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Nu Delta’s New Golden AgeIt is a surreal feeling—standing in the chapter

room, being congratulated by alumni I have merelyheard stories about or seen on the compositeslining the main staircase. I hear ideas and initiativesthat I have yet to bring to fruition, about a legacythat is not yet fulfilled. It is alumni pub night, and Iam surrounded by a friendly mob of Nu Delts,ranging from 2001 to 2011. My name is RyanSlaughter, class of 2009, and I’m the newly electedundergraduate president of Nu Delta for the 2008-’09 academic year.

Since I was a freshman, it has seemed that thepresence of the class of 2005 marked a golden agewithin Nu Delta’s history. The brothers of that classseemed somewhat larger than life; they demandedrespect for themselves and pride in the house.Meeting and talking to them was quite a treat, andseeing their interactions couldn’t help but remindme of our current house in many ways.

This is one reason why I believe that our houseis entering another golden age of brotherhood,community, and fun. However, we do not take ourgood fortunes for granted. The blessings the currentbrothers share come from persistence, numeroushours of hard work, and motivation to succeed bythe current and previous members of the house.I know that when the class of 2008 moves beyond

the halls of MIT, the remaining brothers willcontinue our strong tradition of excellence.

While celebrating the return of the esteemedalumni, the current brothers are also preparing forthe departure of the class of 2008 and the arrival ofthe class of 2012. House elections were held inorder to begin the transition, and there has sincebeen a changing of the guard at Nu Delta.

The changeover of the executive committee iscontinuing smoothly. Capable and respectedbrothers fill each of the elected positions and, moreimportantly, the entire house supports them. Eachmember of the executive committee realizes theamount of responsibility and time that is beingasked of him, and gladly wishes to fulfill his duty tocurrent and past brothers of our house.

I look forward to theupcoming school year andtrust that we will build uponthe accomplishments of thepast classes and have somefun along the way, continuingand strengthening the goldenlegacy of Nu Delta.

Ryan Slaughter ’09Nu Delta President

Nu Delta at Massachusetts Institute of Technology • Spring 2008

Generations Pass – But The Song Remains The SameEvery year the house changes in ways that

previous generations could never predict; whetherinfluenced by new legislation, technology, or style,460 Beacon Street is transformed with every seasonof rush. One constant, however, still binds newgenerations together with the old; our steadyideals havesurvived the71 years ofchaos thathave blownthrough thishouse.

In talkingwith alumnifrom as farback as the1950s, wehear ofs i m i l a rexperiencesto what I’monly now seeing as a sophomore. Whether it’sstories of the same pledge training tasks, tall tales ofsocial achievements, or fixing identical areas of thehouse during Work Week, we’ve been through thesame, for better or for worse, generation after gen-eration.

Recently I had the opportunity to meet with overa dozen alumni and share the history that hasbrought them back. In conversations that lasteduntil dawn, I saw a glimpse of my future from 12

different angles, while the alumni seized theopportunity to relive a bit of the life they hadexperienced at Nu Delta.

As the new alumni secretary, I encourageyou to come by the house for various eventsthroughout the year, including the Alumni Weekend

and the TechR e u n i o nH o u s eRecep t ion(see pagefour).

For thenext AlumniWee k e nd ,the brothersare puttingt o g e t h e revents foralumni of allgenerations—i n c l u d i n g

two pub nights, a dessert formal, a presentation bythe graduating class, brunch at the Asgard Irish Pub,and daytime events, as well. Recently, the class of2005 organized a reunion that blossomed into anevent spanning a decade of Nu Delta history; theAlumni Spring Weekend will bring the same experi-ence on a much larger scale, and I look forward tomeeting many of you there.

Radu Gogoana ’10, Alumni Secretary

Nu Delta brothers from years 2004 to 2010, reunited in the VegPatch.

Ryan Slaughter ’09

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Reunions Keep Excitement And Commitment AliveSometimes you just

can’t wait for that five-year or Pi reunion. OnFebruary 29th, 2008, theNu Delta class of 2005converged in Bostonafter an absence ofalmost three years,reconnecting with thebrotherhood, local andvisiting alumni from

other classes, and each other before ourcomposites made it too far up the stairs.The weekend was a rousing success

(though we did miss the presence of ouresteemed “Boo Delta” president, AlumnusRussell), and it was a great experience tosee each other once more in our old homeat 460 Beacon.

