After a year of inconvenience due to construction outside their front doors (at times making Sigma Phi Epsilon and Alpha Epsilon Pi hard-had areas) the two fraternities will move into new townhouses in the Small Group Housing complex.
Lauren Peterson/Student Life Staff
Washington University’s Small Group Housing (SGH), set for completion in August, will include the new location for Alpha Epsilon Pi, Beta Theta Pi, Sigma Phi Epsilon, and Tau Kappa Epsilon.
The new townhouses will have several amenities, including larger rooms than the fraternity members currently inhabit, both single and double rooms at the fraternities’ request, elevators, and spacious living rooms and chapter rooms.
In its plans for the relocation of the fraternities, the administration gave Sigma Phi Epsilon and Alpha Epsilon Pi a backhanded choice in the matter, according to virtually all parties involved in the decision. It informed both fraternities that if they chose to remain in their current location, their houses might eventually be torn down for the construction of a parking garage.
While both fraternities initially took the news with a bit of shock, recently the presidents of all four fraternities, as well as many individual members, have voiced their enthusiasm about the move.
“It will give more guys a chance to be out in the WU social community,” said Jeremy Zangara, a sophomore in Sig Ep. “It’s sad to see the old house go but it gives us a chance to start new traditions.”
Each fraternity will individualize itself from its Greek neighbors by choosing various features such as furniture, ways to arrange chapter rooms, and paneling.
While Sig Ep and AEPi will be moving in August, their current houses will remain standing to allow for extra housing in case of a large WU enrollment. Beta’s current residence will return to Sigma Alpha Mu, which had occupied the house two years ago, while a clause in the agreement to bring TKE onto campus stipulates that they must sell their current location on University Drive. The school has shown an interest in buying the property for resale.
After tearing down a building housing Beta Theta Pi approximately seven years ago, WU has been under a contractual obligation to rebuild a house for the fraternity. Beta was therefore the first of the four to choose a house for next year, and chose the largest of the four townhouses, with thirty-eight rooms. The other three fraternities agreed among themselves about housing. Sig Ep’s house will have thirty rooms and AEPi and TKE will have twenty-six and twenty-four rooms, respectively.
Sig Ep, the only house of the four which is filled to capacity, will lose 18 rooms because of the smaller size of the new townhouses. Sig Ep President Michael Schwartz, however, views the decrease in the number of rooms as a means of encouraging members to view “living in the house as a privilege,” rather than a given. Additionally, it may make it necessary for younger members to live on the South Forty, and that in turn may give the fraternity a presence amongst freshmen and some extra help during Rush.
Karen Horstman, director for greek life and Jill Carnaghi, assistant vice chancellor for students and director of campus life assure that there are no plans to remove fraternities from the campus. Their comments were in response to the rumors that the separation of some houses from the Fraternity Row is a step toward dismantling Greek life at WU.
“It puts the members that are moving at a disadvantage in terms of experiencing genuine Greek life,” said Konrad Salabar of SAE. “There is a camaraderie that Greeks share with each other, and moving them apart doesn’t allow the members to get the full fraternity experience.”
However, Horstman and Carnaghi feel that the relocation is a move toward integrating Greek life with school activities. Horstman said that the four fraternities will become “part of a residential community, which creates more interaction between Greeks and non-Greeks, and other different student organizations.”
She said that it would “also yield the opportunity for collaboration, conversation and appropriate conduct with others, which is a positive for everyone involved.” Carnaghi added that the investment in human resources within SGH raises “the standards and goes back to fraternal ideals of why men and women moved into Greek chapters.”
Matt Fine, house rush chair of AEPi, agrees.
“I think the really interesting thing is that it equalizes things,” said Fine. “There will be a lot of action, and it’s going to be really positive for all the new houses on that side of the community.”
The introduction of Greek life into SGH will essentially create a second community of fraternities beside the Fraternity Row. Both areas, however, will be operated and maintained on the same system. Because the four SGH fraternities will encounter different residential situation than the rest, some students are concerned that this may affect the policy regarding parties for these houses.
While no official discussion has taken place on the matter, Horstman maintained that any change in policy would have to be implemented by all fraternities. This may mean, however, that any restrictions imposed upon the SGH fraternities would also have to be incorporated by the rest of the Fraternity Row.