Campus Unrest; Fraternities Struggle As the late sixties ended college campuses were changing. "Traditional" college activities became  unpopular. Protest and dissent were the order of the day, as students demonstrated against the Vietnam war and "the Establishment". Greek organizations suffered a decline in membership during the late sixties & early 70's. However Gamma Omicron weathered the storm and membership started to rise again with large pledge classes in Fall 1971,1972 & 1973. Student Leadership (But Still Time To Party!) In 1972, Phi Kappa Tau was a dominant force in student government at Cal State Fullerton. Leading the way was ASB Co-President Larry Dickman.  Others who held influential offices included Randy Sandstrom, Paul Sherwood, Dennis Bethune & Jim Snowden. Membership continued to grow with large pledge classes in Fall 1974 & 1975. By 1976, Gamma Omicron had over fifty active members...the most in ten years.  Despite a never ending cash shortage (this was BEFORE all the mortgages & debts to National were paid off) the GO Chapter set the  pace for social activities.  Perrenial favorites such as sorority exchanges, theme parties (remember "Journey to the Center of the Earth?), mid week Bar Night and New Years Eve continued to be popular. The Halloween Party featuring "THE AMAZING MAZE" was the highlight of the year. Each year the brothers would go all out for the most outrageous costume. A couple of standouts: Eric Winter as "Frank N. Furter" of the Rocky Horror Show and Larry Williams as a 6'7" near naked Jolly Green Giant. And, of course the dozens of lovely sorority girls who cameas french maids, cats and Playboy bunnies. The other standout was of course THE AMAZING MAZE. The  MAZE was contructed of cardboard boxes in an intricate arrangement of pathways.  For several years Mike Baas (Fall 72) made construction of the Maze his personal engineering project. How Mike got all those mattresses in there for strategic "rest stops" we'll never know.  Ah yes, the Halloween Party at the Barn! Other events got their start or were renewed after an absence of several years in the middle 70's included Red & Gold Week & The Sweetheart Ball.  Thanks to John Belushi in the then-popular film "Animal House", Toga Parties became more popular than ever.  Another event that occured for several years was the "Tri Tau", a Founders Day celebration that combined the efforts of the chapters at USC and Long Beach State as well as Gamma Omicron. A monthly newspaper was issued for several years starting in 1975. Edited by Jim Snowden (Fall 72) and  featuring contributions by Tim O'Connell (Fall 72), Kevin Calcagnie (Fall 73), Craig Fulmer(Fall 73) and Don Feiock (Fall 74), " Barnstorm" reported the goings on at CSUF and in the Greek system in a lighthearted and sometimes irreverent way. The Barnstorm looked remarkably like today's GO Gazette. "ROAD TRIP!!"...Getting Away With the Brothers in the 70´s The mid-late 70's included lots of Road Trips. Groups of brothers would rent condo's in either Tahoe or Mammoth, get a bunch of sorority ladies and friends and spend a week skiing.  Sometimes "bargain" trips to Mammoth involved driving overnight, sleeping in cars and skiing all day.  It seemed like a good idea at the time. The annual River Trip started in summer 1975 and continued through 1978. The first trip was 11 brothers (see photo taken by Ross Johnson, below). Each year the trip grew as the legends of three days of sun, relaxation, a few beers and no worries spread. In the final year, it had grown to around 90 people including Phi Taus, Sigma Kappas, Delta Zetas and Delta Chis.  The plan was pretty simple.   The trip took place the first weekend in June, just after Memorial Day.  By this time finals were over, people were beginning to feel human, but not quite ready to seriously engage the brain in any real actitivy. With all the studying for finals our summer tans were not in good shape (these were the days that conservative suntanning was an SPF 4 .....if you'd ever heard of SPF) and people like Ken Slaughter slathered on olive oil to sizzle to a golden brown. Thus, everyone was ready to do a bit of relaxing and launch into summer. On Friday afternoon or evening,  the group would drive to a launch site at McIntryre Park, about 25 miles south of Blythe.   As the groups grew larger, they traveled via chartered bus. You can imagine how quiet and peaceful that was. Friday night was a sleeping on the lawn and the last fond look at running water and hot showers for three days.

