New fraternity house under construction

By Sofia Syed, Arts & Life Editor

Tau Kappa Epsilon is currently rebuilding their fraternity house on 465 Carroll St. They are planning for it to be completed by June.

Their former house, located at 116 Fir Hill, was demolished last spring because the 100-year-old structure was falling apart.

Over the last couple of years, they have been hosting fundraisers to help cover the cost of their new house. In total, they have raised over $800,000. A large portion of funding came from previous alumnus.

Even though they have not had a house to hold meetings, TKE has still been active. During that time, they used the Union as a meeting place. Now that their basement is complete, they have been using that as their chapter room. TKE has been participating in the yearly Akron-wide event called “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes.” This fundraiser is geared towards men to raise support for rape crisis victims.

For the past 10 years TKE has supported this fundraiser. Parker Smith, TKE president, said, “We make it fun, because it’s a tough subject.  If you can make it a good time, more people come out and more money will get donated.”

They also have been involved by keeping up with their philanthropy, such as “Light the Night,” which is a fundraiser walk, and participating in UA’s intramurals.

TKE is proud to say that during the fall 2014 semester, their fraternity earned a 2.95 cumulative GPA, which is their highest record since 2006. They hope that this semester they can achieve over a 3.0 GPA.

The TKE fraternity is a diverse group of men who are looking for members who are focused on growth. Their motto is to aid men in mental, moral, and social development. If any male student is interested in joining, or to learn more information about TKE, they can visit www.uakrontke.org.