40th Anniversary Celebration, April 5-7, 2024

Kappa Kappa Psi- Theta Beta/ Tau Beta Sigma- Eta Gamma

by Dom Coloyan
From the Fall 2024 issue

I can scarcely believe that it’s been nearly 42 years since Nadene Stein and I sat down with Doc Chrisman in his office in the College of Fine Arts to discuss the creation of chapters of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma here at Boston University.  Tony Cyrus, Gene Boyle, and I had just come back from Orlando where we had represented BU in the 1982 All American College Marching Band.  We had spent ten days in Florida rehearsing and performing for the Grand Opening Ceremonies of Walt Disney’s new EPCOT Center.  And during that time, we leaned about a fraternity and sorority that were created specifically, and dedicated to, supporting and serving their schools’ band programs.

We found out that Doc not only knew about the groups, he had also been a Brother at the Nu Chapter at the University of Michigan when he was an undergrad.  He thought it was a great idea and supported us wholeheartedly.  He said he’d make some phone calls and get the ball rolling.  A couple of weeks later, two large packets arrived from Stillwater, Oklahoma.  Our colonization period had begun.

In the ensuing eighteen months, the Charter members were kept busy organizing, setting up, and working with our newly assigned Big Brother and Big Sister chapters at UMASS.  We learned about the history, purposes, and traditions of KKΨ and TBΣ.  And we worked with Doc and Doug Bish on how best to serve the band and the university.  It was a lot of work on top of our regular studies.  But as I look at all the people gathered in this room today, I can see that our efforts were well worth it.

I have been a Brother of KKΨ for four decades and a Sister of TBΣ for about fourteen hours.  And I have been so proud of what both chapters have accomplished since Nadene and I left BU long ago.  Not only have we survived, but we have prospered and flourished.  Last year, Theta Beta won the A. Frank Martin Award for best chapter in the Northeast District.  And James Kang won for best sponsor.  6,000 kilometers away, I was beaming with glee.

So what does the fraternity and sorority mean today?  For me, it is a sense of a Brotherhood and Sisterhood that now spans two generations.  I have met and befriended people who I otherwise would have never known had it not been for the chapters.  I have been invited to your private family gatherings, simply because you knew me through the fraternity.  Last year, I had some meetings on Capitol Hill.  During that week, I arranged to have lunch with three Brothers.  Paul Pierson was from the Epsilon Class and graduated in 1990.  Rod Morgan was in the Kappa Class and graduated in 1994.  And Dave Nazer was from the Omicron Class and graduated in 1998.  And though none of us were in school at the same time, we had a wonderful afternoon catching up for a couple of hours in a bistro just a couple of blocks from Congress.

Yesterday, I attended the Third Degree for our Alpha Phi Class.  I was pleasantly surprised to hear that they are still playing the music that I composed for the ceremony forty years ago.  And I was honored to be asked to do one of the readings.  As I looked at the very young faces of our newest Brothers, I couldn’t help but feel a wave of joy and pride.  We pass the torch now to their capable hands.  And forty years hence, when many of us here will be gone, they will be the ones to carry on the stories, the memories, and the traditions of our chapters. 

During our membership period, we learn that we should always strive for the highest.  This is something that I have carried on with me in my life and in my career.  The lessons in the Three Degrees are not just words to be learned and then regurgitated on a test.  They are words to aspire to.  During my life, much of my success has been because of these lessons: working with others, leading by example, and always finding our best self within us. There’s an old saying that goes “in life, we can either sink or swim.”  Because of Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, I learned that we have a third choice on life’s road.  We can fly.  For me, it has always been an honor to be selected to serve.