The DELTA SINFONIAN - Theta Upsilon Chapter

Volume 
Issue 
The DELTA SINFONIAN
THE ALUMNI NEWSLETTER OF THE THETA UPSILON CHAPTER OF PHI MU ALPHA SINFONIA
New Web Site The
Homeless Housing plans to demolish four dormitories,
chapter established its web
presence at dsusinfonia.org.
including the one that houses the chapter room.
Over the course of the summer,
Brother Andrew Owen put together a
chapter web site at www.dsusinfonia.org.
Other than general chapter news and
references, this site has on it a slowlygrowing pictorial roster of all chapter
members from  on. Almost half of
all the brothers in the chapter have been
found and pictured. By each name, the
big brother is written down, as each one
is discovered. The site also features every
chapter yearbook picture ever submitted to The Broom since . The 
chapter scrapbook has also been fully
digitized for online perusal at the site.
There is also a guest book for informally
leaving a message to the chapter. The
chapter encourages all of you to easily
drop the chapter a line at the guest book.
If you have any information you can offer
the chapter for the site (particularly your
big brother and/or photo), please send it
to [email protected].
uring the first week of
April , Housing and Residence Life Director Elsie Lynn
Ervin mentioned to Brother
Joe Raymond in passing that the chapter
would lose its chapter room at the end of
the  spring semester.
She expressed to him that the BondCarpenter and Whittington-Williams
dormitories were not very suitable living
quarters, and that Housing had therefore
decided to demolish all four dormitories,
figuring out how to house the many incoming students with the other remaining male dormitories.
Bond-Carpenter opened in ;
Whittington-Williams (then Caylor-Williams), in . The buildings themselves will probably not be torn down for
a while due to the high price of demolishing buildings with friable asbestos, but
the facilities are no longer permissible
for use.
Housing has little or no plans at all
for re-housing the chapter any time before the construction of a new dormitory,
which is scheduled to happen around
 at the earliest. They suggested
using part of Brewer Hall’s lobby in the
Court of Governors, but the chapter has
decided to meet instead in Union ,
which is a relatively spacious conference
room on the third floor of the Union.
Housing likewise had no plan or suggestion for storing fraternity property during this period. The chapter has rented a
storage unit to serve this purpose.
The chapter has used the spacious
chapter room in Bond Hall since the
Homepage This is the main page of the site.
BY ANDREW OWEN
D
The lost haven The old chapter room in
Bond Hall once brought a sense of constancy
to the chapter.
mid-eighties. It has undergone countless
hours of decorative attention and maintenance, including Bill Ray Burt’s painting of the coat of arms, and the difficult
remodeling of the room in -.
As of the summer of , the dormitories have yet to be destroyed, but
regardless the chapter has had to meet
elsewhere. It spent the - school
year in Union , only having been
allowed to be in the room on Monday
nights. The solution is sufficient for now.
Even though this unfortunate development puts the chapter behind a great
deal, the chapter will work hard to maintain its morale without a chapter room
for a few years.
PHI MU ALPHA SINFONIA
THETA UPSILON CHAPTER
1003 W. Sunflower Road
DSU Box 3256
Cleveland, MS 38733
www.dsusinfonia.org
[email protected]
Page 2  The Delta Sinfonian
Mills Music Mission
Experiencing firsthand the
power of music.
Over the weekend of March , the
chapter participated in a large Mills Music Mission around Southaven, Hernando, Memphis, Batesville, and Grenada.
Traveling in a large caravan, the chapter began Saturday morning by singing
along with the Theta Rho Colony at the
University of Memphis at a horn festival
that their university was holding. After
that, the chapter sang some familiar
songs for fun with the Sinfonians and
friends that were assembled there. Then
the chapter drove to the Golden Living
Center in Southaven, where it sang familiar songs to and with the residents there,
then visited with them for a while. After
that visit, the chapter drove to the Landmark Desoto Retirement Home, where
it did the same. The chapter then drove
to Wesley Meadows, a large retirement
community, walking down the halls to
sing to residents who would open their
doors and joyfully welcome the chapter’s
music. After spending about an hour
and a half at Wesley Meadows, the chapter drove to the home of Brother Daniel
Spreading joy The chapter walks down the
halls of Wesley Meadows, singing.
Payne, where it enjoyed a great supper
and an evening of fraternal interaction,
including a discussion about the Mission
and a jam session.
The next morning, the caravan traveled to Batesville to sing at the Fairfield
Personal Care Home, where it sang and
visited for about an hour. The chapter
then sang at the Grenada Living Center,
going from room to room. On a whim,
the chapter decided to go to the grandmother of one of its brothers and sing
to her in her home near Grenada. The
chapter spent some time with her and
then reflected outside her home.
Many brothers admitted that it was
the most moving musical experience of
their lives. The M.M.M. will continue
to be a beloved activity of the chapter,
and it hopes that the mission brought as
much joy to the residents as it did to the
chapter.
