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THE CLIPPER Fall Events

From Pirates on the Seas to Poppy Seeds

For DPE brothers only, Randy Wilson,

Senior Police Advisor for the Narcotics

Affairs Section (NAS/INL) in Kabul, spoke

extensively about his lengthy experience

working against drug trafficking and

violence in Afghanistan. Jerrold Post, a

former CIA intelligence officer, invited

brothers to his graduate lecture on the

psychology of terrorists, which was followed

by a closed discussion of his book “The Mind of

the Terrorist” over dinner. Other brotherhood-

only events have included a speaking event with

Jay Hicks, head of Planning and Real Estate at

the State Department; a lunch with Douglas

Shaw, Associate Dean for Planning, Research,

and External Relations the Elliott School; and a

tour of the IMF building with Patrick Cirillo,

Deputy Chief of Operations in the Secretariat of

the IMF.

In Brief: Brotherhood Speaking Events

Delta Phi Epsilon’s fall has seen a variety of types of dynamic opportunities and events. Removing the focus from public-speaking events, programming has included brotherhood only events, dinners with faculty and administrators, events oriented towards the incoming pledge line, and tours of Washington-based organizations.

Our semester began spectacularly with our Washington Internship Panel, which was comprised exclusively of DPE brothers and alumni, and brought over one-hundred guests—mostly freshmen—to hear about the process of finding, acquiring, and holding internships in Washington D.C. The event attracted a number of undergraduates who subsequently decided to rush. Our public event Piracy on the High Seas with Jane Dalton, a retired rear admiral for the Navy and former Legal Counselor to the Commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, brought in an audience of Navy-affiliated people, DPE sorority sisters, graduate and undergraduate students.

We look forward to a spring semester when we will host Tom Ricks to discuss his book “The Gamble” and Justine Hardy, a British journalist with expertise in Kashmir. This year’s programming is under the leadership of Vice President of External Affairs Steve Hawkins and Director of Programming Cooper Waterman.

Pres. Laverone poses with Jane Dalton after her speaking event in October

Jerold Post

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It has been an incredible semester for Delta Phi Epsilon Eta Chapter.

From a wide range of events, another successful pledge process, and renewed

outlook to our future, I couldn’t be happier with what we have accomplished

this fall.

It was our first fall semester pledge process in two years, and we

brought in eight fantastic new brothers on Sunday, November 22nd. The

pledge process was about seven weeks long, beginning with a well-attended

rush event in mid-September that featured three DPE brothers talking about

their internship experiences. Our neophytes got to know one another as well

as the brothers during their process. They also got to meet and learn from

distinguished alumni like Ambassador Edward "Skip" Gnehm, a veteran of the

Foreign Service and currently a GW professor. Throughout the process, I saw

our neophytes grow from a group of mostly first-semester freshmen, who had

no idea about what they were getting into, into yet another dedicated line of

DPE that will soon be shaping and leading our fraternity, the 60th line. I look forward to seeing what they

do for our fraternity in the future.

This semester’s newsletter goes in depth about many of our events (pages 1 & 5), but a major

highlight for me was a private visit of the IMF, and a very honest group discussion with Patrick Cirillo the

Deputy Chief of Operations for Secretariat of the IMF. DPE has had a long tradition of public events open

to the GW community, but some of our private events have been the most special for me.

I look forward to our spring semester, our spring rush process and continuing the work that the

planning committee has begun (Page 4). We look forward to welcoming back our brothers who are

currently abroad, and wish those are about to head overseas the best of luck. Finally, a special

congratulations for Tom Cavett ’55 and Robert Baxter ’56 who graduate this semester—thank you for your

hard work and dedication to this fraternity over the years.

Happy Holidays,

Louis Laverone

Letter From Eta Chapter President

Eta Chapter Announces Scholarship Endowment

In November, Delta Phi Epsilon finalized arrangements with the Office of Alumni Relations to create a new scholarship endowment. The new fund grants a tuition award to second-semester Elliott School freshmen with GPAs of 3.6 or greater and who demonstrate financial need. Fundraising for the $100,000 endowment begins

January 2010, with support from The George Washington University Alumni Association, the Luther Rice Society, and Delta Phi Epsilon's national foundation.

Inquiries about the scholarship can be directed to dpe@gwu.edu.

Visit Eta Online!

For the most up to date information on events and news from Eta chapter visit:

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Notes from Brothers Abroad Greetings from the People’s

Republic of China! I am almost done with my study abroad experience in Shanghai, and what an experience it has been! From the soaring skyscrapers in Pudong to the awe-inspiring rice terraces of Guangxi, life in China has been diverse and rewarding. People often inappropriately use the cliché, “a land of contrasts” to describe China. China is more than just a land of contrasts.

Twenty years ago Pudong was nothing more than forgotten farm and swampland across the river from Shanghai. Since 1990, Pudong has mirrored China’s rapid economic growth, transforming itself into the financial heart of Mainland China. Newly constructed skyscrapers towered around me. Investors and businessmen of all kinds flock to Pudong to cash in on Shanghai’s economic boom. While New York remains the financial capital of the world, one glance at the people, streets and buildings of Pudong and it is clear that Shanghai intends to put up a stern challenge. Pudong represents China’s future as an economic giant. To me it represents

opportunity. Shanghai’s rapid growth has opened up many doors for foreigners to do business in China and the upcoming World Expo should only increase those opportunities.

