Alpha Gamma Delta Oklahoma House Fire
 

Haven't read anything in the media, but have received from multiples sources a picture of the OU AGD house up in flames.

I hope everyone is okay!

News story
 

http://www.normantranscript.com/head...sorority-house

Everyone out safely, looked through a number of other articles on what happened, appears it started in the Attic.

Glad everyone is safe. That's terrible!

Want to help? Donations are being taken here: http://www.gofundme.com/697f8s
Anything helps! These women are in their first week back to class and many lost everything.

http://newsok.com/fire-reported-at-o...rticle/3924005

This is why the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act really needs to pass. All Greek facilities should have fire suppression systems.

What a shame. That was one of the prettier houses on campus. Glad everyone is safe.

Sorry to hear this. I'm glad everyone was okay. Was the entire house lost?

One of our local girls was in the house at the time of the fire. I spoke with her mother this morning and she said it was a pretty scary experience for the girls. Many most of their stuff.

Mostly they are just thankful all the girls are okay.

[Kevin;]http://newsok.com/fire-reported-at-o...rticle/3924005

This is why the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act really needs to pass. All Greek facilities should have fire suppression systems.

I totally agree. I know many of the GLO's and various councils have been fighting to get this bill passed. Hopefully, Congress will come to reality that this bill is definitely needed to ensure the safety of our Greek members.

I am happy to hear that all AGD members get out safely!!!!

ZBT: "BROTHERHOOD & BEYOND"

How is the structure? Is it salvageable with repairs?

OU's student paper has done a good job with reporting on this: http://www.oudaily.com/news/fire-con...a4bcf6878.html

OU Panhellenic has already had a toiletries drive to gather the things that these girls lost in the fire (hairbrushes, toothbrushes, etc.), and I believe that most sorority houses have opened their doors to give these women places to stay while more permanent housing situations are being made.

Yes. They are estimating about $500,000 of damage to the structure.

Fire damage was primarily to the roof but there is significant water damage to the second and third floors. We don't know about the basement yet. I've heard that the Panhellenic community has been wonderfully supportive. They have offered space for women to meet and hang out together. Most of our women left the house with just the clothes on their backs- no car keys, no text books, etc. The University has offered a lot of support also.

Our people should be on the ground by now, but our official statement is:

"Last night, there was a fire at our Upsilon Chapter house at the University of Oklahoma. Luckily, all members are safe and accounted for, and volunteers and IHQ staff members are lending support to the chapter. Our hearts go out to our Upsilon sisters, and we are thankful for the quick response of the local firefighters."

A big thank you to those of you involved on that campus and those of you keeping our women in their thoughts and prayers. We are so incredibly thankful that all of the women evacuated safely.

Looking to the future...
 

It appears that OU does both Fall and Spring Recruitment, and there is a Panhellenic Spring Recruitment Event next Thursday (1/23)...

I'm wondering from what is known, what sort of things should be done to help Alpha Gamma Delta have an equal chance in recruitment this spring.

Spring recruitment at OU is very small (it just depends how many spots are open under total). I think that a lack of a house would not be a huge problem. I'm unaware of what total is, and how many members AGD may have had at this time, so an exact number would be difficult to give, but I would guess less than 20 potential spots. At worst, they'll surely be granted usage of a chapter room at another sorority house, or an on campus facility, for any larger events they had planned.

Their very large formal recruitment is in the fall (middle of August)- if their house is not ready by then, that will become a problem.

Vid from YouTube:

http://youtu.be/2tzuMKfprxk

http://youtu.be/Sem2LIH5xtM

Spring recruitment at OU is pretty insignificant. Truthfully, AGD is the smallest chapter so spring recruitment is probably more important to them than the handful of other chapters that may have one or two open spots. Here's hoping they will have success. How sad to lose all of your stuff and your home. I wonder how chapter members will focus on school with makeshift living situations.

