Theta to leave current house

The Kappa Alpha Theta sorority will be the only Panhellenic Council organization without a nationally recognized house this fall. The sorority chose not to renew its lease with Campus Apartments for the property at 4039 Walnut Street when its 10-year contract expired this spring. "Along with our advisors, we decided not to renew our lease because it would have required a five-year commitment and we are exploring other options for the house," Theta President and College junior Katie Samuels said in a written statement last week. Though Theta will be without a house at least temporarily, Panhellenic Council President Becca Iverson, a College junior, said Theta "can still be a sorority without a house." "As of now, no, they are not disaffiliated [from Panhel]," Iverson said. However, the Chi Omega sister added that the Theta national organization and Penn's Theta chapter will in fact "re-evaluate" its relationship in the fall. Samuels declined to comment on either future housing options or the chapter's future affiliation with its national sorority and Panhel. Campus Apartments Property Manager Dan Bernstein said that when he heard two weeks ago that Theta would not be renewing its lease, the motion came as a "surprise." "We were under the impression that they were going to be renewing the lease," Bernstein noted. But he added that his company has since established private housing for 15 Theta sisters at the same address, where the women will live as independent tenants. Theta Facility Corporation District Director Jane Yancey said that the Penn chapter's decision to decline sorority housing for the upcoming year was not problematic. She noted that the former Theta house was "in an undesirable location." Neither Samuels nor several Theta sisters would comment on Bernstein's statements. And Theta district advisors could not be reached for comment. Last week, Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Director Scott Reikofski said the alumni advisors who informed him that Theta would not be renewing their lease did not give any specific reasons for the decision. Reikofski added that Theta has been contacting University housing without success for years in the hopes of finding an available facility. Currently, there are two open spaces on Locust Walk -- the Veranda, a temporary student center at 3615 Locust Walk, and the former Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house at 3619 Locust Walk, which FIJI vacated following the forfeiture of its charter. Executive Assistant to the Provost Linda Koons, who is in charge of receiving formal proposals for space use, said last week that although Theta had not contacted her for either facility, she doubted the Veranda would be an option for the organizations since there are other uses scheduled for that space. Earlier in the year, Reikofski petitioned for the FIJI house to be occupied by another Greek organization come fall. No decisions have yet been made on the future of that facility.