With fraternity and sorority recruitment in full swing this week, Greek organizations on campus are taking advantage of their houses to show prospective pledges part of what Greek life has to offer.
But two fraternities on campus — Delta Upsilon and Sigma Phi Epsilon — are using somewhat temporary housing situations to recruit new members this fall.
Delta Upsilon — the fraternity house that burned down in 2008 — is scheduled to have its house reconstructed by January, said LSA senior and president John Stevens.
The chapter and those involved in its reconstruction were delayed three months over the summer after issues arose during negotiations with an insurance company. The negotiations, Stevens said, centered on the installation of a $500,000 Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning system in the house.
Stevens said instead of settling the cost of installation and continuing the rebuilding process, the alumni in charge of the construction planning decided to focus first on cheaper aspects like electricity and plumbing.
Negotiations with the insurance company were settled within the past few weeks, Stevens said, and external construction has restarted along with the installation of the HVAC system.
Stevens added that the alumni are concerned not with building the house quickly but rather building one that will last with energy-efficient systems, like the HVAC system and electronic locks on the main doors.
“Our fraternity house is the oldest one on campus built for a fraternity, and we plan to keep that tradition going far into the 22nd century,” Stevens said.
The majority of the brothers that are planning on living in the house at the start of next year are currently living at 1315 Cambridge St., with a few other members residing in a house on White Street.
Stevens said the lack of a physical fraternity house has not hindered recruitment efforts, adding that the chapter is in fact having one of its most successful recruitments in recent memory.
“We’re making the best of what was dealt to us,” he said. “We got handed some lemons, and we’re making lemonade.”
Another fraternity without a designated fraternity house last year, Sig Ep, has relocated to a house at 704 Hill St., chapter president Rick Stepanovic wrote in an e-mail interview.
Stepanovic, who is an LSA junior, wrote that the chapter’s Alumni Volunteer Corporation found the new house, which used to be leased to several groups unaffiliated with the Greek community. The house is now leased to Sig Ep for two years with the option of renewal for up to 10 years.
The tentative plan, Stepanovic wrote, is to stay in the newfound location unless a more desirable property becomes available to them.
“Ironically, this is not the first time Sig Ep has been located at the intersection of State and Hill,” Stepanovic wrote in the e-mail. “For roughly 70 years, we owned a house located where the Ford School of Public Policy now stands.”
Stepanovic added that having a house this year is helping with recruitment, given the new house’s convenient location and “spacious” front lawn.
“However, as can be seen by our recruitment success last year,” Stepanovic wrote, “a fraternity is much more than a building.”