Lambda Chi Alpha - Indiana University

THE ORACLE A L P H A - O M I C RO N Z E TA O F L A M B DA C H I A L P H A AT I N D I A N A U N I V E R S I T Y / FA L L 2 0 2 2 MOVING FORWARD Mold remediation $200,000 Repair of the walls/flooring after mold remediation $100,000 New furniture/beds/ carpeting/AC to replace what must be thrown out $325,000 New boiler to heat house (failed inspection after undergraduate move out) $115,000 New kitchen appliances (failed inspection after undergraduate move out) $85,000 (Continued on page 2) I hope this issue of The Oracle finds you well. As some of you know, I have rejoined the House Corporation Board to help Alpha-Omicron navigate the many issues we spelled out in the email blast this past spring. Before we get into more details and potential solutions, let us do a brief history of how AO got to where we are today. HISTORY We started a capital campaign in 2017 to renovate the house and solve pressing issues with the physical plant. A year in, our undergraduate members of the house engaged in conduct inconsistent with the laws and values of the fraternity. This became known in early 2018, and Indiana University closed the house and put us on suspension so we could sort through the problems. This resulted in a member review that eventually meant the expulsion of over 80% of the undergraduate membership. Our campaign was shut down before we could finish raising the necessary money to renovate the physical structure. We began the rebuilding of AO that next year and moved back into the house in 2020. We expected our live-in numbers to be small that year, but as our undergraduate membership grew to 140 members in the spring of 2022, we continued to be below break-even live-in numbers at the house. SAFETY CONCERNS As hard as our undergraduate executive membership tried, we still could not get our live-in totals to break even this fall. Soon after the undergraduates moved out in the spring, we began to find safety issues with the physical structure (discussed more below). With the present supply chain issues, there was no viable way to get this building up to code for this fall semester. The House Corporation made the difficult decision to not reopen this semester to ensure the safety of any live-ins. After a more in-depth inspection of the house, we found large mold growth in the walls from broken hot-water pipes, which confirmed our suspicions. I know I speak for the whole board in saying we would not let our sons live in this house nor would we ask other parents to make that decision. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? That capital campaign and renovation was critical to the future of this physical structure. We are now at a point where we must make some decisions about our house at 1210 E. Third Street. Our finances will allow us to pay off the mortgage, which is about $80,000, and will allow us one to two more years before we are forced into making any decisions. It is better to approach alumni now so that we can formulate some avenues for moving forward instead of waiting and making rash decisions later. COST BREAKDOWN The building will now need around $825,000 in repairs to be ready for undergraduates to live in. This is not for renovations, just repair. The House Corporation will not ask for more money from alumni unless we can produce a plan that makes sense. Throwing money at a problem that would eventually have us coming back for more money in five years to fix other issues does not seem like a smart way to move forward. We have had contractors in the house all summer to help us determine what needs to be done and what the actual costs are with each issue. Here is a list of the most pressing items that need to be completed before we can allow undergraduates to live in the house: Our undergraduate membership cannot be asked to live in a house that does not meet modern norms. The lack of HVAC, closets in each room, adjoining bathrooms, and functional electricity are the key issues here.

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