All U.-owned Greek houses to be wired by fall of 2000

All 23 of the University-owned fraternity and sorority houses should be wired to GreekNet -- a voice, data and telephone system -- by September 2000, officials said this week. In the spring of 1998, the University completed the first phase of the installation process -- which brought two common area connections to the houses to give them access to the Penntrex phone system, video network and an Ethernet-based Internet connection. The second phase, which has been underway for the last 14 months, entails connecting GreekNet to all rooms in the houses. As of now, 14 fraternity and sorority houses have been fully wired and activated. "We are very optimistic that we will be able to have all 23 houses fully wired by September 2000," John Smolen, the executive director for facilities, technology and information services in the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life, said. "We will be working with the remaining nine University houses as well as the six privately owned chapter houses in the months ahead to attain this goal." The first phase of the project -- which cost $1.4 million -- was partially funded through a $350,000 University loan, given in October 1996, which the Greek system will pay back over time. The houses themselves covered the remainder of the costs. Expenses for the second phase vary depending on the condition of the houses, Smolen said. Some houses already have natural pathways, making wiring inexpensive. Other houses need electrical upgrades before the wiring process takes place. InterFraternity Council President Mark Metzl, a College senior and Tau Epsilon Phi brother, said the IFC and Panhellenic Council are in the initial stages of implementing a system of technical support for Greek houses. "We're trying to figure out if we want [information technology advisor] support for just those houses with GreekNet or if we want to expand the support to all Greek members, both on and off campus," Metzl said. ITAs who live in the University's 12 college houses currently help on-campus residents with computer-related issues, but no program is in place for residents of Greek houses. Panhel President Becca Iverson, a College senior and Chi Omega sister, said the current plan is to have a pool of ITAs -- some of whom are Greek -- who will be called to the houses to help with any GreekNet problems. Iverson added, however, that the plan still awaits Panhel and IFC approval. While most of the GreekNet installation work has been done during the summer months, residents of chapter houses hope that the work continues over the academic year, Smolen said. "Another consideration is inconvenience for residents of a house by having workers in the house do the project," he said. "To date, the houses that have been completed while students are in residence have been very successful.? Contractors and students alike have praised each other's cooperation in getting the job done." An early version of GreekNet started in 1993 when the Alpha Chi Omega sorority house at 3906 Spruce Street was renovated. The pathways and wiring were done in preparation for GreekNet. Since then all major renovation projects -- including the Sigma Delta Tau sorority and the Delta Tau Delta and Zeta Psi fraternities -- have included GreekNet bedroom pathways. "If this summer was any indication of our commitment to the project, I am confident that we will reach our goal of wiring all University-owned houses with GreekNet by the end of the year 2000," Metzl said. Other houses that currently have GreekNet are the Alpha Chi Omega and Chi Omega sororities and the Alpha Tau Omega, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Kappa Alpha Society, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Tau Epsilon Phi and Zeta Beta Tau fraternities. Work on the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house is in progress and is expected to be complete this semester, Smolen said.

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