In the fall semester of 2011, the Eta Rho Chapter of Kappa
Kappa Psi was given a deadline. The Director of Bands at West Chester
University felt that Eta Rho was not fulfilling its purposes as a band service
fraternity and was simply a University-sponsored band click. In prior
semesters, the Chapter commonly had up to four hour meetings which often
resulted in yelling and frustration. Due to the lack of direction displayed by
the chapter, it was the Director of Band’s suggestion that Eta Rho be
discontinued as a Chapter. Fortunately, last fall semester also brought a new
faculty advisor; a dedicated professor contributing passion and vision to the
Brotherhood. As an advocate for Eta Rho, this new advisor requested four
semesters to help turn the Chapter around. In the following twelve months, the
Brothers of the Eta Rho Chapter were able to revolutionize and reinvigorate
Kappa Kappa Psi at West Chester University.
Initially,
there was not a unanimous outburst of positive attitudes when the new advisor
informed Eta Rho about this four semester deadline during a late fall meeting.
Some Brothers were upset; others felt blind-sided. There were those Brothers,
however, that accepted what was given and chose to make a change. This change
started with taking on individual responsibility and Brother to Brother
interaction. If the Brothers of Eta Rho could not agree on why they existed as
a Chapter, then there truly was no point in having one. A common slogan arose:
Service is never convenient, but it
is always necessary. Slowly,
individual Brothers began isolating what they personally needed to work on to
better contribute to the Brotherhood, and a more open outlet of communication
began creeping its way into the Chapter. With a more efficient communication
process came a unified agreement that Brothers of Eta Rho, with a dedicated
spirit of unity and cooperation, were unequivocally committed to become the
world standard of excellence for band fraternal organizations.
After
confirming a common direction, Eta Rho was able to establish goals, and not
vague ideas of what they wanted to accomplish; rather, these were specific
pictures of what Brothers saw the Chapter achieving in a given span of time.
One goal that kept the Brotherhood striving was to completely sponsor the
annual picnic for the West Chester University Incomparable Golden Rams Marching
Band at the beginning of the approaching band camp. This picnic would not only
host the 325 members in the band, but also friends and family members,
essentially totaling approximately 1,000 people. At first, this goal seemed out
of reach, especially considering Eta Rho had eight months to make it happen.
The Chapter’s budget was exceptionally low, and fund raising in the past had
not gotten close to what the Brothers needed to raise to sponsor the entire
picnic. Nevertheless, through research of fundraising strategies, planning, and
revising prior methods, Eta Rho was able to sponsor the band picnic along with
their Sisters of the Zeta Upsilon Chapter of Tau Beta Sigma.
As the new
fall semester commenced, Eta Rho was anxious to actively serve the bands at
West Chester University. Brothers would focus their service towards the
Marching Band, Basketball Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Criterions Jazz
Ensemble, Statesmen Jazz Ensemble, and Latin Jazz Ensemble. In prior years, Eta
Rho had not initiated worthwhile projects to help many of these groups, but
after revisiting the purposes of Kappa Kappa Psi and actively seeking ways to
live out the Fraternal Code of Conduct, the Brothers of Eta Rho were ambitious
to become a strong supporting role for all bands at West Chester University.
Projects included supplying field paint for the Marching Band all season and
regularly painting and ticking the field, unpacking and packing the Marching
Band truck, polishing brass instruments before performances, setting up and
tearing down for every indoor ensemble, and sponsoring receptions following
important performances.
Throughout
the semester, Eta Rho continued improving bonds between Brothers through
regular socials which in turn helped present positive qualities throughout band
events. The attitude and efficiency displayed while Brothers completed tasks to
serve the bands lead to larger service opportunities such as volunteering at
the Collegiate Marching Band Festival in Allentown, again with their Sisters of
Tau Beta Sigma. Most recently, Brothers of Eta Rho approached their Director of
Bands about hosting the upcoming USBands Competition at West Chester University
with their Sisters of Tau Beta Sigma. The response was more than encouraging.
Based on the way they had been taking care of business all semester, there were
no issues at all with the request. This statement confirmed to the Brothers
that they had truly made a difference in their Chapter and at West Chester
University. After this twelve month renaissance of Eta Rho, there was no longer
any worry about fulfilling the four semester deadline initially issued by the
Director of Bands. Excited for the future and the opportunities to come,
Brothers of the Eta Rho Chapter continue to push forward, doing anything
possible to better fulfill the ideals of Kappa Kappa Psi while serving the
bands at West Chester University.
Christopher Kefer
President '12-'13
Kappa Kappa Psi - Eta Rho
West Chester University
