Sig Eps renovate, expand
By Andrew Donovan
Staff Reporter

Summer renovations to the Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter room may not have been what their members originally wanted, but they couldn’t be happier with the results it has produced, fraternity president Gary Coyne said.

Coyne said the fraternity had hoped last year to move into the house formerly belonging to Kappa Sigma, who were kicked off the campus two years ago for hazing violations. After finding out that Kappa Sigma would be reinstated this year, Coyne said members decided the next best thing was to improve their chapter room, located on the second floor of Milton Daniel Hall.

The room’s makeover began this past summer, with several current members working for about two months straight, Coyne said. The renovations involved a complete overhaul, including all new wall paneling, furniture, and entertainment system, he said.

“Our chapter room was not really in that good of shape,” Coyne said. “We had basically had the same room TCU gave us in the beginning, so it was time for a change.”

The total cost of the project came to $25,000, which Coyne said was taken out of their national fraternity’s housing fund. He said they have between four and five years to pay off the debt, which Coyne said shouldn’t be too hard after the results of this year’s rush.

Coyne said Sigma Phi Epsilon signed 34 new pledges this fall, which is up from the 24 pledges they signed last year. He said it is one of the highest recruiting classes the fraternity has ever had.

Current member Chad Hummel, a senior sociology and criminal justice major, said he also is very impressed with the way the new chapter room turned out. He said he feels the chapter room played a major role in attracting those 34 pledges.

“I think it definitely helped us a lot with rush,” Hummel said. “I mean, we had one of our largest pledge classes ever. You really can’t argue with that.”

One of those new pledges is freshman premajor Ryan Barnhart, who said he was one of the few to do summer rush with the fraternity. Although he didn’t get to see the room before the renovations, Barnhart said he was very impressed with the final product.

“It’s a great place to hang out at,” Barnhart said. “It’s much bigger, and a lot better than just staying in the dorm room all day. Plus, it’s just on the floor below me.”

Barnhart said even though the new chapter room did help his decision, it was not the sole reason he decided to pledge for Sig Ep.

“The reason I joined the fraternity was mainly just about the guys in the chapter room rather than just four walls and a foosball table,” Barnhart said.