Three Powers and
the Object A reflection
on sinfonia.
L
BY DANIEL PAYNE
et us look at the object of
our fraternity, written by our
founders in  and readopted
as the object of the fraternity
in . Let us also reflect on the three
powers that sustain us and drive us into
the future.
The Object of this Fraternity
shall be for the development of
the best and truest fraternal spirit;
the mutual welfare and brotherhood of musical students; the
advancement of music in America
and a loyalty to the Alma Mater.
“The development of the best and
truest fraternal spirit.” The first line in
the object as organized by our founders
acts as the beginning of our look into
the three powers. How can we achieve
such a high and lofty ideal? Can it be
done without any of the three powers? I
would say, “No.” The “best and truest”
demands constant action and communication among all brothers. Can it be
gained through public events and social
interaction? Yes, but only to an extent.
The “best and truest” requires the privacy and facilitation that, in our society,
does not come cheaply. “Best and truest”
also calls for the harmony of men that
is demonstrated so well in the power of
music that only a group such as Phi Mu
Alpha Sinfonia seeks to use.
“The mutual welfare and brotherhood of musical students.” Such a line
might seem to be one of the easiest lines
to which to apply the three powers. Is
it just money for brothers in need, men
when we need a helping hand to paint
a wall, or music to inspire the soul of
spirits everywhere? I would hope not. I
would say that true welfare comes from
men who genuinely pour out their beings
for any brother who is stuck in discord.
A brotherhood in its purest form is when
men gather together to lift up others. I
recall one Saturday afternoon seeing an
elderly man filled with new life when a
group of brothers sang barbershop songs
that he once sang. Without the power of
money to propel us on that Mills Music
Mission, or the power of about twenty
men coming together during spring
break, or the power of music that undeniably transcends our human nature,
would that have been possible?
“The advancement of music in
America,” the third line of the great object of our fraternity. In my opinion, this
is our most defining factor. It is not that
we seek the music in the man, but that
we seek the advancement and wellbeing
of music through these men. It is obvious how the men, music, and money are
crucial to this objective, but why? Why
can our men not just use their music, or
our money not just propel our music?
Without any one of the three powers, our
attempts would be crippled. The triad
of our powers is a perfect correlation. It
takes men to keep a watchful eye on our
music and to continually write their music with sincerity and nobility. It takes
such a thing as music to truly move the
things of our earth and our heavens. It
takes our money to send this music into
venues and on Mills Music Missions and
to other men so that we may continuously advance music in America.
“A loyalty to the Alma Mater.” For a
moment, let’s suppose that a loyalty to
the Alma Mater is last not because it is
least important, but maybe it is the idea
that holds our great object together.
Loyalty is not meant for just alumni,
and it is not just cheering at a basketball
game or pep rally. This loyalty is a devotion to your school unto which you will
continuously involve yourself so that the
spirit of Sinfonia will live on for generations of men to come. So how does this
relate to the powers? Well, how do we
support our Alma Mater? Is it through
service projects, newsletters, recitals, retreats, mills music missions, or brotherhood builders? Yes! I feel it inspiring to
see that Sinfonia, with our men, music,
and money, supports and builds a loyalty
to the Alma Mater, sometimes without
us realizing it. Think about these things
and reflect on our sinfonia.
The Delta Sinfonian  Page 3
Sinfonian Food Alumni remember their favorite
college dishes.
F
BY ANDREW OWEN
ood has always had an
important rôle in the lives of
Delta Sinfonians. Some chapter
members work as innovative
chefs in fine restaurants. For instance,
KC’s, a four-star restaurant in Cleveland,
has been known for having a majority of
Sinfonians in the kitchen. While some
brothers work daily in that environment,
many brothers just experiment with
different recipes to stay well filled when
funds are tight.
Brother Hans Kirsch revealed to
me that in the early nineties, a popular
chapter food was the “washtub stew,”
as Brother Kevin Williford named it. It
was a stew with a lot of meat (often an
unusual meat like venison), vegetables,
Italian dressing, hot sauce, and some
beer to add flavor. The stew was cooked
in a huge washtub over an open flame.
Another favorite meal was a red hot
sausage, split down the center, grilled
with Indian chow-chow and mustard
on it, with okra on the side. The “Po’
Man’s Filet Mignon” was also common,
consisting of a sweet-and-sour gherkin
wrapped in cube steak and wrapped
with bacon; it was kept together with a
toothpick and broiled.
Brother William Leach told me about
two dishes that he would often prepare
when brothers and friends would come
to his apartment while he was a student
at Delta State. The first was his variable
Power Meal, which consisted of rice,
tomato sauce, mushrooms, and corn
as its base, then Ro*Tel, chicken/tuna/
ground beef, garlic powder, salt, and
pepper were added to one's preferences.
