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...

On Saturday, March 30, 2013, members, alumni, and friends of the members of the Florida Chapter arrived at SeaWorld in Orlando bright and early for a behind-the-scenes tour. We got to see quarantined manatees and turtles, many of which were being treated for cold stress, and a pilot whale named 300 that is being rehabbed after developing scoliosis. We also got to see some of the transport vehicles used in rescuing animals throughout Florida and the labs where SeaWorld monitors water quality and processes animal blood samples.

Last Thursday, on March 28th, 2013, members of the Florida Chapter attended a Fiesta-themed potluck dinner thrown by the pledges. Not only were the tacos and nachos delicious, but the pledges also got to meet their bigs! The pledges found their bigs by participating in an egg hunt around the northeast corner of campus. Everyone had lots of fun, and the pledges and members were excited to get to know each other!

The Puerto Rico Chapter is very active in helping and organizing activities. This time we were still guides some exchange students from countries such as Germany, Mexico and Dominican Republic. These students knew little of Puerto Rico and our duty was to visit places of interest and learn a little about the culture of Puerto Rico. Tourists visited some farms that propagate fruit trees and ornamental plants...