published, Tuesday’s paper was like a Monday edition. Usually this annoys me, but when I opened the paper and saw the news on page 3, I couldn’t help but smile. The newspaper which isn’t friendly to Greek-letter organizations, devoted a good part of the page to the news about David Lynch’s award from the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC). I suspect that had more to do with the fact that no staff time was spent writing the story than a change of heart about GLOs. I am not complaining. Positive press is positive press, after all, and Lynch is most deserving of the award. He also was named the Lincoln Academy of Illinois’ Student Laureate for Southern Illinois University Carbondale and was the recipient of the Service to Southern Award, SIUC’s top student award. These are just a few of his many honors. (The newspaper story is at http://thesouthern.com/news/local/education/david-lynch-earns-national-undergraduate-award/article_95e9df2d-a307-50a9-839e-6c3321e62701.html.)
David Lynch with the Lincoln Academy of Illinois medal and certificate. (Photo courtesy of SIUC)
Nine fraternity men won the North-American Interfraternity Conference’s 2015 Undergraduate Award of Distinction. They are:
Anish Sharma, Sigma Nu , University of Mississippi
Anthony Naquin, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Nicholls State University
David Lynch, Kappa Alpha Order, Southern Illinois University – Carbondale
Elliott Wiegman, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Jeremy Terman, Sigma Chi, University of Missouri
Jesse Brown, Kappa Alpha Order, Midwestern State University
Rep. Joseph Sweeney, Phi Mu Delta, University of New Hampshire (Yes, the Rep. title is correct. Sweeney is a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives representing the 8th District of Rockingham County.)
Logan Stanger, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Ball State University
Marlan J. Golden, Alpha Tau Omega, University of Alabama
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Yesterday, was the birthday of Sally Ride, the first American woman in space. She was the subject of the google doodle. A number of people searched for Ride’s sorority affiliation and ended up on my blog. Contrary to the rumor that will never die, she was not a sorority woman. She went to Swarthmore and Stanford at a time when there weren’t sororities at either institution. Here is the list of astronauts who are sorority women. http://wp.me/p20I1i-le, in case anyone is interested.
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Kelli O’Hara and Kristin Chenoweth are Gamma Phi Betas. They were initiated into the chapter at Oklahoma City University. They are in competition with each other for this year’s Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical Tony Award. O’Hara is nominated for her role in The King and I, Chenoweth for her performance in On the Twentieth Century. At OCU, both women were students of Dr. Florence Gillam Birdwell. In 2004, Birdwell was named a Member Laureate of Sigma Alpha Iota, an international women’s music fraternity. The New York Times recently published a story on Birdwell. The article is at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/26/theater/for-kristin-chenoweth-and-kelli-ohara-a-fearsome-fairy-godmother.html?partner=socialflow&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0
© Fran Becque, www.fraternityhistory.com, 2015. All Rights Reserved. If you enjoyed this post, please sign up for updates. Also follow me on twitter @GLOHistory and Pinterest www.pinterest.com/glohistory/
