More reasons to stay off Univ. property
 

Abandoned fraternity houses at center of debate

By Kate Carter
kcarter@onlineathens.com


One of the boarded up fraternity houses on River Road that remains at the center of a debate.
Dot Paul/Staff
Because land is at a premium for the University of Georgia, the future of three abandoned fraternity houses sitting on university-owned property remains under debate.
The Sigma Nu fraternity house on River Road partially burned in 1996, and today remains vacant as its alumni hold conversations with UGA officials about its future.
Alpha Tau Omega fraternity sits vacant on River Road as well, abandoned in the spring of 2000 after several of its members were disciplined for their role in a hazing incident that ended in the death of Alpha Tau Omega member Ben Grantham III, a 20-year-old from St. Simons Island.
And on South Lumpkin Street, the Chi Psi fraternity house has been empty ever since members were locked out in 1999 because of fire safety violations in the wake of alcohol abuse citations.
Sigma Nu and Sigma Chi -- a fraternity situated on South Lumpkin Street -- are the only two organizations that actually hold leases on university-owned land, according to Richard Mullendore, vice president for student affairs and associate provost. In 1940, Sigma Nu signed a 99-year lease, and in 1996, Sigma Chi signed a 30-year lease, said Mullendore. The other 10 fraternities and three sororities on university-owned land do not hold leases, though Mullendore was unsure why some were allowed leases and others were not.
''The organizations would really like to have long-term leases so they could know they can stay where they are,'' said Mullendore. ''At this time the university is not considering long-term leases. ... At this point, that's the struggle.''
The state attorney general ruled in 2000 that ''those groups that did not hold a land lease with the university have no equitable rights to the property,'' said Mullendore.
Thus the Alpha Tau Omega and Chi Psi alumni groups -- which own the houses but not the land -- have no role in the future of their houses, but Sigma Nu's alumni group does, said Mullendore.
According to Athenian and Sigma Nu alum Gerry Whitworth, the Sigma Nu fraternity either wants sufficient compensation for its house so that it can purchase a new site close to campus for a new house, or it wants to rebuild its burned house on the current River Road site.
''We've had several conversations with the university and they've expressed interest in buying the house, but the offers they've made aren't anywhere near the amount of money it would take to purchase similar property in proximity to campus,'' said Whitworth, declining to name the amount offered by the university.
As to those conversations and the amount the university is willing to pay for the Sigma Nu house, Mullendore declined to comment.
Mullendore and Hank Huckaby, senior vice president for finance and administration, both say that university officials are speculating about what use UGA can make of the sites on which the three vacant houses stand, but will not yet share any of those visions.
Mullendore did say, however, that building student housing on those sites is unlikely.
''We will wait and see the impact of the 1,200 new beds that have been approved and open in the fall of 2004 (on East Campus),'' he said.
Mullendore said he hopes the university and Sigma Nu will come to an agreement about the future of the property in ''the next couple months.''


Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Monday, October 14, 2002.

Does anyone else own a house on campus property?

What happens if your lease is up and the school wants the land?
It's not like you can just pack up a house and move.
Whats the deal?

More UGa details
 

I don't know all of the housing details at UGa, and they were put together years ago when the campus was run by a DTD alum called the "Dean of Boys" (maybe it was Dean of Men, but I don't think so) - Dean _______ Tate.

He probably said the chapters could use the land, and he probably called the local banker and told him to loan the money to build the house. There probably was no paperwork - just Dean Tate's word. Now, Tate is dead, and a bunch of fraternities have huge southern mansions, right on the main drag across from campus, or facing the river - but they don't own the land and several apparently don't even have a lease.

Sigma Nu has a fire, gets some isurance money, but can't borrow addl. money since they don't own the land.

Make a note, though, that none of the sororities are mentioned in this predicament. As much as I love to make fun of these little ole lady alums who run the sororities, none of them are in houses without land or leases. thanks God for the little ole ladies, in this case.

My chapter (and the other four fraternities) live in houses that the school owns. It's not just a matter of the fraternity building a house on leased land -- the college owns the land and the houses.

After some 50-60 years, the college has now decided to throw those houses in with the rest of its "formal group housing" plan. Fraternities must go through the same process as any other groups seeking group housing in the college's small houses.

Except for the fact that the college is reneging on deals it made with the fraternities in the 1940s and publicly re-acknowledged in the 1980s, there is at least a sense of fairness in the plan. What I find disappointing is that my chapter's house and the Delta Tau Delta house next door are to be torn down within a few years to build a new "student center." So many memories were born in those buildings over the years-- like I said, it's disappointing.

The other four fraternities are suing the school. My chapter has opted not to sue at this point. The remedy that the other fraternities seek -- "specific performance" in the form of an injunction compelling the school to leave the fraternities in occupancy in those houses -- is almost impossible to obtain and the public relations costs are high. We'll see.

The difference between fraternities and say the drama club is that we have a long history of providing boarding for our members. It is our historical role, not something that we just decided one day would be cool.

It is not really discrimination against these other groups when it happens that we have houses and they don't. I have seen though a recent rise in the numbers of other groups purchasing real-estate off campus. It seems many people are abandoning the greek system in favor of something that segments them into their cultures a little more comfortable (religious orgs, etc).