The Beta Theta Pi Fraternity is the latest organization to join the Greek community at Florida State University. This past week, I was fortunate enough to sit down with the Vice President of Risk Management for Beta Theta Pi, Ralf Gonzalez, and got the entire scoop on what Beta Theta Pi is all about. Keep reading to find out more about Florida State’s most recent Greek addition.
Her Campus (HC): First off, let’s go over some background information about Beta Theta Pi. When was it founded? Do you have any famous brothers?
Ralf Gonzalez (RG): Beta Theta Pi was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The mission of our fraternity is to develop men of principle for a principled life. Our core values are mutual assistance, intellectual growth, trust, responsible conduct, and integrity. Our vision is for every member to live Beta Theta Pi’s values. We don’t have any national organizations that we work with; it’s all specific to each individual chapter. There are a lot of famous brothers. Some of our most famous brothers are John Wooden, the college basketball coach, Mike Schmidt, the Hall of Fame baseball player, Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, and pretty much the entire main cast of the movie Super Troopers.
HC: Wow! I can’t believe the founder of Wal-Mart was in Beta Theta Pi. Is this Florida State’s first Beta Theta Pi chapter?
RG: This is the first time Beta has been on campus since 1999, which was also the last time we won the BCS National Championship. Is it a coincidence that we have a chance to win the championship again right when we come back to campus? Maybe, maybe not.
HC: I definitly see a coincidence there! Do you hold an Executive Board position within Beta Theta Pi?
RG: I serve on the Executive Board as Vice President of Risk Management. Even though my term doesn’t technically start until next semester, I have enjoyed working with the other exec members so far and am looking forward to hitting the ground running next semester.
HC: I’m sure you will be super busy next semester! How many brothers make up the Beta Theta Pi chapter at Florida State?
RG: 77 pledges were initiated into Beta Theta Pi as brothers this semester. In total, 450 brothers have been initiated into the Delta Lambda Chapter at Florida State University.
HC: I know Beta Theta Pi’s initiation ceremony was held this past week. That must have been really exciting being able to partake in such an important event. What was it like participating in Beta Theta Pi’s initiation?
RG: Well, I can’t really divulge any details about initiation. All I can really say is that there was a nice reception afterwards and that I am so proud to be a Beta.
To learn more about Beta Theta Pi, click here. Beta Theta Pi will also be hosting a spring rush – anyone who is interested can find out more information by visiting their Facebook page.