Escape Goat

10/14/2026

When I started pledging Pi Kappa Alpha at the University of Maryland in fall 1988, one of the things we had to buy was a small binder and paper to interview brothers.

The book was known as a Harvey T. Newell book, or Harvey T. for short. The name was in recognition of the National President of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, Harvey Thornton Newell Jr., who held the office when the University of Maryland chapter was founded in 1952.

The brother interviews during our pledging semester helped us learn names and personal details of brothers in the house.

When I started pledging Pi Kappa Alpha at the University of Maryland in fall 1988, one of the things we had to buy was a small binder and paper to interview brothers.

10/07/2026

I learned on a summer day in 1992 that boxed w**e and nitrous balloons can mess up a nice day at a reggae festival. 🍷🎈🎶

It was July 12, 1992, at the University of Maryland, and none of us had work that day because it was a Sunday. I was hanging out in my Knox Box apartment with my girlfriend and my buddy, Pat, and someone suggested going to a reggae festival.

09/30/2026

I was naked at least a half dozen times in public during college, and I managed to never get arrested, so that's good.

It was the first day or so after I moved into the Cumberland Hall dorm at the University of Maryland when I started hearing about guys from one of the nearby dorms, maybe Chestertown Hall, who would streak through the quad.

09/23/2026

Swamp Water was an epic party at PiKA back in the day, and if you didn't experience it, basically it was a fake swamp, live music, and craziness at a 4-way party.

Did you know that the band Honor Among Thieves, which played at the 1990 Swamp Water, later became SR-71, and they had a big song, "Right Now"?

One of the artifacts I have from my frat days is a T-shirt from Swamp Water in 1990. It was a party where we’d create a swamp behind the house that you had to go through to get in.

09/16/2026

I went to Lollapalooza at Lake Fairfax Park in Reston, VA, on August 14, 1992, and I was floored by the opportunity to see so many awesome performers in one place. Check out this lineup… Ice Cube, Jesus and Mary Chain, Lush, Ministry, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Soundgarden.

But that wasn’t all. In addition to lots of acts on the side stage, we were treated to an unannounced performance by Temple of the Dog! During the Pearl Jam set, Chris Cornell joined them for an absolutely kick-ass version of “Hunger Strike.”

The experience had my head spinning, and I wondered if we could do something similar, but on a much smaller scale, at the University of Maryland. Since the Lollapalooza name was so big at the time, and our fraternity went by PiKA (Pi Kappa Alpha), we went with the name PIKAPALOOZA.

I went to Lollapalooza at Lake Fairfax Park in Reston, VA, on August 14, 1992, and I was floored by the opportunity to see so many awesome performers in one place. Check out this lineup… Ice Cube, Jesus and Mary Chain, Lush, Ministry, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Soundgarden.

09/09/2026

College summers were fun, but sometimes they could be a little dangerous.

It was summer 1991, and the lease on my Knox Box apartment was up. I hadn’t renewed it because I was moving into the fraternity house for the next year. So, I crashed at the frat with a few other guys until Hell Week was set to start and we would settle into our rooms.

09/02/2026

You never know when some random moment is going to turn into a thing you talk about for the rest of your life. For Pat and me, it was when we watched the 1981 slasher flick, My Bloody Valentine.

08/26/2026

A long drive, a super cheap hotel, and some drunken misadventures for one last road trip to New Orleans before heading out into the real world after college.

I graduated from the University of Maryland in May 1993 with a BA in Communications. My job prospects were pretty limited, since I didn’t have a car and was living at my Dad’s house in the suburbs. I needed a job I could walk or bike to, and the first one that said yes was Comfort Suites in Laur...

08/19/2026

I still have my T-shirt from the University of Maryland Homecoming in 1988 and the memory of why there was a hole torn in it.

I was a freshman in fall 1988 at the University of Maryland at College Park, and I pledged Pi Kappa Alpha that semester.

08/13/2026

I only made it on one Spring Break in my 5+ years of college, but it was an epic week for sure.

I was in college for 10 semesters and a summer session, but I only managed to go on a Spring Break trip for my very last year.