It could be prepared for nearly any group
of people. The second dish was cheesy
spaghetti, which was spaghetti with a lot
of cheese. He would cook and drain the
pasta, add a stick of butter, add milk, add
3-5 lb. of different cheeses, add a lot of
garlic powder, and sprinkle some salt and
pepper over it.
There have always been dishes in
the chapter that everyone just expected
a brother would bring to a smoker or
dinner, as he is good at making it. In
the late nineties, Brother Tim Parkman
Cheesy Spaghetti 
William Leach’s delicacy
prepared a spicy cheese dip for many
occasions when brothers would eat.
Brother Geoffrey “Moose” Latham
asked Brother Parkman for the recipe
and wrote the following:
“As I approached the entrance to
Bond-Carpenter I could smell it in the
air already; the smoky aroma of sausage
and ground beef browning. I knew that
heady wafting scent meant only one
thing, The Dip! Since dinosaurs roamed
the earth, chapter culinarians have
known that the secret to good cocktail
weenies is grape jelly or that the key to a
masterful pot of chili is the right kind of
beer, but it took the epicurean skills of a
true master to craft together the ultimate
in Ro*Tel. Tim Parkman transferred
from MGCC Perkinston Campus to
DSU in the fall of  and after being
initiated bestowed upon the brothers
of Theta Upsilon a cheese and meat
concoction, “powerful enough to turn
goat piss into gasoline.” I speak to you of
what came to be known as simply, The
Dip. This delicious blend of aromatics,
spices, meats, and cheese graced our
chapter room and brothers’ homes for
countless super bowl parties, smokers,
“unofficial functions,” and every-day
gatherings. Each bite a bombastic burst
of brain altering flavor, The Dip was
crafted carefully with precision and love
by Tim and those he trusted with the
secret of the recipe. It has been many a
year since The Dip has adorned the plates
of the brotherhood at old DSU, but Tim
has given me his permission and blessing
to finally share it with you.
Brothers, allow me a moment to blow your minds
Now closely observe what this recipe unwinds.
For what you taste will never be forgot.
Follow Tim’s instructions, and falter not!
Brothers...The Dip!
Ingredients:
2 pounds of ground chuck
1 pound of mild sausage
1 block of real Velveeta® cheese
1 20-oz. can of crushed tomatoes
1 onion
4-8 whole jalapeños
garlic powder
seasoned salt
Tostitos® restaurant style chips (these
work the best)
First, chop the onion and jalapeños,
being sure to chop the onions fairly
small. Chop the jalapeños with or
without seeds (Remember, the longer
it sits, the hotter it will get!) Brown the
ground beef, adding as much onion
as you like. Add seasoned salt and
garlic powder to taste. Drain. While
browning the meat, place the tomatoes
and chopped jalapeños in a large
stock pot. Turn on medium heat. Cut
up cheese and add to the tomatoes.
Brown sausage. Drain. Add both beef
and sausage to tomatoes. Turn heat
to medium-low. After the cheese is
completely molten, turn to simmer. Stir
occasionally, being sure not to let it stick.
Let it simmer about - minutes.
Serve in bowls, with chips on the side.
Enjoy!
Prep time:  minutes
Cook time:  minutes”
Around , Brother Stephen Bush
would often prepare a Dutch-oven peace
cobbler that always seemed to enhance
the evening. It was just one example
that food remains an active part of the
chapter’s activities, and continues to be
an active agent for bringing brothers
together.
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia—Theta Upsilon Chapter
1003 W. Sunflower Rd.
DSU Box 3256
Cleveland, MS 38733
THETA UPSILON CHAPTER
Contact Us
Brothers, we want to hear from you! Please
send by mail or E-mail a summary of your
news. Here is our information:
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia
1003 W. Sunflower Road
DSU Box 3256
Cleveland, MS 38733
[email protected]
www.dsusinfonia.org
Officers
Joe B. Raymond, III, President
Tim Powell, Vice President
Johnathan Williams, Secretary
Daniel Payne, Treasurer
Chris Hartfield, Fraternity Education Officer
Brian Thomson, Warden
Coday Anthony, Historian
Vernon Rodgers, Alumni Relations Officer
Brad Ballard, Musical Activities Director
Austin White, Scholarship Chair
Greg Cobb, Social Chair
Travis Hall, Fundraising and Projects Chair
Andrew Owen, Webmaster
On the weekend of April , , the chapter visited Lyrecrest, the fraternity’s
national headquarters, in Evansville, Indiana. Standing from left are Bryson
Greer, Stephen Bush, Doug Johnson, Tommy Shroads, Tim Powell, Chris Sparks,
Andrew Owen, Vernon Rodgers, Austin White, Robert Craft, Russ Sossaman,
and Coday Anthony. Sitting from left are Steven Hugley, Nick Comfort, Greg
Cobb, Jason Anderson, Brian Thomson, Johnathan Williams, Chris Hartfield,
Joe Raymond, Daniel Payne, and Travis Hall.