The main event, an alumni-sponsoredpub night on Friday night, brought togethereveryone from the energetic freshman classof 2011 to the made men of 2001 andbeyond. The chapter room echoed withparty sounds as conversations filled theroom with stories of past adventures andthe newest developments in Nu Delta life. Agood showing by local alumni and others

topped off the night, as many of us had notseen each other in years.

Though much has changed, the spirit ofbrotherhood and camaraderie at the NuDelta Fraternity has not waned. The abun-dance of memories (from the halls of MITto the roof of Nu Delta and the streets ofBoston) combined with the excitement andcommitment of the current brothers madeour reunion a time to remember. I wouldrecommend the experience to any class orgroup of alumni looking to meet oncemore.

Nestor Hernandez ’05

The ’05 pledge class, current brothers, and various alums at Crossroads, before heading back to the house.

There is, perhaps, nothing more vitalto Nu Delta than the process of pledgetraining. To take freshmen boys and turnthem into Nu Delta men is no easy task.However, with considerable effort (and alittle luck), the resulting class earns thehonor of brotherhood and, even moreimportantly, the responsibility to care forthe house and future classes for the nextfour years. As the pledge trainer of the NuDelta Class of 2011, I am confident that ournewest inducted class will do just that forNu Delta, presently and in all futureendeavors.

I ‘m proud that many of these new 2011

brothers have taken the initiative to serveon the Nu Delta Executive Council.Furthermore, many of their pledge brothersran for the same positions—showingthat the majority of the class wants tocontribute to the house and its innerworkings. It is this desire that is essential tothe success of our brotherhood. In additionto this passion for involvement is a foun-dation of pride in simply being a brother ofNu Delta. This inherent love for our broth-erhood—and what we stand for— will bringsuccess for generations to come.

The Nu Delta class of 2005 recentlycame back to the house and found a Nu

Delta that maintainedand built upon thosevalues that we keepso close to our heart:Trust, Respect, andBrotherhood. There’sno doubt in my mindthat I will find that theclass of 2011 has donethe same, if not more,when I come back inthree years.

Reinier Troy Villanueva ’08Nu Delta Pledge Trainer for the class of 2011

Nu Delta Pledge Training Connects Past And Present

NestorHernandez ’05

Reinier TroyVillanueva ’08

An Alumni Brother Asks: “Who Moved My Grilled Cheese?”

page three

Fridays are usually much gloomier atMIT than at many other colleges anduniversities, as they are filled with baggy-eyed students doing last-minute crammingfor exams, finishing last-minute projectsand problem sets, and fighting off the endof their five-day caffeine high. But onething you will encounter as you walk downthe infinite corridor and across campus onFridays is the preponderance of red andpurple jerseys embroidered with the letterN and the Greek delta.

The Nu Delta Fraternityhas become one of thebest known and mostrecognizable fraternities onthe MIT campus, and not simply because ofthe recently reinstated “Jersey Fridays” thatthe brothers participate in each week. Thebrothers of Nu Delta currently participate,and excel, in all aspects of MIT culture,both academic and extra-curricular.

For example, in the past year, brotherZahir Dossa ’08 has not only been acceptedinto the MIT’s PhD program, but has alsomanaged to organize and receive fundingto start his own business, all while taking a

full load of MIT courses and teaching hisown academic seminar to MIT undergradu-ates.

Nu Delta has also had many participantsin both the MIT Undergraduate Associationand the MIT Class Council student govern-ments. Nu Delta sophomore, Jason Scott’10, currently serves as president of hisclass for his second consecutive year.However, he is not the only Nu Delta lead-ing the forefront for student leadership on

campus. Luis Torres ’10, is anotherprime example of Nu Delta’spresence on campus. Recentlybeing accepted into the Office

of Minority Education’s “Leadersand Laureates” Program, since his fresh-man year he has held executive positionsfor both MIT’s Society of HispanicProfessional Engineers and LUChA organi-zations, as well as being very active for theLatino Cultural Center. And he is only oneof many Nu Delta brothers heavily involvedin cultural organizations on our campus.

Though perhaps above all else, the NuDelta brotherhood is known for its widearray of talented brothers. Not only are Nu

Deltas present on multiple varsity sportsteams, including football and baseball, andbut we have again reclaimed dominance inintramural athletics as well, most recentlybringing home the #1 trophy for intramuraldodge ball for the 2007-’08 term. Ourbrotherhood has also displayed a knack forperforming arts, with brothers in both theMIT Jazz Ensemble, and various MIT hip-hop and break dancing teams. In the pastyear, Nu Delta brothers have even wonfirst-place awards in both the Alpha ChiOmega LipSync and Sigma Kappa LateNight philanthropic events, and were mostrecently asked to perform at the MIT 2007-2008 Family Weekend.

