After surviving 20 years in a deteriorating house, suspension and more than $12,000 in debt, the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity has bounced back after nearly closing its doors last spring.
It’s not the first time a fraternity’s existence has been threatened by financial woes at the University. In 2005 alone, two fraternities, Sigma Nu and Kappa Sigma, were force to close their doors because their diminished membership couldn’t support their rising costs.
Lambda Chi’s troubles started last spring, when the chapter was informed by their insurer that their dilapidated house on E. 15th Avenue and Alder Street was no longer insurable because it was not up to code.
“The old house was definitely in shambles,” said Patrick Redinger, the chapter’s president.
On the outside, the iconic fraternity house, with its columns, sweeping porch and green shutters, appears mostly in good shape. But on the inside, Redinger said its a different story.
“It had dry wall problems … whenever anyone bumped into a wall they dented it,” he said. “The showers were full of mold and gunk.”
He added that most of the doors on the bathroom stalls were missing and that many of the window screens were stapled, rather than nailed, to the window panes. One year the chapter went without heat because the boiler was broken, Redinger said.
The chapter lost its insurance when the chapter’s umbrella organization, Lambda Chi Alpha International, convened its international meeting in June of 2006 and rendered the chapter “inactive,” according to meeting minutes.
The international organization cited the chapter’s lack of insurance and more than $12,000 in debt in suspending the chapter’s affiliation. It threatened to close the chapter’s doors if members didn’t find a new place to live.
“To be inactive means that we’re not recognized as a national fraternity,” Redinger said.
The University refuses to endorse any fraternity that lacks affiliation with a national or international fraternity organization. As a result of being inactive, the chapter briefly lost its endorsement with the University, Redinger said.
As part of an agreement, the chapter “busted ass” to find an insurable location that could accommodate the fraternity over the summer, and the international organization reduced their debt by $10,000.
“It became the opinion of the headquarters that it was not in the chapter’s best interest because of the condition of the house,” said John Holloway, Director of Lambda Chi Alpha International. “We reached a mutual agreement and appreciated the steps taken by the undergraduate leadership.”
The international organization restored the chapter’s full status this fall and the chapter’s affiliation with the University was reestablished in the fifth week of fall term.
Now, the chapter resides in a larger house on E. 18th Avenue and Onyx Street, complete with gunk-free showers, a parking lot and 10 additional rooms.
“Condition-wise, it’s a lot better,” said David Cao, the chapter’s vice president. “It’s bigger and the location is really great.”Redinger said he was relieved the fraternity escaped closure so that younger generations of students could reap the same benefits from the fraternity that he did.
“We wanted to be able to pass it on … because it meant so much to us when we were young,” he said.
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