If Shanghai represents China’s future, the Longsheng Rice Terraces are a stunning glimpse of China’s storied past. 3 weeks ago I travelled to Guangxi Province with some of my friends and we spend one day trekking through these rice terraces that have been used by the Yao ethnic group for hundreds of years. The terraces are unbelievable, but even more unbelievable is that they are farmed without modern

equipment, and have been for their entire existence. We spent the night there, living with one of the farmers in his house. Not only were we sharing the house with his family, but their livestock too. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience. China has a rich culture that varies from province to province. Despite the fact that I have been here for four months, I feel like I have only experiences the tiniest fraction of all that China has to offer.

-Abhinav Kaul Eta ‘58th

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Preparing For the Future:

DPE Drafts Strategic Plan

Hello brothers, for those that do not know me my name is John Sakakini (GW Class of 2009 and DPE Eta 56th Line) and I am currently living and working in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. After graduating from GW in May I was very fortunate to be offered a one-year Program Assistant position with an American funded development NGO in Jerusalem called ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid). Though I have been to the region many times through study abroad and visiting family the opportunity to live and work in a city my family has lived in for hundreds of years was an opportunity I could not pass up. In my position I have been lucky to assist in projects that help Palestinians from setting up new water systems, aiding in the feeding of 25,000 school children in Gaza, seeing the construction and renovation of badly needed schools and hospitals around the West Bank as well as the opportunity to create my own project in the arts.

As much as I enjoy my position and being spoiled constantly by family, this is a huge learning experience and I have seen the affects of the Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem first hand by being caught in cross fire and being detained at checkpoints due to my Palestinian heritage Working for an NGO in this part of the world has its many ups and downs as we have to follow American, Palestinian and Israeli laws depending on the project, especially in Gaza where the current political situation does not allow any American or European NGO to deal with the de-facto authorities.

With all the issues on a daily basis it is not surprising that Ramallah has a great nightlife. Palestinians know how to party and there are some great bars and clubs that Andrew Lind can back me up on, with amazing views. The best part is if you want a good cup of coffee to get rid of the morning hangover Ramallah has its own version of Starbucks, Stars & Bucks and some of course some best food in the world!

If any brother happens to find himself in my part of the world please feel free to get in touch with me, I’ll be happy to show you around and take you out for a pint of Palestinian beer. My email address is jsakakini@gmail.com

Notes from Brothers Abroad Life in the Occupied West Bank

In anticipation of the fifth anniversary of their

rechartering, the brothers of Eta Chapter have begun

drafting the 2010-2015 Strategic Development Plan. The initiative—

which began in September 2009 and is slated for final

approval in January 2010—covers most aspects of the fraternity, including membership recruitment

and retention, philanthropy, alumni

relations, and the eventual acquisition of a chapter house and offices. Once

adopted the plan will serve as a guiding

document for future members to pursue multi-

year projects.

Members:

Brothers Thomas Cavett (55th Line), Kevin Homiak, Matthew Kamisher-Koch (56th Line), and Thomas

Luley (58th Line)

led by Chapter President Louis Laverone (56th Line)

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Eta Brothers at the Fall Initiation Dinner

This year the dinner was held at Restaurant Hook in Georgetown

Delta Phi Epsilon was proud to co-sponsor "A

Conversation with Awista Ayub" with the GW

Social Enterprise Forum this December. Awista

Ayub talked about her inspiration for her recently

published book However Tall the Mountain . After

years of exile in the US, she journeyed back to

Afghanistan to found the Afghan Youth Sports

Exchange, and the first Afghan Women's soccer

league, which now supports more than 15 teams in

the capitol city of Kabul. Awista spoke powerfully

about her interactions with the girls in the program

and the parents of those girls, of the oppressive and

deadly Taliban rule, and of the new light that now shines in the heart of

all women in Afghanistan as they embrace their new freedoms following

the fall of the Taliban.

The event was extremely successful with an audience of more than 200

students, faculty, staff, media, and State Department personnel. Awista

gave a short speech and showed a clip from a documentary made about

her program, took questions from audience members, and then signed

books at the following reception.

This event was the last public event of the semester the fraternity hosted,

and brings to a close a productive semester of programming and speaker

events.

Co-Sponsorship Author Event

Spring 2009

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Eta Initiation 60th Line

Eta Chapter Officers

President: Louis Laverone

V.P. of Internal Affairs: Tom Auger

V.P. for External Affairs: Steve Hawkins

Chief of Protocol: Justin Snyder

Treasurer: Ricardo Muniz-Fall

Michael Watt-Spring

Secretary: Marcus Kelly

About The Clipper:

The Clipper was founded in December 1935. It is the official publication of Eta Chapter and is now edited by Bro. Kamisher-Koch ‘56 Questions? Comments? Contributions? Praise? Please e-mail us at Mattkk@gwmail.gwu.edu

Alumni news or related questions can be handled by our President at Laverone@gwmail.gwu.edu

Min Kyu Kim (Line Captain) - South Korea

Andrew Pazdon – New Hampshire

Galen Petruso - Nevada

Isaac Nam - South Korea

Matthew Smith - California

Michael Bloomfield - Egypt/Texas

Michael Waddell - Brazil

William Thompson - Georgia