The following letter was recently sent out to our Beta Mu alumni:
Hopefully you have heard that Transylvania’s 4 Sororities and 4 Fraternities will be moving to new chapter rooms in the basement of Bassett Hall early next year. The Fraternities have been in 2 different temporary chapter rooms during the past 4 years and the sororities must move by 1/1/19 due to the planned replacement of Forrer Hall. Bassett basement will have 8 chapter rooms of similar size, one larger conference room, as well as men’s and women’s restrooms. The initial build of walls, heating/cooling units, sprinkler systems, lighting and restrooms cost $500,000 and was paid for by Greek alumni donations and a match by President Carey. The individual room décor including flooring, wall covering, cabinets, closets as well as the furnishings must be paid for by each chapter, which essentially means from alumni contributions.
Since Clay and Davis Halls were demolished 5 years ago and we lost our hall and chapter room, our chapter has really struggled to replicate the camaraderie and fellowship which those common spaces helped provide. In Davis, we had 44 brothers on our hall but now in Bassett the space consists of a half hall holding a much smaller number of 16. Our current temporary chapter room is basically 2 dorm rooms with a door connecting them, so not a great situation.
Assigned by random draw, our new chapter room is the largest at 655 square feet. It is slightly smaller than our old room in Davis basement, but it doesn’t have big columns in the middle. A committee of 2 actives, ACB President Johan Graham and Chapter Advisor Kirk Tolle have been working with a designer on decor and furnishings. We want the room to be both classy and relaxed, but our main goal is for it to be durable and lasting, like our last one. We saved most of the barn wood from the old room with the hope of using it somehow in the new one, but unfortunately, the wood’s poor condition after many years of chapter use makes it too impractical to use. Our plans include luxury vinyl flooring, medium dark decorative wall paneling 36 inches high with painted walls for the remainder, cabinets and counters the length of the room (the upper cabinets will have glass doors to display our awards), a counter height refrigerator, storage closet, 6 upholstered sofas, a large rectangular wood table for meeting and studying, 10 upholstered wood chairs for the table, several soft-seated folding chairs, and a few end tables and rugs. Hopefully you will be glad to know that to make it unique, we have tastefully worked in green throughout the room.
Based on these plans, the estimated cost to decorate and furnish our room is $50,000: $28,000 for the walls, flooring, cabinets, countertops, closet and wiring, and $22,000 for the furnishings. Transylvania will accept donations for the $28,000, which will be tax deductible and will count toward your annual giving to Transylvania. However, the chapter and our ACB are on our own for the $22,000 for the furnishings. Both the chapter and ACB have some savings which we can use but we will still need $12,000+ to do it the right way—the Delta Sig way.
We ask you to consider giving to this cause so that our current chapter can enjoy the benefits of a nice chapter room like we did for nearly 60 years. To move forward, we must have all the needed funding in hand by December 31, 2018. Your tax-deductible contribution to finish the room should be made to Transylvania University (or online at transy.edu/gobeyond and designate for Delta Sigma Phi chapter room) and your contributions for the furniture should be made out to Beta Mu of Delta Sigma Phi Alumni Association (or online at betamualumni.org). We would ask that you send all checks to Kirk Tolle (658 Hillcrest Road, Maysville, KY 41056) and he will get them to the proper place. If you want to contribute appreciated securities or if you have further questions, you can contact Kirk by email kirktolle@hotmail.com.
For those of you who give to either or both purposes, we will publish your name in our Spring Beta Mu Alumni newsletter and on our website. For those who give at least $1000 in total, you will also be recognized by having your name engraved on a plaque at the entrance of the new chapter room. Thank you for your consideration!
YITBOS,