Delta Chi officially signed the lease to Alpha Tau Omega’s former house on Third St. during Winter Break, Delta Chi president Adam Weber said. The fraternity plans on moving into their new house in August 2016.
After the brothers of ATO were evicted from the property by ATO National Headquarters last October, a total of 13 fraternities and sororities competed for ownership of the vacated house, Weber said.
“When ATO was kicked off in October, we went right after it from the get-go,” he said.
ATO Alumni Board of Trustees president Kent Miller described the choosing of a rightful owner of the house as “a detailed and multi-leveled process.”
“It requires due diligence on the Board of Trustees’ part to determine the social and physical responsibilities or behavioral reputation of the interested party,” Miller said.
Deciding who the property will go to is about more than just the interested party’s ability to pay the lease. The selection process also involves evaluation their standing with the national headquarters, their financial well-being and their overall standing in the eyes of the university.
Of the 13 interested fraternities and sororities, the Board of Trustees chose Delta Chi. The lease — which covers six to eight years of residence — will begin in August. Delta Chi will move in Aug. 18, Weber said.
“We’re really excited to stay on campus for a long-term situation,” Weber said.
Delta Chi previously lived in the former ATO house during the 2010-2011 school year. Weber said Delta Chi is currently living in a house that has a shared lease with Phi Sigma Kappa, whose members are currently living in a house owned by Acacia. He said after the shared lease ends in May, Phi Sigma Kappa will be moving from the Acacia house to the Delta Chi house.
Miller said he considered the adoption of the old ATO house by Delta Chi “a unique opportunity,” despite it now belonging to a fraternity other than the one he has been president of since 1999.
“As trustees, we have a certain judiciary responsibility that the property remains available and that we take care of it as trustees,” he said.
Weber said he has no concerns about moving into the house, despite its recent history. Regardless of the widespread controversy of the ATO scandal last fall, Weber said he considers ATO separate from and unaffiliated with Delta Chi.
However, he said he is excited about the upcoming move-in and showing off the house to the other members of Delta Chi. He said he is planning on trying to get a brotherhood tour — which is a tour that allows brothers to see the house — as well as some rush tours for the other members of Delta Chi sometime in early February.
“When you have a house this nice, it will definitely attract a lot of high-quality people to your house,” he said.
