Members of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity were given the final OK to move back into their house at 2112 Lincoln Way on Jan. 5, nearly eight years after losing their house and charter.

“It’s been a long road,” said Beau Carlson, senior in animal science, “but I just love seeing how much everything’s changed since we’ve started.”

President Ryan Pleak, senior in industrial technology, said Pi Kappa Alpha lost its house and charter in 1992 for various reasons, including uncontrolled parties, a drop in academics and a decline in the condition of the house itself.

Until a fraternity has a charter, it is only considered a colony. For one year, the colony is under a trial period until it proves it meets the rules of both the university and the national fraternity.

However, after a long period of suspension and a number of setbacks, Pi Kappa Alpha began to rebuild its Alpha Phi chapter in October 1997 when its first new pledge class was pinned.

The $1 million renovation of the Pi Kappa Alpha house did not begin until January 1999 because the house was being leased to Sigma Pi fraternity.

The renovation was a long and complicated process. “We gutted the entire house. Pretty much everything is new, and if they couldn’t replace it, they made it look new,” Pleak said.

Several members said the re-establishment of Pi Kappa Alpha and the renovation of the house would not have been possible without the support of fraternity alumni.

“Our alumni support has been overwhelming, both financially and otherwise,” said Alex Oehrlein, junior in electrical engineering.

Pleak credits alumni with giving members advice on everything from moving in to academics.

“Our alumni received second place at our national alumni convention for the support that they have showed our chapter. One of our alums even stopped by and made soup for us today,” he said.

The Office of Greek Affairs has also played a role in helping the members of Pi Kappa Alpha reestablish their house.

“Greek Affairs has really started helping us this year. They are striving to help us come together as a house. Brian [Tenclinger, coordinator of Greek Affairs] has given us a lot of ideas, especially with moving in and getting the house together,” Pleak said.

Tenclinger said the Greek Affairs Office has been working with alumni and current fraternity members to ensure that all university and national regulations are being followed.

“My job is serving as a coach for the fraternity,” Tenclinger said. “I help them with goal setting and planning, and I try to help them sort out their concerns.”

Tenclinger did not play a large role in the actual moving-in process, but he did work closely with the fraternity’s members to discuss possible obstacles that the members may encounter.

“I walked them through what to expect, for instance, what to do when a house rule is broken,” he said.

Thirty-four of Pi Kappa Alpha’s 55 members are now living in the house. Pleak said most of the members agree that “it’s nice knowing that we have a place that is ours. We can hold our meetings here, and not everyone is spread out throughout campus.”

Carlson said the current goal of Pi Kappa Alpha is to work with the university and to get its charter back when final review comes up in February.

“Right now, we are just really trying to keep our noses clean and follow the rules that we are supposed to follow,” Carlson said.

Friendship is one of the strongest bonds holding Pi Kappa Alpha together, Carlson said.

“We didn’t have to have a house to prove to everyone that we are a fraternity,” he said.