After three years without a house, the Kappa Sigma fraternity will be cutting the ribbon this August on their brand new on-campus residence

The house will be able to sleep 32 males. The rooms are a mixture of singles, doubles and one triple. The house also features a large living room, study rooms, a library and a dining hall. The house will not have a full kitchen instead the meals will be catered.

The new house cost a half million dollars and was made possible by a two to one matching program where the school matched what the fraternity raised by two.

“I think the [matching program] was thought up by the housing board and the chancellor,” said Brian Weber, Kappa Sigma president.

Currently the brothers and alumni are fundrasing for furniture and crests.

“Things that distinguish it from other residence halls on campus,” said Weber. There was a misconception about why Kappa Sigma decided to build a new house instead of remodeling the old one.

“The house was fully functioning and livable,” said Weber. “The main problem was the roof and making fire code.”

It was also a combination of bad timing and a bad chain of events said Weber.

The lack of a house made it hard for the fraternity to recruit new pledges, even though they have always been a fraternity.

“Obviously, the physical house of a fraternity helps brotherhood. It brings the brothers together on a daily basis,” said Weber. “Doors are open, conversation is free flowing.”

At the end of the 2004-2005 school year Kappa Sigma has 20 new brothers. They hold rush every quarter in order to help their numbers explained Weber.

Kappa Sigma is the second oldest fraternsity on campus, and the house was over 100 years old.

Next year there will be 26 active brothers.