Saturday morning they loaded into 17' canoes.  These had to hold 3 brothers and ALL the personal gear, camping gear and  food for the trip.  In the early years that consisted of a bathing suit, a few t-shirts, canned chili, Hostess Twinkies and other gourmet items which could be purchased at the Smart & Final outlet store. The first day was about 30 miles and not terribly scenic, but it got everyone into the mood and rhythm of the trip. Camp on Saturday night was at Walter's Camp...... pretty darned close to the end of the earth. Dusty campsite, a few dusty trailers, dusty people and a single toilet in a very large room – who said brotherhood wasn't about sharing everything? At least they had a store so the gang could get more ice and food if required. Sunday the river became much more scenic as it wandered through the Chocolate Mountains and Imperial Wildlife Preserve.  Absent levee's the river could be up to ½ mile wide and at times just a few inches deep. Sandbars emerging in the middle of the river were always cause for a break, game of frisbee or football and a nutritious snack like a beer and doritos. Temperatures were almost always in the low 100's so the agenda was lazing in the canoe or swimming or floating on inflatable mattresses or lazing in the canoe. Paddling was only done in extreme circumstances. Sunday night camp was at a place called Government Ruins which was an abandoned mine site from the Depression work project programs.  There was nothing there but some foundations of old buildings. No water, power, lights, stores, nothing.  The stars were unbelievable, the desert breezes warm and everybody really got into the commune with nature thing…this was, after all, the 70's and not that long after the summer of love and Woodstock. Monday the trip finished off through the Chocolate Mountains and ended at Imperial Dam, another exotic resort which has never  really caught on with the jet-set crowd despite having abundant supplies of rotting trailers, and blue rinse grannies with a cigarette in one hand and tall cocktail in the other – at 10:30 in the morning.  Having evolved into desert water rats over the last few days – and realizing they would have to return to civilization in just a few hours this was often the loosest day.  There was a great deal of singing favorite fraternity ditties as inhibitions and bathing suits disappeared under the hot desert sun. By Monday night they were back in Fullerton, having blown all thoughts of finals and education from their young brains, with a good start on a summer tan and ready for the joys of summer fun. Widening State College; March Madness & Disco As Decade of ‘70s Comes to End The Chapter House took on a new look with the widening of State College Blvd. Much of the property in the front yard was lost. Gone was  the parking lot in front of the house and the front porch and front door.  The porch was enclosed and made a part of the front room. Entry to the house was shifted to the sliding door to the front room and the back doors  to the hall and lounge. By the late 70's the disco era was in full swing and the Go Chapter remained one of the preeminent fraternities on campus. Strong  showings in intramural sports were routine especially against arch rival Delta Chi(and alum Kevin Costner). In the spring of 1978, the GO Chapter was swept up along with the rest of the Cal State Fullerton student body in "March Madness". The Cal State Fullerton basketball team (Cal State WHO?) went on a Cinderella run through the NCAA Basketball tournament. Many of the brothers accompanied the team to the regional finals in Albuquerque, NM to cheer on the Titans. As the 70's ended, the Gamma Omicron chapter could look back on a decade of continued growth and success. Phi Kappa Tau was poised to  face the challeges of the 1980's!g This section written by Tim O'Connell Fall 72, with "Road Trip" section by Don (Feiock) Reddin Fall 74. Thanks also  to Kevin Calcagnie (Fall 73) for providing Barnstorm issues from the 70´s. [Home] [What's New] [Guestbook] [Join Us!] [Our Alumni] [Social Life] [Philanthropy] [Our Members] [GO Gazette] [Links] [Contact Us] [Members  Only Site]