Sorority to have new house on campus within 24 months

Memorial+Hall.+Photo+by+David+LaBelle

Memorial Hall. Photo by David LaBelle

Bailey Vandiver

Home is where the heart is, but home is not yet a house for the sisters of Alpha Chi Omega. 

In the fall of 2015, AXO became the newest of the 14 Panhellenic sororities on UK’s campus. Since then, it has been an active chapter without having a physical building on campus.

“We truly have not run into many challenges in not having a house,” 2016 Chapter President Willow Kreutzer, a political science senior, said. Like other chapters on campus, the sisters hold meetings in Whitehall and have chapter meals together.

“During this time we have really become closer for not having a house,” Kreutzer said. “We like to say that we do not need a house to have a sisterhood.”

The plans for a chapter house have begun. Though no construction has started, a groundbreaking ceremony was held on Oct. 9. The building is expected to be finished within 24 months.

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While chapter members pay a housing fee, the national housing corporation of Alpha Chi Omega handles the logistics of the construction, such as the architect, contractor and interior designer.

The house will be located next to the Phi Mu house on Rose Lane.

Kreutzer looks forward to the chapter having “a central location on campus that we can call ours.”

While the current upperclassmen will not be able to live in the house, the more recent pledges can look forward to living in a finished house.

Jennifer Asher, a chemical engineering freshman and a member of AXO, said that even though it would be nice to have a house full of memories, she is happy to be a part of the group that can make those first memories.

“I hope to live in the house once it is built, and I think it will be fun to make our own memories and traditions within the house,” Asher said.

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Kreutzer said the chapter will have an advantage in having the newest house on campus, which will be a special experience for the first members who live in it.

“An unexpected benefit [of not having a house] is that everywhere we go as a chapter is home,” Asher said.

The sisters of AXO have not been hindered by their lack of a house, but they can look forward to their finished house as a milestone for their new chapter here on campus.