The Official Stuff…

P R E S I D E N T I A L  A D D R E S S
An Important Message from our AVC President, Gabriel Vazquez

Brothers of NY Rho,

In 2020, while speaking to brothers, I began to see that over the years we have allowed time to separate us. This has forced many of us to deal with life’s challenges as individuals instead of fraternity brothers. This separation and the strictly four-year commitment that too many of us gave at St John’s, like a military contract rather than the lifetime commitment that we promised, also led to the loss of our charter in 2012. When I realized this, I began reaching out to brothers around the country as well as our alumni base, to understand what went wrong and to figure out what SigEp looks like today. I’m proud to say that in less than a year, we have gone from a non-existent chapter to being among a handful of chapters chosen for consideration by Nationals for a potential return. With over 60 chapters of Sigma Phi Epsilon currently closed across the country, this is a monumental accomplishment which has only been made possible with your support through the giving of time, donations, and guidance. Thank you.

The most importantly thing we’ve accomplished, though, is successfully bringing a large number of brothers back together through social media and events such as the NY Rho Family BBQ and recent dominoes tournament. We have repaired relationships that needed mending and had the opportunity to build new ones. We’ve come together in times of loss and enjoyed each other’s company while reminiscing about our college years. But we still have brothers that are out of touch.

The last two years have been especially hard on all of us mentally, spiritually, physically, etc. We have lost brothers while others have stood on the mental brink of no return. But, if we are united, there is nothing that we cannot overcome. Do not wait for the day that it is too late to tell your brother how much you love and appreciate them. We made a LIFETIME commitment to each other, so my continued ask of you, as your elected President, is to reach out to that brother that you’ve been meaning to get ahold of for so long; That brother that you haven’t spoken to for whatever reason and for however long it’s been. We ask that you make time for this and we promise that whatever you are able to do, no matter how seemingly small, it makes a difference in a brother’s life. Today is a new day and no longer will we walk through life’s struggles separately.

The AVC and myself are extremely humbled and proud of the support we’ve received from the Brothers of NY Rho spanning every era of our history. Excellence is a continual process, not an accident. The journey to excellence will be long and hard fought, but there is nothing that we cannot accomplish when we are united. NOW MORE THAN EVER, we need brotherly love in a complicated world as we rise above the issues we face individually and as a community. This is the start of our journey and we cannot and WILL NOT rest on our laurels!

I have full faith and confidence in our future because I know we will not let another day go by as individuals and we will live every day as BROTHERS of Sigma Phi Epsilon with Virtue, Diligence, and Brotherly Love. HFF.

Fraternally,
Gabriel F. Vazquez
NY RHO AVC PRESIDENT