Open House

Soon, the newest Greek-letter house at Dartmouth will receive the Queen Anne living room furniture it ordered. The love seats will have an orange and blue butterfly pattern, the armchairs a simple floral design. They will not decorate a 23rd fraternity house but the first sorority house in the College's history. The women of Sigma Kappa finally have a place to call home.

The Zeta Lambda chapter of Sigma Kappa sorority was incorporated at the College three years ago. From its inception the group, now boasting 85 members, had begged, bargained, and bullied the administration for a home of its own. Last spring, acting on a recommendation from its student-affairs committee, the Board of Trustees approved conversion of the allmale Cameron-Burleigh dormitory on West Wheelock - once the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house - into sorority housing.

The College footed the initial $30,000 renovation cost, part of which went to repair the vandalism of a few angry evicted male tenants. The national Sigma Kappa organization added another $30,000 for "furnishings," then the women borrowed $35,000 more from the College to, as one sister said, "make the place livable."

"Livable" indeed the Sigma Kappa house borders on the sumptuous compared with other student housing. Step through the front doors onto the polished hardwood floors, sink into a room-sized, steelblue carpet, follow the curving, carpeted stairway up to eight two-room doubles as spacious as hotel suites. Back down the stairs to the library, office, and guest room off the living room, then down another flight to the basement: beamed ceilings, wet bar, and a wood-paneled, carpeted TV room. Then the kitchen: two sinks, two stoves, five full-sized refrigerators ("food and Tab," explained a sister), and a couple dozen private food lockers for the sisters who eat but don't live there. The 16 women who live in the house will never pay more than 90 per cent of the going dormitory rate - currently $445 - for all this, according to Sigma Kappa president Linda Bornhuetter '82.

It was Dean Ralph Manuel and Assistant Dean Joseph Zolner who helped Sigma Kappa push for a house. Meanwhile, Bornhuetter and company managed to convince the national organization to waive its rules requiring a live-in house mother and banning alcohol and the women still received the national's Wick Award for Most Cooperative Chapter.

Sigma Kappa held its official Housewarming Party on October 24. Dean Manuel, who as a member of Phi Gam used to live at the same address, was invited. He stood talking to some fraternity-and sorority members. One of the men said, "I can't believe I'm in Cameron-Burleigh's living room."

"I can't believe I'm in Phi Gam's living room,' said Manuel.

Then one of the sisters spoke up: "You're both in Sigma Kappa's living room."