by Gus Billing, BX

'The Lion Line is a loud and proud fixture within Psi composed of members that like milk. Active members are listed below:
● Gus Billing (ΒΧ)
● Matt Van de Mheen and Kylie Williams (ΒΨ)
● Brian Acevedo and Lauren Sanchez (ΒΩ)
● George Mooradian and Caitlyn Lo (ΓΑ)

Where did the line name come from?
Our line is named after a small plush lion named King Kerfuffle. This lion is passed down through the line, with small personal tokens being added by each member. King Kerfuffle wears a cape made by Sophia Inaba, holds a duct tape baton from Jade McVay, shows off a woven bruin bracelet from Sara Acosta, wears a crown from Gus Billing, and has a necklace from Brian Acevedo.
New to the line with the addition of a second side of the family is Baby Screamy. Baby Screamy is the counterpart to King Kerfuffle. Baby Screamy’s fierce demeanor helps our line remind ourselves of our lines chosen animal representation.

We Like Milk?
We Like Milk.

Gus Billing: ΒΧ, 4th year, Aerospace Engineering, Horn
Gus is the oldest active member of Lion Line. His big is Sara Acosta and his little is Matt Van de Mheen. He’s an aerospace engineering major. Gus enjoys the service aspect of Psi, as well as the brotherhood. He likes milk, and thinks cereal is a soup.

Matt Van de Mheen: ΒΨ, 3nd year, Electrical Engineering, Alto Sax
Matt is also referred to as “VDM”, although he prefers Matt. His big is Gus Billing and his little is Brian Acevedo. His twin is Kylie Williams. He is an Electrical Engineering major. Matt loves the alto section due to the sense of community he feels with them. He likes milk, and thinks cereal is a soup.

Kylie Williams: ΒΨ, 3nd year, Biochemistry, Tenor Sax
Kylie is the eldest of the new branch in Lion Line, and the proud first owner of Baby Screamy. Her big is Sara Acosta, her little is Lauren Sanchez. Her twin is Matt Van De Mheen. Kylie enjoys the people in the band and their vibrant energy! Kylie decided to combine her love of Biology and Chemistry for her major. She likes milk, and does NOT thinks cereal is a soup.
       
Brian Acevedo: ΒΩ, 3nd year, Physiological Science, BOOT
Brian is a wonderful part of Lion Line, and recently picked up a new little! His big is Matt Van de Mheen, and his little is George Mooradian. His twin is Lauren Sanchez. He is a physiological science major and is pre-optometry. He enjoys the vibe and friendly disposition of the band and Psi.Brian likes milk and thinks cereal is a soup.

Lauren Sanchez: ΒΩ, 3rd year, Physiological Science, Flute
Lauren is a worthy owner of Baby Screamy, and recently passed Baby Screamy to her new little! Her big is Kylie Williams, and her little is Caitlyn Lo. Her twin is Brian Acevedo. Lauren is studying physiological sciences in order to go into medicine and healthcare. Lauren enjoys spending time with all the amazing people she has met in band and Psi. Lauren likes milk and thinks cereal is a soup.

Caitlyn Lo: ΓΑ, 1st year, Biology, Tuba
Caitlyn is the current owner of Baby Screamy. Her big is Lauren Sanchez. Her twin is George Mooradian. Caitlyn is studying Biology. Caitlyn enjoyed the candidate process and getting to meet people from multiple sections of the band. Caitlyn likes milk and thinks cereal is a soup.
 
George Mooradian: ΓΑ, 1st year, Political Science, Horn
George is the current owner of King Kerfuffle. His big is Brian Acevedo. His twin is Caitlyn Lo. George is studying Political Science. He has enjoyed the supportive community and interesting people that he has met. George likes milk and thinks cereal is a soup.
I hope you enjoyed the introduction to the new Lion Line. If you have any questions at all please direct them to Matt Van De Mheen. He will be writing this article next year in order to keep you all updated on the going ons of chapter's #1 fans of milk, as writing this article has become a line tradition. If he does not write the article next year, please send him a sternly worded email.

by Jamie Weisel, ΓA

On the afternoon of Saturday, January 29th, the active brothers and the candidates of Psi gathered for the first degree ceremony. With the first four weeks of winter quarter being held online at UCLA, which served as another COVID-19 precaution with the spread of the omicron variant, the hybrid format of this degree made it one for the books. Some candidates and actives were taking their online classes from home, so they were not able to join first-degree in person. Even though this was the case, the executive officers made sure to make accommodations by hosting a zoom meeting at the same time. Multiple laptops were brought to first degree, and they were placed around the steps and patio outside of Schoenberg’s entrance. Luckily, the weather was clear, and brothers who were online could still see the ceremony take place, and could experience it with everyone.
One of the impacts of this degree was the acknowledgement of the new candidates of the Psi chapter as this marked the beginning of their candidate process. Furthermore, bigs and littles were revealed towards the end of first degree. Everyone was very excited to meet their new family members, including those online who were added to their respective breakout room on zoom. This allowed them to have each person on a device, so they could be brought around and included in their family getting to know each other. People proceeded to take pictures in (as in climbing in) the tree outside of Schoenberg, to symbolize a family tree being expanded by the addition of the new Gamma Alpha class as littles.
​From their candidate presentations, a few candidates pointed out a couple things they realized by attending first degree:
1. How to pronounce Kappa...Kappa...Psi...
2. “Business Casual” means pretty formal
3. The Fraternity Hymn contains a repeat and a visual on “bRotHeRrrr”
​4. Reserve time for family hang out after degree
5. Don’t show up hungry to a degree.
The day was quite busy as most families hung out for a couple hours after the ceremony, followed by National’s zoom meeting for first degree that everyone had to log on for. Additionally, there was a men’s basketball game gig that same night (and yes - we chopped the trees)! Overall, hybrid first degree was a memorable event of winter quarter and was an exciting start of the candidate journey for Gamma Alpha class of the Psi chapter of KKPsi.