Tri-Delt negotiating to be first sorority on the Walk

The Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity's misfortune may mean a golden opportunity for the Delta Delta Delta sorority. Phi Kap, which recently lost its national charter because it did not meet certain standards of operation, was forced out of its house at 3539 Locust Walk. Now its housing corporation -- along with Tri-Delt's housing corporation -- is trying to strike a deal that would put a sorority on the Walk for the first time in the University's history. Tri-Delt President and College senior Melissa London said yesterday that the sorority is in "the later stages of negotiation" with the fraternity, and that she is hopeful that a contract will be signed soon. "It's a wonderful opportunity for the sorority," she said. "Hopefully it will get people thinking about women on the Walk on a more global scale." London added that the current negotiations are to determine whether the chapter can afford to live out of two houses next year, until the lease on their 4044 Spruce Street house runs out. She said members of the sorority were contacted to see if they would be interested in living in the Locust Walk house in the fall, and that there was "certainly a lot of interest." Living out of two houses would also be a first of sorts for the University's Greek system. But Greek Alumni Council Chairperson Andrea Dobin said last week that although maintaining two houses is a difficult task, Tri-Delt is "one of the strongest chapters on campus" and could probably handle the task. House Manager and College senior Miggy Lynd said the sorority is also discussing the planned renovations of the Locust Walk house, which would be necessary for the sorority to move in. Lynd said that moving onto Locust Walk would benefit more than just the sorority. "I think that for the sorority system in general it would just be a tremendous boost," she said. "We are very committed to women's issues and things that concern everyone at Penn." She added that the sorority plans to hold forums on women's issue inside the Locust Walk residence. Meanwhile, Phi Kap brothers are bitter that their fraternity is gone from the University campus. Some have suggested that the fraternity was looked down upon because it had a reputation of attracting mostly athletes -- specifically football players. "The bottom line is that it came down to the fact that they didn't want athletes in the house," said 1994 Wharton graduate and Phi Kap brother Scott Williams. "And they never gave us any assistance to meet the goals [that the national office required]." Williams added that there was never a single specific incident at the house that was grounds for suspending the chapter. Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Director Tricia Phaup said this week that the loss of Phi Kap should not have a large effect on the Greek system at the University, with the recent addition of Pi Kappa Phi and the potential returns of Pi Kappa Alpha, Theta Xi or Psi Upsilon. "It's just as strong," she said. "I don't think it will affect they system at all -- it's definitely not going to weaken the system." Summer Pennsylvanian Staff Writer Jorie Green contributed to this article.