On March 24th, brothers from the Florida Chapter volunteered their time in lending a hand to the only privately run elephant sanctuary within the United States. Although the weather was menacing, we had a great time while working hard to help the Two Tails Ranch in its mission of caring for elephants and educating the public.

On Wednesday, April 3^rd, the North Carolina Chapter participated in a professionalism workshop. Agricultural and Extension Education professor, Dr. Barry Croom was invited by the Leadership Committee to come speak at 7:30.  The purpose of the workshop was to help brothers learn about professional ways to communicate with each other, especially when in leadership positions or working in groups. Dr. Croom began the meeting with a fun team building activity followed by a discussion of communication habits and skill.  This was a great time for the workshop because brothers are considering what officer positions they may like to run for in the next few weeks.

The North Carolina Chapter loves to eat!  The social committee organized a group dinner at Sammy’s Grill at 6:15 on Wednesday April 3^rd. Twenty-four brothers came for delicious dinner.  We were able to relax and enjoy a break from studying before our regular meeting. There were so many of us eating that we were almost late for the meeting. It is great for brothers to have a chance to catch up during a busy semester.

Over the course of the semester,  some brothers have been interested in more daring activities while others are trying to overcome their fears.  One activity that a lot of members have been participating in over the semester is rock climbing, whether they are seasoned climbers or beginners.  The brothers have been bonding with the new member class - building new friendships while having a great time.  On April 1st, one of the new members went rock climbing for the very first time on her birthday, and discovered that she actually really enjoys rock climbing.  It was a great way to spend her birthday, especially since she was able to continue to bond with her big, other brothers and new members.

Brothers and potential new members of the Rutgers Cook Chapter assisted deans and Rutgers CORPs in working the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences open house on March 9, 2013.  Brothers assisted tour guides in their tours of the campus, answered potential and admitted students questions, and  helped deans and professors run their academic informational sessions.  There were over 1000 people in attendance and through the brothers' participation, everything ran smoothly.  Their volunteering was pivotal in making the open house a huge success.

On March 10th the Cook Chapter held our Big/Little Olympics. This event is specially designed to strengthen bonds between big and little pairs. We played partner games including dodgeball, ninja, tanks, and a pasta race where participants had to fill an entire cup with macaroni without using their hands. These team building games help bigs and littles get to know each other while having lots of fun. Teams also dress up according to a theme. This year's theme was animals, so we had several very creative team costumes including pigs, cats and bats!

Pictured below are several of our brothers at Rebounderz for a brotherhood event on March 14th to de-stress. Most of the activities every semester are centered around the pledges, so the brother like to get together once in a while and do something fun just for us, to reconnect to the members already in our brotherhood. Rebounderz is an indoor trampoline arena in the area where people can go to play on their numerous trampolines and in the foam pit. On Thursday nights Rebounderz holds college nights with discounted admission and activities for students.

In mid-March, Rutgers University hosted its 21st annual Special Friends Day, a day when Rutgers students have the opportunity to bond and hang out with special needs children during fun filled activities hosted by various student groups on campus. A DJ plays music the whole day, the pool is open for all to enjoy (with lifeguards present), and there are arts and crafts activities galore. This year's theme was "Ancient Civilizations" and so AZ brothers set up an arts and crafts table at which they helped children decorate paper pyramids to celebrate the rich Mayan Culture...

Every year, as a rush event, Cook Chapter hosts a mixer for potential new members to come out and learn more about the fraternity and meets the brothers. Over the past few semesters, we have started hosting a midsemester mixer as well, that gives the new members yet another opportunity to get to know the brothers in a slightly less formal and intimidating setting. This mixer is filled with fun games that bigs, littles, and the entire brotherhood get to enjoy...

Alumni Event has become a tradition at Alpha Zeta's Cook Chapter. We respect our alumni and are honored that they take time out of their lives to meet the new members and reconnect with brothers every semester over a delicious meal. This semester, Alumni Event was held at the East Grand Buffet on March 9, 2013 from 4pm-7pm. 30 or so alumni and about 50 brothers attended the event. We even saw a few older alumni come back that had lost touch with the chapter for several years. It was a wonderful evening filled with funny stories being told about the "good old days" and many of the new members left the event with a feeling of family and home...