[ZZ-kai-]

Beta at U. Iowa was closed due to a condemned house. Apparently they were given time after time after time to get their house back in living shape, but they didn't, and the University gave them the boot.

I road tripped to their house while in college, and I can attest to it, it was a dump - cool guys, but a total dump house. The house itself was totally cool, but it was treated like a crack house.

Here is an article on it:

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Iowa Press-Citzen
April 30, 2004

City: House warnings not unusual
Fraternity claims poor communication at fault

By Vanessa Miller
Iowa City Press-Citizen

The lasagna dripping down walls, suspected rodent teeth marks on sacks of rotting garbage and destroyed fire alarms that led Iowa City housing inspectors to order one University of Iowa fraternity to vacate are not unique among local Greek houses.

What is unique is the Beta Theta Pi members' alleged refusal to address the mess.

"The reason we closed this one is because it got worse," said Senior Housing Inspector Norm Cate. "Sometimes they trash the house and pick it up, but this just got worse."

Daniel Kurtzman, the fraternity's president, said inspectors are overstating the problem and blamed a breakdown in communication on both sides for the current situation.

Last week, housing inspectors issued an order for the 19 members living in the house at 816 N. Dubuque St. to vacate by May 14. That was necessary because of the building's deteriorating condition, city records show, including blocked hallways, heaping garbage piles and the blood of spoiled meat oozing from a refrigerator.

"Once or twice every year we have one that needs drastic action, but it's usually like getting a kid to clean up their room," Housing Inspector John Bovey said. "This one was exponentially bad, but they are not the only one."

For instance, city records show officials issued Delta Upsilon, 320 Ellis Ave., a violation notice in March regarding accumulated garbage around the outside Dumpster. In 2000, Pi Kappa Alpha, 1032 N. Dubuque St., was ordered to vacate because the house was labeled "unfit and unsafe for human habitation."

According to city documents, most houses receive violation notices for a range of problems including broken windows, obstructed hallways and general disarray. Once those violations are issued, however, they are promptly corrected. That was not the case with the Beta Theta Pi house, according to officials.

"When I finally got ahold of those guys, they kept putting off the inspection," Bovey said. "So I inspected it in February and found violations. I gave them a list of things to do, and they had 30 days to make corrections. But every time I went back it was worse than before."

On the final inspection report, Bovey wrote, "several interior and exterior areas are conducive to the harboring of vermin!"

"When we find vandalism of fire alarms and the increase in property damage, we try to solve the problem, which was, in this case, the tenants and their friends," Bovey said.

Kurtzman said members have never seen rats or mice in the house. As for the apparent runaround, he said inspectors had an old contact name and were trying to reach a fraternity member who is in Spain. When inspectors arrived, they showed up without notice and left without speaking to someone in charge, he said.

"It's like, if you try to get a company to do something, you give it to someone in charge," Kurtzman said, "you don't give it to someone in the mailroom."

As for the notice to vacate, he said no members planned to live in the house this summer anyway; that routine maintenance will fix many of the concerns; and everyone already has leases for the fall because the upstairs is getting its first renovation in 25 years.

While fraternities have frequent violations, sororities are much better.

"That's because sororities have house mothers, and fraternities have no adult supervision," Bovey said.

City officials conduct building inspections on all property every two years, but fraternities and sororities are inspected every year. Those inspections make weekly chores crucial for many local chapters, including the Sigma Nu fraternity at 630 N. Dubuque St.

Member Mark Williams said the 30 guys living in the house have "house duties" they must complete every Monday and Thursday.

"Sometimes on weekends things get messy, but Monday house duties gets it cleaned up," said the 22-year-old UI senior. "We have a fine system where if you don't do your chores, you can't eat in the house until you do them. It works pretty well because people will come down and get really mad because they can't eat."

While some fraternities like Sigma Nu have systems that result in fewer violations, Cate said required supervision could lead to across-the-board improvements.

"It would take care of situations like this," he said, referring to the Beta Theta Pi house.
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