January 8, 2005
Construction planned for UM frat house
By Riva Brown
rvbrown@clarionledger.com
Special to The Clarion-Ledger
Demolition of the the Alpha Tau Omega house at Ole Miss began before Christmas. Construction of a new house is expected to begin in August.
Construction is expected to begin in August on the Alpha Tau Omega house where three fraternity brothers died in a fire last year at the University of Mississippi, fraternity officials said.
Demolition began before Christmas, and the site is expected to be cleared in a couple of days, said Max Miller, president of the ATO house corporation. The house is expected to be completed in late summer 2006.
"I think it puts a lot of the guys at ease. It's a place that meant so much, but driving by seeing it gave a lot of grief. I guess it caused a lot of bad memories," said James Story, president of ATO's Beta Psi chapter at Ole Miss. "The fact that it's down now gives us some hope for rebuilding, not only for our house but also for our fraternity as a whole."
Jordan Williams, 20, of Atlanta, Howard Stone, 19, of Martinsville, Va., and William Townsend, 19, of Clarksdale died in the Aug. 27 blaze.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Laboratory classified the cause of the fire as undetermined. There was no evidence of foul play or that the fire was intentionally set. Investigators said the fire started in a basement bedroom.
Miller said an architect will begin planning the design of the new house once the site has been cleared. The house is privately owned, and the university has no oversight.
A fundraiser also is in the works to help raise money to rebuild the house, he said. It is unknown how much money is needed until the architect completes work.
"You can imagine the significance of rebuilding the house where such a tragedy occurred," said Miller, assistant registrar at Ole Miss. "Of course, a memorial will be appropriate for the members who were lost, and it will be part of the construction."
Al Bell, ATO chapter adviser, said rebuilding the house will boost morale.
"I think there were a lot of emotional strings attached with the burnt-out shell of the structure still being there," Bell said. "I think it will have a positive effect on the members being able to see physically that things are starting to move along."
Membership also is moving along. The chapter has about 90 members, Bell said. Last fall, about 60 students pledged ATO.
The students will find out this semester whether they will get initiated once their grades are received. A 2.2 grade-point average is required.
"We're about to initiate one of the best pledge classes I have ever seen," said Story, 22. "The brotherhood is a lot stronger."
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