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Construction is still under way at the Alpha Gamma Delta house Friday. After last January’s fire, the sorority has been without a house.
Sorority rises from ashes Sisters flourish from temporary home PAIGHTEN HARKINS DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR @PAIGHTENHARKINS
News Reporter @pageousm
round midnight on Jan. 14, two days into Kylie Frisby’s term as Alpha Gamma Delta president, Frisby was standing on the lawn with her sorority sisters as their house burned.
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Sigma Nu, Kappa Sigma, Beta Theta Pi, Alpha Gamma Delta under construction PAGE JONES
A
“I was standing there looking at the house, and there was hundreds of sets of eyes on me, and I was like I don’t know what I’m doing either,” Frisby said. New to her position, Frisby quickly evacuated more than 60 women from the home, called 911 and kept everyone calm while their house, a hub for all things Alpha Gamma Delta, was on fire. At the time, Frisby was afraid, unsure of herself in her new position but still determined to hold everyone together. Now, almost eight months to the date the house caught on fire, Frisby and the women of Alpha Gamma Delta are still feeling the effects of the fire, many of them living in Cate Center instead of the house located at 930 Chautauqua Ave. And things aren’t that bad. Although the group’s mascot is a squirrel, the story of Alpha Gamma Delta’s house fire is more reminiscent of a phoenix, rising from the literal ashes of an attic fire. Since the fire, plans are in the works to renovate the Alpha Gamma Delta house to be the biggest sorority house on campus — at around 40,000 square feet. Even without a house, Alpha Gamma Delta’s pledge class clocked in at
Updates continue for chapter houses
Greek row will be getting a face-lift over the next few years, as several chapter houses are being reconstructed and renovated. Among these are Sigma Nu, Kappa Sigma, Beta Theta Pi and Alpha Gamma Delta.
Alpha Gamma Delta
around 60 women, to Frisby’s relief.
Location: 930 Chautauqua Ave. Estimated completion date: fall 2015 Estimated cost: $6 million Additions and renovations: • Repair damage from the January fire • Add a new wing to the house
Big plans for the ‘nut house’
Make an ‘L’ with your left hand. That’s pre-fire Alpha Gamma Delta house. Now hold up your right hand to make a backward ‘L.’ Put your hands together to form a ‘U.’ That’s post-fire Alpha Gamma Delta house, which should be completed in Sept. or Oct. of 2015, Frisby said. The renovation is projected to cost $6 million. The extension will add about 4,000 square feet to the house. Each new level — from basement to third floor — will add around 1,000 square feet, Frisby said. Ever ything about the h o u s e w i l l b e b i g g e r, including: • a larger chapter room that can seat about 300 people, which is almost the chapter total for the organization • bigger bathrooms and separate makeup rooms, so women aren’t using electronics near sinks • bigger dining room • a grand entrance in the center of the house — as opposed to the left — that opens to a staircase Bigger is better, Frisby said,
Beta Theta Pi TONY RAGLE/THE DAILY
Senior members of AGD welcome their new pledges with a chant during OU’s Panhellenic Recruitment this August. The sisters faced the challenge of recruiting while their house was under construction.
because the chapter was outgrowing its old house. If the house didn’t catch fire, prompting the renovation, Frisby said the organization would have outgrown its chapter room this year. “So it kind of worked in our benefit that way,” Frisby said, laughing.
Recruitment without a house
When fall greek recruitment began, the Alpha Gamma Delta women were ready, but their house still wasn’t. So much of what a sorority does is done within the house. It’s a hub of activity, from chapter meetings, to officer meetings, to study groups, to meals and group TV watching sessions — and
that’s just everyday living. Recruitment is a completely different scenario. The recruitment process is mostly ritual, from the way members line up to rally women to the house or the decorations they use. Without a house, the routine changed. “I was really worried because nothing was the same,” Frisby said. This recruitment, Alpha Gamma Delta used the Pi Kappa Phi house, arriving there early during work week and leaving late each night. Throughout recruitment, Alpha Gamma Delta women made the Pi Kappa Phi house their temporary home, even bringing in Mike, the cook from their old house.
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Kappa Sigma Location: 1100 College Ave. Estimated completion date: A tour date is set for Oct. 13, according to the Kappa Sigma website. Kappa Sigma president Tyler Spencer could not be reached for comment after four email attempts beginning Sept. 4.
Sigma Nu Location: 1300 College Ave. Broke ground: Sept. 1, 2013, according to the Sigma Nu website Sigma Nu president Dylan Droege could not be reached for comment after four email attempts beginning Sept. 4. Page Jones page.c.jones-1@ou.edu
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Location: 800 Chautauqua Ave. Estimated completion date: July 2015 Estimated cost: $9 million Additions and renovations: • Double the size, making the house about 30,000 square feet • Add 80 study rooms to the basement • Convert the dining hall into an alumni museum • Expand the back end of the house • Modernize the air conditioning to make it more energy efficient
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