Iowa State’s greek system will have one less fraternity this fall — the Sigma Nu chapter, ISU’s first fraternity, will no longer be active.

The news came to members of the fraternity last spring when financial problems, low membership and lack of support from the national fraternity combined to bring the chapter to a close.

“We tried to keep things quiet at first because [the house] had different reasons for closing than what happened three years ago,” Jeff Irvin, senior in biology and the fraternity’s president, told the Daily this summer.

After losing its charter in October 1995, Sigma Nu, 2132 Sunset Drive, went “dry” to regain national support. Several active members worked with the national organization in an effort to recruit members and start over, Irvin said.

However, Sigma Nu’s recent troubles stemmed from low membership and strong financial need rather than social problems, Irvin said. Sigma Nu members were often taking money from their own pockets to pay for house needs and activities because of nonexistent collective fraternity funds.

“I was the Greek Week co-chair, and this year I had no budget to work with. It was really hard having to raise money from members when there were many other financial needs,” said Andy Schulz, junior in metallurgical engineering.

Irvin said financial problems and an alcohol-free policy contributed to the fraternity’s low membership.

“We had a strict rule that if a member was caught with alcohol, they had two weeks to leave,” Irvin said. “Also, the house was really in need of repair, from faulty electric wires to a delayed fire system. It’s easy to see why it was hard to get numbers up.

“Thirty-five was the magic number that nationals wanted us to have for membership,” Irvin said. “At closing, we had only 23.”

Schulz said other dry fraternities also have had problems with their membership numbers. He said the Sigma Nu closing is a signal that brings to light already existing troubles in the greek system.

The closing of dry houses, Schulz said, may halt the push from national fraternities to become alcohol-free in the near future.

Alpha Sigma Phi and FarmHouse are the only remaining dry fraternities on ISU’s campus.

In 1906, Sigma Nu became the first fraternity built at ISU. The actual house is owned by Sigma Nu Nationals, and members do not know what nationals plans to do with the property.

After the fraternity’s closing, most Sigma Nu members chose to join other fraternities or move off campus. The national fraternity will not accept members’ requests for alumni status, Irvin said.

However, Sigma Nu members may try to rebuild the chapter with an out-of-house effort to recruit new Rushees.

“It’s too bad that everybody worked so hard, yet it didn’t turn out right,” Irvin said. “I love the size of this house. We were all a very tight-knit group, especially after everything we’ve been through to keep the house going.”