Collegio Online

Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: Campus Life

Media Credit: Jennifer Nichols Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity brothers, from left, Zach Barrett, Eric Jones, Jesse Lowe and Joel Erickson sit outside their house, which has been under construction more than a year.

With the recent construction of the nearly finished Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity house, members feel as though the renovations are limiting the publicity that the house usually gets this time of year.
"Some people do know that we live here, but it's pretty much just by word of mouth," Eric Jones, vice president of Sigma Tau finances, said. "We haven't actually left campus, we just haven't lived in the house. Nobody knows that it's officially open. It is. And anyone is welcome to come by."
Although the Sigma Taus may open their door to anyone interested in seeing the house or just stopping by, the new facelift will require a little more maintenance and a lot more consideration to keep it in good condition.
"We used to be able to have cheeky shenanigans in the house and now we can't anymore," Jesse Lowe, vice president of members of Sigma Tau, said.
Visitors must remove their shoes before entering the house and tobacco products are prohibited inside.
The building is nearly unrecognizable when compared to its original layout when it was first acquired for the Sigma Tau Gammas in 1960. Most of the rooms have been expanded, the wood has been buffed and revarnished, the bathrooms have been completely redone and the pillars on the porch have been widened. Each floor of the house has a kitchenette with a refrigerator, microwave, a toaster oven and even a grilling machine.
The basement has a laundry room with three new washers and dryers and an icemaker. The rest of the basement design, however, is yet to be decided.
"The basement will be left up to us to do whatever we want," Lowe said. "Most likely, we will have indoor parties down here to minimize damage to the majority of the house."
In addition to the features recently added, there is still more to come. The Sig Taus will be getting their pool table re-felted with their house colors, a 52" LCD television and a customized shuffleboard worth $10,000.
"Hopefully, they will get everything all said and done by homecoming, because that is when our alumni are coming back," Lowe said.
Until then, the Sig Taus encourage incoming freshmen to stop by and check out their new pad.
"All freshman guys interested in Greek life are welcome to come over for house tours any time," Jones said.

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