Dear Old Syracuse

Iota, Syracuse University

I was very excited to visit Syracuse, even though they are basketball rivals with UConn. Funny enough, if I hadn't gone to UConn, I would have ended up at Syracuse since it was my second choice. I hadn't visited campus since I was in high school so I was really looking forward to returning.

I got there on Sunday, at the end of homecoming weekend. The women warned me that tons of AEPhi alumnae had been knocking on the door all weekend asking to tour the house. But it wasn't until around 9 o'clock that night that I saw if for myself. I was hanging out in the front room with a group of sisters that were watching the Giants game, when a woman and her family came to the door wanting to see the house. The woman was an AEPhi alumna that graduated from Syracuse in 1989. With her was her ZBT husband (who she met while they were undergrads at Syracuse) and two sons, one of which was looking at colleges. They were in town for the high school visiting day happening on Monday and they came in to meet us and see the house. They told us all sorts of stories from when they were at Syracuse, including about their ex's and how they started dating. The family must have spent at least an hour at the house and we all thoroughly enjoyed hearing their old stories.

This week Syracuse AEPhi was holding their Pink Week for Sharsheret and breast cancer awareness. On Monday they held a jewelry sale at the Schine Student Center. Jewelerry is company started by an AEPhi Syracuse 2014 grad. She has a website (jewelerry.com) where she sells lots of items and she has partnered with quite a few AEPhi chapters to do fundraisers and online flash sales. She runs the business from her home and the event and her company are so successful! It was a great fundraiser and she makes such fun jewelry!

Iota Chapter is also holding an Instagram fundraiser all week. Hashtag #SUAEPhiGoesPink and they will donate $1 to Sharsheret per photo!

During my visit, Syracuse had extremely unseasonably beautiful weather. Students are sitting out in the quad in the picture below, taken when it was 65 degrees out. And it was the weirdest thing when it got up to 82 the next day. It was so bizarre for upstate New York in October and I found myself wishing I had packed shorts in my suitcase.

I had heard that the Syracuse chapter house had a great chef and I was not disappointed at all! Mary has been the chef at Iota Chapter for over 10 years and she definitely runs the house. There were so many options for each meal, and always lots of leftovers in the fridge. Mary even made her famous dirt cups during my visit and they were so great!

After a great visit with Syracuse, this evening I'm heading up to Oswego for my last stop on my upstate NY trip!


Dear Old Syracuse from the 1938 musical The Boys From Syracuse