Indiana gubernatorial candidate David McIntosh and his wife Ruthie invited members of Alpha Phi sorority into their home Monday night for a dinner and informal discussion in the vein of a "town hall" meeting.
Ruthie McIntosh, an Alpha Phi alumna at Cal-Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., was coordinator of former First Lady Barbara Bush's literacy foundation.
"I was rush chairman of Alpha Phi, so I'm used to throwing parties like this," said McIntosh.
Seventeen Alpha Phi members listened to the McIntoshes tell of their college lives.
"Our pledge class had 80 people, and there were 200 total in our house," Ruthie McIntosh said.
Those present were astounded by the Cal-Poly chapter's size. Alpha Phi members at Ball State number 80.
Ruthie McIntosh related the usual tales of all things "college" - friends, significant others and drinking - then the discussion turned to topics less typical of the college scene.
"I went to college wanting the raging sabbatical," Ruthie McIntosh said. "I had a blast, but kind of felt like the party scene was empty.
Ruthie McIntosh said her faith in God helped her get through some rocky periods.
"I found that the peace God gave me in my heart was a peace the jerky guys I dated in college couldn't give me," she said. "I felt God protected me from what I wanted to do."
The McIntoshes moved to Muncie in 1993 after marrying, and David McIntosh was elected to the U.S. House in 1994. He is now in the early stages of his second bid for the Indiana governorship.
"It's about getting out and starting the campaign, getting volunteers in each community and in touch with those loyal volunteers from the last time," David McIntosh said.
David McIntosh said his wife will coordinate volunteer efforts for the campaign.
The political environment can be tenacious and trying, but a lifeline exists, Ruthie McIntosh said.
"I'm defined by my faith, not by what the newspapers say about my husband 'being a smuck' or the like," she said. "David is not a political hack."
Alpha Phi members asked questions of the McIntoshes that delved into hazing activity within Cal-Poly sororities in the late 1980s, the McIntoshes' subsequent courtship in Washington, D.C., and about the public lives of politicians.
"This was a great outlet from campus life," Lori Jacquemin, a sophomore Alpha Phi member, said.
Other Alpha Phi members came away from the event with thoughts on faith and ties that bind.
"It's nice to know that there are inspirational Christians involved in the greek community and influential in society," freshman Kylie Rhodes said.
Freshman Katie Puls agreed.
"She (McIntosh) kept her faith and is successful and still involved," she said. "She epitomizes a sisterly bond for life, not just college."
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