Continuing Eagle Row’s annual round of musical chairs, two fraternities will likely change addresses for the 2015-2016 school year, according to Assistant Director of Sorority and Fraternity Housing Jeff Tate.
If both fraternities meet membership requirements, Chi Phi fraternity, currently at 22 Eagle Row, will reclaim its historic property at 8 Eagle Row, where Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) fraternity is currently located.
The new housing assignments were sent out last week but are temporarily tentative.
These assignments are contingent on whether the respective fraternities fill their houses during the room selection process.
Chi Phi owns 8 Eagle Row under the Phoenix Plan, a document to clarify governance of Greek Life which provides fraternities with long-term housing through signed agreements.
The Wheel reported in November 2012 that 8 Eagle Row was historically Chi Phi fraternity’s residence until its charter was revoked in 2009 by the national Chi Phi organization due to alleged recruitment violations and alcohol infractions.
However, in fall 2012, Chi Phi was allowed to return to campus and participated in formal rush in spring 2013.
During the 2013-2014 school year, Chi Phi did not have enough members to occupy 8 Eagle Row and instead occupied 13 Eagle Row. Last fall, following the suspension of Sigma Nu fraternity for violating the University’s anti-hazing policy, the Office of Sorority and Fraternity Housing made a number of fraternity housing changes and notified Chi Phi that it would move to 22 Eagle Row.
Chi Phi President and College junior Daniel Deutsch expressed his excitement about moving back into 8 Eagle Row on behalf of Chi Phi and also spoke to the development of the fraternity as a whole in an email to the Wheel.
“We’ve come a long way since our recolonization in 2012,” Deutsch wrote. “Although we appreciate the advantages offered by eight [Eagle Row], we recognize that a house does not define a fraternity, so we are going to continue to focus on our organization and brotherhood.”
ZBT has occupied 8 Eagle Row for the last six years, according to ZBT President and Goizueta Business School junior Max Mayblum.
“In the six years at 8 Eagle Row, ZBT has grown immensely in quantity and quality,” Mayblum said. “The move is just a new chapter in our brotherhood.”
Like, Deutsch, Mayblum noted the excitement he feels on behalf of the fraternity.
However, he did express some reservations regarding the fairness of the Phoenix Plan.
Under the plan, it was agreed, upon the reinstatement of its charter, that Chi Phi could move into 8 Eagle Row as soon as they had the number of members required to fill the house. According to Tate, Chi Phi has 56 projected members for fall 2015, meaning they can now sustain living in 8 Eagle Row.
“[The Phoenix Plan] puts those that don’t own their house at a disadvantage,” Mayblum said, adding that losing the house despite exhibiting exemplary qualities in many respects to be a kind of “punishment.”
Deutsch echoed these sentiments, writing that “the fraternity house-swapping in recent years at Emory has been disruptive, and greater stability would benefit all stakeholders.”
Deutsch also suggested the prospect of a flexible-use house for fraternities in transition.
According to Mayblum, the switch from 8 to 22 Eagle Row will not significantly impact the number of people that are able to live in the house.
As for the future of Greek housing at Emory, Tate indicated that these decisions are still not set in stone because they are contingent on whether fraternities are able to meet membership requirements.
— By Rupsha Basu, News Editor
Chi Phi, ZBT Fraternities to Switch Houses
Photo courtesy of architecturetourist.blogspot.com