However, these are simply a few ofmany examples of Nu Delta’s strong impacton campus life at MIT, with many moregreat contributions left to come. This is pre-cisely why, as other students walk aroundeach Friday with looks of fatigue and frus-tration, the brothers of Nu Delta walkaround with their heads held high, wearingtheir letters with pride.

Jason Scott ’10

Thank Nu It’s Friday!

Ν∆∆

February 29, 2008, marked for me yetanother memorable weekend at Nu Delta.I was in town as a guest speaker for thisyear’s LUChA Symposium, but many otherNu Delts were in town for the Boston get-away. The pledge class of 2005 made astrong representation as Miguel Amaya,Wilmer Fiorentino, Nestor Hernandez,Nijhad Jamal, Jordan McRae, and JorgePadilla (also a symposium guest speaker)sponsored a pub night for the house onFriday night.

A short road trip from New York broughtthe likes of Jon Santiago ’06 and BenSkolnik ’03. Local alums were also presentin abundance as Jason Furtado ’07, SammyGutierrez ’06, Antoinne Machal-Cajigas ’07,Damian Plummer ’02, Rich Possemato ’01,Carlos Rangel ’06, Josiah Rosmarin ’06, and

Derik Thomann ’04 added to the reunion’sfestivities. Sisters Diana Albarran de Chicas’03, Rosita Rodriguez ’05, and house friendand former rush girl extraordinaire, JazlynCarvajal ’03, were also in attendance.

My first impression of the current broth-erhood started with the meeting of JesusGuardado ’11 on the car ride from Logan.The weekend snowballed from there withdinner at Hsin-Hsin, a visit to Crossroads,the ’05 pub night, a visit to Despina’s,Saturday brunch in Harvard Square, thesymposium at the Student Center, a second visit to Crossroads, a symposiumafter party hosted by Nu Delta, and a finalSunday lunch at the Prudential. It wasamazing how the brotherhood plannedand welcomed us all. Highlights of my visit to Boston included

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news items should be sent to: Nu Delta at MIT

Alumni Records OfficeP.O. Box 390528, Cambridge, MA02139-0006.

taking commemorative cold walks acrossthe Charles, running up and down the back stairs, and, most of all, meeting thebrothers. Times have definitely changed(even in my relative short time away), but,without a doubt, there is something reminiscent about the brotherhood thatmakes me proud about my time spent atNu Delta. I encourage alums to follow thelead of the class of ’05: take a trip toBoston, let the world know, touch basewith the house, and fall in love again.

Always true, Joel Jaimes ’03

Jason FurtadoJordan McRae Sammy GutierrezWilmer Fiorentino

our alumni write:Heinz Gunther ’52 lives at 114 Suffolk

Cir., Stephens City, VA 22655. He and hiswife, Vicki, are both well. He regrets havingmissed the April events, but his calendarhas been very full. He asks, “Please mention me to Merton Flemings ’51 andanyone else from class years ’50 to ’54.”Stay in touch with Heinz by e-mail at hgunther@verizon.net.

Glenn P. Strehle ’58 has a new address:48 Pickwick Way, Wayland, MA 01778. Sende-mail to strehle@alum.mit.edu.

John D. Larson ’62 writes, “I receivedmy PhD from Stanford. I then worked atresearch laboratories at Hewlett Packard,and Agilent technolgies, where I inventeda cardiac ultrasound system and product.

I’m the co-inventor of the Film BulkAcoustic Resonator (FBAR), a device foundin virtually every cellular phone. I’m nowmaster scientist at Avago Technologies, aspinoff of Agilent, where I continue myFBAR research. I’m married with two chil-dren and two grandchildren.” Reach Johnat 143 Tennyson Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301;send e-mail to nancyco1@comcast.net.

page four

Upcoming Events at Nu Delta:

For more information, contact Marco Pravia '97 at marco@alum.mit.edu

As we go to press we are anticipating and preparing for:

Tech Reunions Open HouseJune 7th, 2008, from 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.,

at 460 Beacon St., Boston

And please make plans for:

Fall Rush 2008 August 31-September 6