Sorority signs for SAM house

After two years without a house, the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority officially got word this weekend that the sisters will move into a new home next fall. The sorority will move into the former home of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity -- located at 3817 Walnut Street -- on September 1, according to Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Director Scott Reikofski. Theta will only stay at the SAM house for three years. "It's great," outgoing Theta President and Wharton senior Sonali Chakravorti said. "We're really excited about it." Theta has spent the last two years as the only sorority on campus without a house. After Theta's upcoming three-year stay at the University-owned house, SAM is "tentatively scheduled" to recolonize and move back into the house in the fall of 2004, Reikofski said. Theta used to inhabit the 4039 Walnut Street home currently occupied by the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity. The sorority's 10-year lease on its former house expired in 1999. The sisters decided not to renew the contract because the condition of the house was "not up to par," Chakravorti said. "They were not particularly happy with the relationship they had with Campus Apartments, which owned and managed the house," Reikofski said. In addition to damages, sisters felt the previous home was too far from campus, causing some complain that they did not feel safe, Chakravorti said. The former SAM house was made available to all sororities on campus, while the earliest-founded chapters were given priority. Theta is the third-oldest chapter on campus, so the sisters got the offer after Chi Omega and Delta Delta Delta -- which both have houses -- passed on the opportunity, Panhellenic Council president Kristen Buppert said. While the sorority is housed at 3817 Walnut Street, the sisters will be on the lookout for other future housing options, according to Reikofski. The sorority currently holds its chapter meetings in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall, which Chakravorti said was routine even before it gave up its house. However, she noted that the new home will be large enough to accommodate the meetings. Chakravorti said that the new house will allow sophomore sisters -- who will live in the house -- to have the bonding experience facilitated by such a living arrangement. "It's a place everyone in the chapter can go to and it feels like home," added Buppert, a College junior and Alpha Chi Omega sister. Without a house, Theta had sorority mail delivered to a Post Office box. According to Buppert, Theta had been discussing the acquisition for a few weeks, but "wanted to make sure they had enough girls who hadn't signed leases." Chakravorti said she is confident that the sorority will be able to fill the house. And Buppert added that Theta's acquisition is especially well-deserved. "Theta has been a very strong chapter even without the house," she said. She further noted that, at some universities, chapters without houses sometimes fail. Reikofski remained optimistic about Theta's future. "We're looking forward to building a closer relationship with Kappa Alpha Theta," he said. "I think they'll take good care of the house."