The EU anthology

Rick has mentioned a couple of times that I’m looking to compile a booklet of Brothers’ stories about their Undergraduate days with the Chapter.

This is my goal: To write a comprehensive history of the Chapter’s early days paired with first-person stories spanning all 40 years of Epsilon Upsilon.

To accomplish the first part, I’m going to be contacting and interviewing our founding members. But for the second part, I’ll need the help of everyone who is willing to participate by sharing a story.

Here are some guidelines that I think will be helpful for everyone, including myself:

1. Your story should be about one event or memory. Don’t try to sum up your four years of Undergrad Delt life. Pick your favorite memory and write about it.

2. Be as descriptive and as specific as possible in recounting the memory or story you wish to share. For example: Saying it happened in April of 1977 is better than saying it happened during the spring semester of 1977. Also, be mindful that places have changed or no longer exist. Say what they were. Example: “I lived in Putnam Hall, which was a large freshman dorm at the corner of Putnam and Seventh streets.”

3. We are all entitled to our histories and we shouldn’t whitewash them, but if your story does involve recounting something that would be embarrassing or harmful today to another Brother or Brothers, please seek their permission first.

4. I’m not going to set a limit on length. It can be as long or as short as it needs to be.

5. If you aren’t a writer, that’s OK. No one expects you to be. I’ll be editing what you write in order to help you tell your story. I’ll be asking you questions and giving you feedback. Don’t sweat the small stuff: I’ll clean up misspellings and bad grammar.

6. Submission: The best way to do this will be for you to write your story in Microsoft Word and email the file to me at sselby@crain.com. Put “Delt story” in the message line.

7. And finally, deadline: I will stop accepting stories on Nov. 1.

I hope that helps explain what we are looking to do and what our expectations are for this project. I’m really looking forward to reading your stories. Please write one. Your Brothers will appreciate reading them, too.

Oh, and if you have a background in journalism or literary stuff and would like to help with the editing of all this, please let me know! I am not Hell-bent on doing this by myself.

Now for the nasty-but-necessary stuff: Your submissions will become property of the Crescent Colony of Marietta Inc., which will serve as the owner of the copyright. I reserve the right, on behalf of CCoM Inc., to reject or edit any submission for whatever reason or reasons I deem necessary.

You also agree to give us your first born child, your Social Security Number and access to all your bank accounts .... blah blah blah.

— Shawn “Just sign here” Selby ‘92