Nu Alpha Phi NAP Home Member E-mail Events History Cabin Pay Dues Oak Leaf Current Issue Editorial NAP Network Odds and Ends In Memoriam Archives About/Masthead Send News Other FAQ Free E-mail Update Your Address E-mail NAP Links |
by Paul Nagai ‘88 #978: Even before Chris Hall '82 #870, our most recent Editor Emeritus, retired from the Oak Leaf, my Nu Alpha Phi brothers and sisters would frequently ask how they could help me with the newsletter. I would usually answer that there really wasn't anything anyone could do ... it's one of those jobs that is hard to divide into separate parts. Chris did an admirable job of bringing me on to handle the details of production, training me up as co-editor, and ultimately handing over full editorial responsibility. Whether this was simply a natural progression or by design, I don't know. It doesn't matter. I'm here. I've got it mostly in-hand. But now that I'm not helping Chris, and no one is helping me, I think I'll have to develop a different answer to the question. How you can help me publish the Oak Leaf boils down to three things. First, most important, and requiring the least amount of coercion on my part, you can continue to write letters telling us where you are, what you do, and whom you've seen. Second, you can urge me in e-mail, phone calls, and real letters to hurry up and get the next issue out. Really, guilt and harassment both work wonders. Third, and this is the really hard one, you can write articles for publication. Good articles relate your own personal experiences, past or present. Great articles relate personal experiences that are somehow connected to Nu Alpha Phi. The story of a chance meeting with a fellow Nu Alph, a favorite memory of your Pomona and NAP days, recent work or recreational activities within your web of Nu Alpha Phi friends, or even a few juicy secrets told about a brother or sister they'd rather we didn't know! Well, ok, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea. If it helps, do not think of these as “articles” but rather, long letters to old friends. There is one other, most important type of article I require on a regular basis. These are heartfelt articles or letters that remember and honor a fellow Nu Alph for their work, their service, their family, and their friendship. Ideally you would do this while an alumnus can read your article and the letters it generates. The truth is, however, that we rarely manage to bestow such honors prior to the departure of our dear brothers. Sadly, then, we publish obituaries and letters in memoriam. Occasionally there is nothing beyond the news of their death itself. It is my hope, not always realized, that when this happens, you will write the Oak Leaf with your fond memories of the departed. Other than those articles, I think I have the Oak Leaf well in hand. Yes, I would be happier if I could publish at least three times a year. In fact, I would be overjoyed if I could publish quarterly. But, more realistically, I won't be disappointed if I can publish twice a year. Do not think, however, that there is not more to be done, that helping me with the Oak Leaf is the only way to help Nu Alpha Phi. There are many projects that sit idle lacking an interested and motivated pair of hands. Some of these projects require the centralized coordination of the Alumni Council, ably led by Don Smith '53 #384. One of the more recent projects like this, the reincorporation of Nu Alpha Phi, was handed off to Eric Olson '62 #585. Expect to hear about more such projects in the future, often after they have been completed. If you want to help out, contact Don. There are several other very important projects that have at least one of two requirements. The first requirement is a willingness to meet and socialize with Actives. The second (which obviously helps a lot with the first) is a proximity or willingness to travel to Claremont. Back in the day, Actives and Alumni alike all knew each other by sight if not by name. Now, obviously, with over 1300 maggots widely distributed across the world, this is simply no longer possible. Nowadays, if more than five or ten Actives meet and actually speak with more than five or ten Alumni, it is considered a good year. Zibby sorely misses the Fall and New Year socials that used to be held at the homes of Alumni living in or near Claremont. This provided an opportunity twice a year for local Alumni to meet Actives. There also used to be dinners held at Alumni homes after each initiation. These gatherings are absolutely critical to maintaining a continuity between the past, the present, and the future. It is not uncommon for Alumni to express concern over how the Fraternity is not what it used to be, that it can not have the same meaning today that it had in their day. That so much has changed (or so much must have changed) that Nu Alpha Phi has become something other than what it once was. Well, the world has certainly become a different place. I am absolutely convinced that the Fraternity is different than it was even so short a time ago when I was a student. I do not write about these things to spark a debate whether this is true or not, or even to question whether the changes, if they exist, have weakened or improved the fraternal bonds or simply allowed them to persist in some form. No, I write to challenge Alumni to meet with and socialize with Actives. How will you know what the differences are, if any, if you do not meet them? How can you complain things have changed if you will not provide the opportunity for continuity? How will you judge what changes have occurred and what they might mean? Who will rise to this challenge and offer their time and home to host even one such event? Will anyone? I dare you.
| |||||
Top | Previous | Contents | Next | |||