Every semester, the Cornell Chapter hosts "Ag Day” on the Ag Quad to raise awareness about agriculture on Cornell’s campus. This semester was the largest event yet and included food from local farms, animals, tractors, and clubs/departments from the Ag School. Clubs and Departments who attended included Collegiate FFA, the Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Cornell Vegetable Program, Cargill, and Hortus Forum (the plant science club), among others...

On April 12th, twenty of our brothers participated in Sigma Alpha sorority's annual Swing-a-Thon.  This event took place all day on the brickyard.  The participants payed $10 to swing for ten minutes.  The money that was raised by many of the organizations at NCSU and students went to NC Farm Bureau's Ag in the classroom.  The money raised is used to give mini-grants to K-8th grade teachers to incorporate agriculture into their curriculum.  Overall, the event was a big success and a great opportunity for the students to support agriculture and the future of our society.

On April 8th, North Carolina State University hosted their annual Relay For Life on Lee Field.  18 of our brothers went out and supported Cancer research in hopes to raise money.  As an on-site fundraiser we had Cornhole boards put out so people could pay to play.  The event did not last too long into the night like it was supposed to because of bad weather.  By 11 o'clock we had to take down everything and leave.  Everyone that participated in this event had a blast even when it started to rain.

Initiation is a tradition of Alpha Zeta chapters around the country. Each semester each chapter initiates their pledge class. This semester the UF chapter of AZ initiated 21 new members! With pledges, their sponsors, officers, and members, there was around 50 people in attendance! The banquet was one of our best! It was held outdoors at the Haile Plantation Gold and Country Club and planned by our pledge master, Sara Molloy. The singing fraternity of Phi Mu Alpha came and serenaded the graduating girls that were in attendance. Our student advisor, Mark Marcojos, was also recognized for his 10 year service to the UF chapter of AZ.

This is the second semester the UF chapter of AZ has participated in a paintball social. It was such a big success in the fall we had to do it again in the spring! The social started at 10 a.m., and the $20 covered gear, gun, and 20 pellets. This event was the perfect time to let off some steam and momentarily forget about the stress of oncoming finals! Thanks to our social chair, Dalal Hares, for planning a successful event that benefited the five in attendance by having fun and strengthening friendships!

The Cornell Chapter is very involved in intramural sports, particularly volleyball. We participate in both the Fraternity League and this week, our team made it to the second round of play-offs! (Not bad for being co-ed...) We have also participated in 2 volleyball tournaments for charity hosted by other fraternities. This semester we are also participating in intramural soccer. GO AZ!

One event our chapter really enjoys hosting is a faculty dinner every spring. Each member invites 1-2 faculty on campus from all disciplines to come enjoy a formal dinner with us for the evening. This year we had around 30 faculty attend dinner at our house, in addition to almost all members, one of the highest numbers ever! This dinner gives us the opportunity to tell faculty about who we are and what we do, as well as chat with our professors outside of class. During dessert, members from our chapter speak about things they have done over the past year. This year, we had a member discuss his involvement with the student run organic farm, and another member talk about her archeological dig in Mongolia.

As anyone in agriculture knows, it is hard work. One of the actives in our chapter owns a greenhouse, and periodically throughout the semester, actives have been travelling an hour to her house to assist her family in getting the greenhouse ready for the current growing season. The greenhouse suffered some damage after a hard winter, so they can use all the help AZ can offer! Members also visited the greenhouses last fall to help clean up after the season was finished. Service to fellow brothers and sisters is service of the best kind!

One event that all members look forward to every semester is our formal. Held at the end of each semester, formal is a way for members to look back on the semester, enjoy each other's company over good food, and most importantly, honor our seniors. This semester, our formal was held at a historic inn in Aurora, NY on the shore of Cayuga Lake. Though the weather was cold and rainy, everyone had a blast! This year we have 15 seniors graduating. Each was presented with a mug and actives reminisced on their time in Alpha Zeta. They will all be missed!

A couple weeks ago, 11 new members were initiated into the Cornell Chapter, The weekend which consists of bonding activities, community service, and teaching of chapter traditions like songs, attracts alumni and is a weekend everyone looks forward to. The weekend concludes a 9 week long new member education process where new members participate in weekly events to learn Cornell, Alpha Zeta, and Chapter history and traditions. This initiation was unique for us because chapter initiation included a National Initiation (separate because we are a social fraternity also) on Saturday after where 3 Associate members were initiated in addition to new members.