The MU Chapter Dining Experience
After much deliberation, the brotherhood has opted to partner with Gill’s Grilling as our corporate meal provider for the 2024-2025 academic year. Some brotherhood favorites include grilled chicken Caesar wraps, smoked ribs, taco Tuesdays, custom pasta bars, and pizza and wing nights. Our grab-and-go station is always stocked with fresh salads, fruit cups, yogurt, and a variety of snacks. The Gill’s Grilling app allows brothers to customize meals and reserve late plates, providing a highly personalized experience. The app also encourages brothers to note any dietary restrictions, ensuring alternative options are available. Every semester, the brotherhood will have at least one special event catered by Gill’s Grilling; this usually takes the form of an outdoor meat smoker on our outdoor patio. For the Super Bowl, Gill’s Grilling will set out a customized wing and pizza bar, which is a favorite among brothers. We’re already impressed with the level of communication and adaptability presented by the Gill’s Grilling staff and have heard great things about the service from numerous Greek life organizations on campus, so we’re looking forward to a long partnership with this new service.
Off of the dining hall is the Learning Commons, a study space and videoconferencing center for the brothers’ convenience. The Learning Commons is equipped with three televisions and web cameras that are often used for group conferencing and to host our Sigma Pi speaker series, where alumni and industry figures talk to current undergrads about their career paths. The Commons is a great spot for studying while on the go or when a brother needs more space or media than they might have individually to complete work. The fact that it’s adjacent to the dining hall also makes it convenient and a place where brothers often go to hang out with one another and share a meal while they get work done.
Mu Chapter employs a corporate meal provider to cook the meals for the brotherhood, to supply the food and drinks available in the grab-and-go, and to clean the dining room, grab-and-go, and kitchen each day they work. The corporate meal provider is required to maintain the highest hygiene standards and to use high-quality ingredients in all the meals they prepare.
The parameters of the Sigma Pi dining plan are determined by the brotherhood. This includes items such as the number of days per week that the corporate meal provider provides meals, how many meals per day are provided by the corporate meal provider, fine tuning of the menu, and the items available in the grab-and-go. The Mu Chapter steward works closely with the corporate meal provider, based on the input provided by the brotherhood, to assure the meals and snacks provided meet or exceed the brothers expectations.
The Sigma Pi meal plan provides brothers with 24/7 access to snacks and drinks in addition to the scheduled freshly made meals the corporate meal provider prepares.
The cost of the meal plan is comparable to a similar plan offered by Cornell.
Payment for the meal plan must be made as specified below:
- Fall-semester invoices, including the meal plan fee, will be sent at the beginning of July and due at the beginning of August.
- Spring-semester invoices, including the meal plan fee, will be sent at the beginning of December and are due at the beginning of January.
The corporate meal provider can make allowances for allergies or other medical conditions that require specific dietary changes. The corporate meal provider has an app that allows each brother to communicate directly with them regarding this issue or others. These include feedback regarding specific dishes or to hold a meal because they will miss the designated mealtime.
Once the brotherhood has determined the parameters of the meal plan, individual brothers have to accept the meal plan as offered.
All newly initiated brothers are required to enroll in the meal plan upon completion of their initiation and to complete the payment process at that time.
All brothers must enroll in the meal plan unless they have obtained the consent of the e-board to opt out.
A brother wishing to opt out of the meal plan for the fall semester must gain the e-board’s approval prior to the treasurer finalizing the fall semester’s budget. This usually occurs before the end of the previous semester. To opt out of the meal plan for the spring semester, a brother must obtain the consent of the e-board at least three weeks prior to the start of the spring semester.
For several reasons, including the safety of the brotherhood, all the cooking and food preparation equipment in the main kitchen is not to be used by the brothers at any time. Any brother who uses any of the main-kitchen cooking or food-preparation equipment will be subject to disciplinary procedures. Only the steward, the sage, and the house manager, in very limited circumstances, are exempt from this rule.
The grab-and-go facility was created for and is available to any brother 24/7 for the preparation and consumption of the food items available therein.
Each brother is responsible for cleaning up after themselves when using the grab-and-go or eating a prepared meal. After the corporate meal provider’s employees have completed their workday, it is the responsibility of each brother using the grab-and-go and the brotherhood as a whole to maintain the cleanliness of the grab-and-go, dining room, and all other areas where they consume food. To this end, the sink in the grab-and-go, the dishwasher, and the sinks adjacent to the dishwasher are available for the brothers to use 24/7.
