People started gathering in front of the Sigma Chi fraternity house early this morning to get a good seat and say goodbye to this campus landmark. Sigma Chi brothers came with cameras to capture the last event in their chapter’s history to take place at this beautiful old brick house.

Also arriving early were bulldozers and wrecking cranes. As I watched the trees swaying heavily in the morning wind, I wondered if these gusts would delay the work. But they soon died down and the engines began to roar.

Workers started at the back of the house, the huge bucket picking up pieces of the structure as if it were a dollhouse. After they removed the back, the long pillars began to sway. I heard an enormous crash, and then the wind picked up a big cloud of dust and quickly carried it away.

The Sigma Chis moved into this Classically styled house in 1954 and have resided there ever since. The Shurtleff family built the structure in 1910 and designed it to be a co-operative living environment with four separate units, each with its own spacious living area that included a kitchen, bathroom, and three bedrooms.

I—along with many people—have mixed feelings as we watch our familiar landscape change so dramatically. For the campus, however, the removal of this house will help make room for the new Markin Family Student Recreation Center. For the Sigma Chis, it means that next fall they will be moving into a huge, beautiful new home that sits among other Greek houses on Fredonia Ave. Just a few weeks ago the Sigma Chis hosted “Derby Days”—and the students seemed to have so much fun. It makes me think that it’s not so much the buildings themselves that are the life of our campus, but the people who use them. I’m sure next year, the Derby Days scene on Fredonia will be just as exciting!