A TOUR AROUND FAMILIAR GROUNDS
Brothers taking up an opportunity to see the chapter house
On February 25th, a handful of our brothers were fortunate to be able to tour the chapter house with Virginia Kappa alumni Bill Thomas and Ed Bishop. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the chapter was limited to only being able to send six brothers into the house to look around. For those who are unaware, the space was designated as the “Transfer Experience House” for a few years, serving as the go-to residence hall for Virginia Tech students who transferred into the university. Currently, it serves as the Thomas E. Cook Counseling Center, but the university is allowing for our chapter to move back into the house, should we have the means to fill the rooms with brothers. Compared to the interior as it was when the chapter last occupied the space back in the Fall of 2017, beyond the SigEp imagery around the house, many aspects of the place remained unchanged.
“Seeing the house reminds me of when I moved into it, full of excitement and unknown. There are some great memories I made there freshman year and there are plenty of stories to be told,” said Tim Smith, a senior brother graduating this Spring 2021. “Seeing the photos of the tour that my younger brothers just took of it, makes me wish we had gotten it back during my time again.” Tim is the only active brother that was able to live in the house prior to Virginia Tech reclaiming the space.
Brothers are optimistic to have our recruitment standing much higher by the time the chapter intends to move back into the house in the Fall 2022 semester. With 35 beds to fill, the task is monumental, especially when looking at other Oak Lane Living Community houses that have over 150+ members that still struggle to fill rooms, but our brothers are up for the challenge and confident that we can do so.
“As a chapter leader I was very impressed to see the various rooms and spaces that could be used to host events and facilitate brotherhood, ” said Cooper Whiteleather, our chapter President and a third-year brother studying Material Science & Engineering. “The visit really instilled a feeling of latent potential in the chapter and our assets, which is serving as great motivation this year!”