No kitchen would be complete without the hard work of the people who cook the meals. Sigma Pi owes a great credit to our lineage of chefs for their service to the house. To the many who have kept us fed for over 100 years, we thank you.
Patrick Spirawk, Chef: Patrick was a great cook and a jack of all trades. His talents go beyond his famous “Champagne Chicken” to carpentry, electrical work, and more. He always knows someone who can furnish any service the fraternity needs!
Adolphus Cunningham Hailstork “Dolly”, Cook: Nearly 100 brothers, spouses, house sweethearts, and friends, spanning more than 50 years of the Sigma Pi Mu Chapter’s history, returned to Ithaca on a bright and beautiful May 2010 weekend to bid farewell to Adolphus C. Hailstork. For 32 years, Dolly served as the fraternity cook, but more importantly as the glue that linked brothers to the house, to each other, and to the brothers that came before and after them. The Doll passed away peacefully in Ithaca on April 13, 2010, at the age of 94. He was initiated posthumously in 2011 and now is officially not just our cook and friend but our brother.
Mr. and Mrs. Ripke, Houseman and Cook: When Fred Willis moved to Philadelphia, one brother suggested we try to find a German or Swedish couple on foreign extradition who were relatively new to this country. It was that which led them to the Ripkes, who soon made Ithaca and Sigma Pi their home. A section of the house was converted into an attractive apartment for the couple, who provided a home atmosphere and excellent meals.
Fred Willis, Cook: Fred reigned over the Mu kitchen from 1946 until 1955, preparing three meals a day. Any brother could always get a date if it included a meal at Sigma Pi cooked by Freddy.
Mu Chapter has been privileged with a great lineage of stewards throughout our history, and we owe all of these brothers our gratitude. This list, as you will see, is incomplete. Please help us reassemble our history by letting us know who the steward was during your time at the chapter house! To do so, email alumnirecords@sigmapicornell.org.
2023: Lucas MacCullum
2022: Jack Mohul / Jose Osario
2021: Aaron Angeles
2020: Christian Lippey
2019: Drew Mangan
2018: Jonah Hutchinson
2017: Zac Goldman
2016: Patrick Wang / Ben Capasso
2015: Ben Capasso / Steven Siegel
2014: Michael Adelstein / Bryson Graves
2013: David Baker / Matt Davis
2012: Nick Wint
2011:
2010:
2009: Brody Ehrlich
2008: Brian Lederman
2007:
2006: Jeremy Phillips
2005:
2004:
2003:
2002:
2001:
2000:
1999:
1998:
1997:
1996:
1995:
1994: Keith Weingardt
1993: Wally Weinstein
1992: Andrew Dwyer
1991: Pat Young
1990: Steve Solomon
1989: Bill Friedman
1988: Lloyd Jarkow / Bruce Kornfeld
1987: Lloyd Robinson / Bruce Kornfeld
1986: Lloyd Robinson
1985: Rich Schaefer / Brendan Murphy
1984: Tom Barbaro / Pat Campbell
1983: Bill Fisher
1982: Jesse Hammerman
1981: Tim Hawes
1980: Brian Finneran
1979: Larry Kantor
1978: Larry Whitcomb
1977: Mike Boza
1976: Stephen Mongeau
1975: David Williamson
1974: Howie Striegold
1973: Howie Striegold / Fred Parker
1972: Peter Muth
1971:
1970:
FAQs
Can I drop out of the meal plan at any point during the year?
No. A brother may not drop out during the school year, because the steward and treasurer budget for the entire academic year and a contract for that year is signed with the corporate meal provider.
What if any a la carte options are available from the meal plan?
A la cart options do not exist on the meal plan.
Who is responsible for meal set up and post meal clean up?
Meal setup is done by the corporate meal provider.
Each brother is responsible for cleaning up after themselves when eating a prepared meal or using the grab-and-go. The corporate meal provider’s employees are responsible for the general cleaning of the areas on the dining room level designated for food consumption every day they work. Additional cleaning after the corporate meal provider’s employees have completed their workday is the responsibility of each brother using the facilities and the brotherhood as a whole.
