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ATO Xi Chapter - Fall Newsletter September 2021 A Word from our President The past 18 months presented unprecedented challenges to our Fraternity. Pandemic aside, the Duke Administration underwent significant personnel change. Despite the good standing of Alpha Tau Omega and other fraternity chapters at Duke, new administrators pushed forward with changes to living that altered the viability of Greek Life on campus. The Chapter, under the leadership of several undergraduate and alumni Brothers, sought assistance from the ATO National Organization and longstanding allies from within the Duke Administration to rectify the situation. ATO was extremely receptive to our cause, but the Duke Administration presented no space for compromise. The Next Generation Living and Learning Experience (NGLLE) initiative, Duke’s new plan for on-campus experience, planned to alter residential living at Duke and deter fraternity and sorority rush. The transition of Greek living sections from centrally located buildings to Edens Quad on the edge of campus would be a damaging change on its own, but the 1 The Class of 2021 did have an in-person graduation ceremony, unlike the Class of 2020. Class of 2021, Graduation Day, outside the former Section in Houses U&T ATO Xi Chapter - Fall Newsletter September 2021 announced deferral of rush from freshman spring to sophomore fall was the main driving factor of our disaffiliation. Fraternity rush during Potential New Members’ (PNMs) sophomore fall would mean that each fraternity would decrease to ¾ of their original sizes without a freshman class. In addition, the majority of Duke Juniors travel abroad during their fall semester. This would mean that fraternity rush would consist of Sophomore PNMs being rushed by only the senior class. This one class would not be a true representation of the entire chapter, and many seniors are busy with planning for jobs and opportunities after college. Thus, in January, undergraduate members of ATO Xi unanimously voted to disaffiliate from the Duke Interfraternity Council (IFC), alongside 8 other fraternities, to establish the Durham IFC. While the decision to disaffiliate from the University was not our initial goal, we reflect upon our Brotherhood’s past and present strength to optimistically consider the future. Alongside our peers within the Durham IFC, we are optimistic about the future of ATO Xi. Our Chapter was founded in 1872, before the incorporation of Duke University itself, and we have always adapted to evolving social politics. Our connection to one another will prevail, and ATO Xi will continue to bind men together based on our values—L&R— just again without the University’s so often limiting influence. We thank our passionate alumni and the ATO National Organization for their help and support during this time. Our brotherhood based upon eternal and immutable principles continues to be an exemplary force in Durham. VTL, Teddy Llinas, President, ATO Xi 2 Teddy Llinas, Xi President (left) with and Matt Eklund (right), Xi VP ATO Xi Chapter - Fall Newsletter September 2021 ATO Xi: An Award Winning Chapter This year at the annual ATO Nationals award ceremony, ATO awarded the True Merit Award to our chapter. The last time Xi won the designation was in 2011. According to ATO, “The True Merit Award is awarded to as many chapters who achieve a level of chapter operation that is worthy of the recognition.” We suspect that our Brothers’ unity and perseverance throughout the Duke disaffiliation process showcased our chapter’s exemplary brotherhood. Consistent with the past several years, our chapter also earned the second place Excellence Award for Scholarship. This means that of all ATO chapters nationwide, we had the second highest GPA average. This award is another indicator of our chapter’s well-roundedness and excellence. The Football Fraternity Xi has a long history of recruiting athletes, and the past few years are no exception. Approximately eight brothers are varsity football players— preferred walk-ons and full scholarship athletes— to include the starting quarterback and running back. If able, we hope that you will come to a home game and support the team. Just last week, a group of new members, brothers, and alumni went to the season opener at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) to support the team. We’re excited that spectators are invited to Wallace Wade this year and hope the same will be true for Cameron Indoor starting next month. 3 ATO Xi Chapter - Fall Newsletter September 2021 Brother Spotlights Our brothers have a myriad of interests and long list of accomplishments. Check out what some of us were up to this summer: Matt and Don Eklund The Eklund brothers (left) (Matt, Trinity ’22; Don, Trinity ’18), from Naples, FL, became entrepreneurs. They opened Nectar Lab, their first kava bar, in Ft. Myers, FL. It is 1400 square feet with a small patio. They specialize in non-alcoholic, tea-based beverages (kava and kratom). If you are ever in the area, drop by and try it out! https://www.nectarlabkavabar.com/ Austin Connors Brother Austin Connors (right), Trinity ’22, is from Greensboro, NC and studies History and Spanish Literature. He is a Cadet in Army ROTC and will commission as a Second Lieutenant in May 2022. He spent the first half of summer at Ft. Knox, Kentucky and graduated from Army Advanced Camp. Then, he interned at Special Operations Command Africa in Stuttgart, Germany. His time in Europe aligned with the European Union’s nine week lax in COVID travel restrictions for Americans, which enabled him to spent time in eight countries, from France to Malta. Thomas Zornig Brother Thomas Zornig (left), Trinity ’23, is from Campinas, Brazil. He studies Computer Science and minors in Economics and Music. This summer, he accepted a job offer at Facebook and worked as an FBU Data Engineer Intern in Menlo Park, California. His project involved analyzing the return on investment small businesses get from Facebook ads, for which he built a pipeline, dataset, and dashboard, and presented his findings to Facebook leadership. Thomas hopes to land a full-time job in Data after graduation. 4 ATO Xi Chapter - Fall Newsletter September 2021 Hugh Esterson Brother Hugh Esterson (right), Trinity ’22, is from New York, NY. He is currently competing in the 2021 Formula Race Promotions F1600 Championship Series. Reaching top speeds of 145mph, his 24-race-long season has been contested on world-renowned tracks — from Alabama to Wisconsin, and many stops in between — all while continuing his studies as a Statistics/Data Science major. Upon graduation, he hopes to pursue his dreams of racing professionally, contingent on raising sponsorship for the 2022 race season. Any brothers in the greater Pittsburgh area are invited to attend his season finale at PittRace Complex (Wampum, PA) on October 15-17. You can follow Hugh’s progress on Instagram @hhe42. Trevor Bowman Brother Trevor Bowman (left), Trinity ’22, is from Sherborn, MA. He studies Mathematics on the pre-medicine track. Trevor spent this past summer with the Duke math department conducting COVID-19 research funded by an NIH grant. His research group was able to determine, theoretically, that pre- peak data of disease outbreaks is not statistically sufficient to determine the rate at which people become infected and the rate at which they recover. Taking it to the real world, Trevor applied the theory to March 2020 NYC COVID data and found the same problem. He is currently co-authoring a paper with the group to explain this outcome. He plans to attend medical school post-graduation. Upcoming Event October 7-9, 2021: ATO Xi Reunion Generations of brothers will gather in Durham this weekend to share memories, discuss the status of Greek Life at Duke, and watch the football team take on Georgia Tech. Contact Holt Anderson ’67 at holta@mindspring.com for more details. Join the ATO Xi Facebook and LinkedIn Groups https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8542768/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/448872586557401/ 5
