There's a long recent article in the Brookings, South Dakota, paper about the discussions, proposals, and so on regarding the Alpha Xi Delta house at South Dakota State. Yes, Alpha Xi has a lawyer, who is quoted in the article.
Entire article is at
http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_...d=8921&page=76
Excerpts:
. . . The South Dakota Board of Regents is trying to acquire property needed for construction of the multimillion-dollar Phase II of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) building on the South Dakota State University campus. . . .
Alpha Xi Delta, a women’s fraternity, owns the land and has refused to sell, officials claim.
Barring a last-minute maneuver by the women’s group, the regents this week will move to condemn the Alpha Xi home to put up the new building . . . .
. . . attorney Steve Sanford says he has been representing the SDSU women’s group since April. He called its alumnae members among the most loyal supporters of SDSU but questions whether the organization is getting fair treatment from the regents and university.
He says he and the women’s fraternity (AXD) were not even told of the proposed resolution that the regents will consider this week and thought the two parties could still work toward an agreement.
Sanford said, “Neither I nor anyone acting for AXD has received any direct communication from the regents. We were not informed by the regents or SDSU of the proposed resolution on the board agenda for this week's meeting.”
Sanford said he is aware that SDSU has proposed creating a Greek Village in the southeast section of campus.
“On behalf of AXD, we have made clear since discussions with SDSU started last spring that the terms of any sale of the existing property depend upon negotiating terms of a ground lease or purchase at the new site that are consistent with the interests of SDSU and the regents, but which allow those alumnae acting for AXD to exercise proper stewardship over the hundreds of thousands of dollars that must be spent for a new house.
“For instance, the regents proposed that if SDSU and the regents demanded for any reason, AXD would be required to turn over its new house to the regents, even if AXD were not in default.
“As you might expect, we have had difficulty swallowing that kind of arrangement.”
‘Thought we were inching closer …’
Sanford said he and the Epsilon Eta chapter have been through several drafts since May, and he has met and spoken with counsel for the State College Development Association, the intermediary for the proposed Greek Village.
“I thought we were inching closer to a common understanding. In June we discussed the possibility of a different structure, but I have heard nothing more about that. I was also invited to submit further proposed revisions of a ground lease, which I did in mid-July. Since then, I have heard nothing about that either.
“So we are a bit in the dark. AXD is still committed to working toward an agreement.”
The full agenda for the South Dakota Board of Regents’ August meeting can be found online at http://www.sdbor.edu/board/.
Threaded Mode
