For many sophomores, Summer term is largely focused on their respective Greek houses as both a living and social space. Despite this ideal, a number of houses are taking advantage of the more relaxed term to make necessary renovations to their physical plants.
Bones Gate is undergoing some of the most substantial construction this term, with renovations that necessitated closing the house for the summer. The renovations include expansion of the fraternity's basement, the installation of a first floor bathroom, three new bedrooms and an extended west wall for a covered fire escape, August Kehn '07 said. Bones Gate alumni and current members have been planning the changes for some time.
"The hope is that with a more sound structural plant, Bones Gate will see increased membership and a more fiscally sustainable future," Kehn said.
The initial catalyst for the changes, however, was not independently motivated by BG, but rather was the result of the College's Fuller audit. Bones Gate is joining a variety of houses, including Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Phi Delta Alpha fraternity and The Tabard co-ed fraternity, with large-scale renovations.
The Tabard will be closed for the summer to address fire code and accessibility concerns, and to make other changes such as exposing its covered hardwood floors and renovating bathrooms. The co-ed fraternity also plans to build a new staircase in the back of the house.
They are "basically making the house look more like KDE or Alpha Chi, which sucks," Elisabeth McDonnell '07 said.
Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity is proceeding with the first of a series of planned renovations to improve its house, Chi Gam president Russ D'Souza '07 said. The current construction involves an overhaul of the basement, including raised ceilings, a new women's bathroom and an improved men's latrine. In compliance with regulation standards, Chi Gam is also making its basement handicapped accessible and building a new fire escape on the west side of the house.
"We want to put things in that make Chi Gam accessible for all people," D'Souza said.
Other improvements this summer are purely aesthetic. Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity recently repainted the exterior trim of its house, an effort that SAE house manager Michael Hart '07 said was entirely member and alumni motivated.
Despite the difficulty of having their houses under construction, both Kehn and D'Souza said their memberships are coping with the nuisance. While both the basement and a bedroom on the west side of the third floor are closed at Chi Gam, D'Souza said the construction "hasn't inconvenienced our life at all."
Even BG sees the renovations as beneficial, despite being left without a house this summer, Kehn said.
"We recognize this as an opportunity to make large-scale changes for the better, so the brotherhood is cool with it," he said.
Funding for the renovations at both Chi Gam and BG is largely alumni motivated. Hans Morris '80, the current chief financial officer of Citigroup and a BG alumnus, spearheaded an effort to raise approximately $300,000 for the BG renovations, Kehn said. In addition, the house corporation, 10 Webster Ave., is taking out a $400,000 loan to finance the rest of the construction.
"It's a joint effort [financially] between the alums and the current and future brotherhood of BG," Kehn said.
In the future, both BG and Chi Gam expect to see increased benefits from the improvements to their spaces. D'Souza cited a better social space and easier cleaning as the benefits of Chi Gam's basement improvements.
BG hopes that by its membership being involved in the construction effort by providing a large part of "grunt work" will increase the members' attachment to and concern for the house, Kehn said.
"The current brotherhood is expected to provide our own 'sweat equity,'" Kehn said. "Because that's happening, we will all have a serious interest in being better stewards of the house," Kehn said.