Per the school newspaper articles, the University is working with them on housing and on some academic leniency during this time as some do not have access to their course materials, may have lost their computers/laptops, etc.

The University's foundation called Sooners Helping Sooners is accepting donations. They are giving each member $250 to meet immediate needs and will grant additional funds as damage is assessed.
https://www.oufoundation.org/onlineg...53_SoonersHelp

I'm sure that meeting our members' immediate needs of food, shelter, clothing, and emotional support is the focus at this point.

Those poor girls. I'm so glad everyone is physically okay, but I couldn't imagine losing all of my textbooks, my laptop, clothes.. having to replace everything while trying to start the semester would be so hard. I'll be keeping all of the AGD members in my thoughts and prayers.

are there any fraternity / sorority houses at OU (chapters that have closed) that are vacant right now? And, AGD might rent until their house is repaired?

I haven't lived there in two years (I was staff at OU), but I seem to remember there being one empty fraternity house, but if I recall it was much smaller than the AGD house and not in top shape. Can't even remember what org it used to be...really low sprawling ranch?

So sorry to hear about the AGD girls. Hopefully they'll get the support they need from the university and community to get back to normal quickly. OU's greek community is HUGE and full of excellent students (my interns were among them!).

From our official Facebook page today:

In the wake of the fire at the Upsilon Chapter house, the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation has established a brand new Disaster Relief Fund for sisters to help provide immediate emergency disaster support to our sisters facing a disaster in their life due to fire, natural disasters or domestic violence.

With your help, the first recipients of this fund will be our collegiate sisters of Upsilon Chapter. Each sister displaced by the fire will receive a $500 grant to help meet her immediate needs of food, housing, bedding, toiletries, clothing, transportation, school supplies, school books, etc.

Please help us help our sisters with a gift to this fund! Be sure to note “Disaster Relief Fund” when making your online gift at https://secure.willowmarketing.com/a...n/site/donate/.

Upsilon sisters with more long-term needs will be encouraged to apply for additional support through our long-standing SIS Grant program.

With your help, our new fund will stand ready and waiting to support our Upsilon and other sisters who find themselves facing disaster in their lives.

Amen! Several NPC groups have already mandated sprinklers. Kappa Alpha Theta, Pi Beta Phi and Delta Gamma are three that I know of for sure. We did it when I was Director of Housing for DG. I also had the opportunity to go to DC and lobby Congress for CHIA. Very exciting to be involved in that but still a long way to go to get it enacted.

In Edmond (and probably Norman) [our chapter is about a 45 minute drive from OU], sprinklers are required for houses with more than 3 unrelated individuals. Unfortunately, old construction is grandfathered in. The house we're building in Norman right now will be state of the art when it comes to..well..everything. It would have been much easier to raise money for it though if all donations had been deductible.

Doesn't MJ Insurance (the insurance company many GLO's use) mandate sprinklers?

MJ is the agent/broker, not the carrier. MJ represents multiple insurance carriers that provide coverage to the fraternities and sororities. I attended a presentation from MJ last year, and I know that Travelers and Chubb are representative of the carriers. Given the number of GLOs who are covered through the programs that MJ provides and the number of houses that aren't sprinklered, I am sure that it is not a strict requirement. No doubt from an underwriting point of view, sprinklered buildings are preferred, but not required. Of course, those things could vary based on facility size, number of occupants, etc.

That's beyond their purview. However MJ was and continues to be bed proactive with their clients and participates in lobbying Congress on behalf of CHIA as well as working with Frat PAC .

This is a beautifully written article by a senior member of our Upsilon Chapter. I think you'll all find it to be a true testament to what our organizations are really about.


http://theodysseyonline.com/campus/o...-emerging-fire

Wow, I had tears. Those girls and Moms who think unhoused chapters are "less than" should have that article as required reading. A story of sisterhood and pan-greek spirit.

The link is making its way around Facebook via Alpha Gams everywhere but I think it's a Greek experience article, not just an Alpha Gam article.