Delta Chi to lease Alpha Tau Omega house for 2010-11 academic year

President of the Alpha Tau Omega Alumni Board Kent Miller and other sources have confirmed IU’s chapter of ATO will lease their house to IU’s chapter of Delta Chi for the 2010-11 academic year.

“We don’t have the capacity to fill the house, so we can’t keep it,” said junior and ATO president Ian Bell. “But being in a fraternity isn’t about living in the house, it’s about the brotherhood.”

Despite Bell’s positive statements, many brothers do not echo the same sentiments.

“More than anything, it’s extremely disappointing,” junior and ATO member George Galanopoulos said. “ATO has a long history in this house. Right now we’re trying to rebuild around brother values rather than focusing on the social aspects.”

Bell said 70 brothers were needed to keep the house, which is located on East Third Street, but ATO currently has only 40. Bell said the lease is for only one year, and the fraternity hopes to regain the house for the 2011-12 academic year.

Ryan Stahl, junior and president of Delta Chi, said negotiations between the two fraternities started in March.

“We were in talks over spring break,” he said. “As far as ATO, hopefully they can bounce back from the situation they’re in.”

Secretary of ATO’s alumni corporation Michael Pipher said the agreement was, in many respects, a win-win situation for both parties.

“This agreement is going to mean about a half-dozen employees at ATO will still have jobs next fall and won’t be facing the unemployment line,” Pipher said. “Delta Chi, a Greek house with a very deep and rich history at IU, will be able to operate out of a beautiful home, and we all hope they will leverage this opportunity to regrow their chapter.”

— IDS reporter Danielle Paquette contributed to this story.