In recent months, Stanford has received questions from alumni and others about the decision to terminate the ground lease of the Alpha Omega Housing Corporation (AOHC) for the Sigma Chi Chapter House, which for more than 80 years was located at 550 Lasuen Mall on the Stanford campus. This web page provides information about the issue and the status of the 550 Lasuen house.
Background
The Greek community is an important part of the Stanford community, and participation in Greek life is a valued part of the Stanford experience for some of our students. Within our diverse undergraduate housing system, Stanford continues to provide 10 houses on campus that are used as residences for recognized fraternities and sororities.
In February 2019, Stanford served notice that it would not renew the AOHC ground lease for the house at 550 Lasuen. In the year before, 2018, Sigma Chi was suspended by its international organization after an investigation of the chapter. Stanford also removed university recognition of the Sigma Chi chapter for a minimum of three years, following panel proceedings that determined that Sigma Chi violated party planning and alcohol and controlled substances policies at a time when Sigma Chi was on probation due to earlier violations.
After losing the recognition of its international organization and of the university, the suspended chapter and members were not allowed to act as a Sigma Chi chapter, recruit members, hold meetings, or take other actions as a group. 550 Lasuen was no longer operated as a chapter house. The suspended chapter has since worked to regain its status with the international organization (with installation scheduled for November 2023) and at Stanford.
Like other recognized Greek organizations, Sigma Chi will have the ability to apply for an on-campus house in the future. To promote an equitable and fair opportunity for housing across all Greek organizations, Stanford has a process in which fraternities and sororities can apply for housing on a four-year cycle.
Questions and answers
Is the lease being terminated at the last minute?
No. Notice of the lease termination was served in February 2019. A number of legal proceedings followed, which culminated in Stanford and AOHC signing a Settlement Agreement in March 2021.
That Settlement Agreement, negotiated by AOHC, stated that the lease would end on August 31, 2023. The Agreement allowed AOHC to petition for renewal, but nothing in the Agreement obligated Stanford to authorize such renewal. In fact, it stated that “nothing in this Settlement Agreement shall obligate Landlord to agree to any request for an extension, renewal, new lease or other agreement of any kind.”
The Settlement Agreement signed by AOHC states: “Unless the Ground Lease is extended as provided in Paragraph 2 above, Tenant agrees that it will unconditionally vacate the Premises and surrender the Premises to Landlord in its entirety, in good condition and free of any personal property of Tenant, as of or prior to the Termination Date.” It also states that AOHC “agrees not to challenge the Termination Date or the requirement that it vacate the Premises by that date on any basis or in any forum if the Ground Lease has not been extended by Landlord in writing.”
What are the reasons for the termination of the lease?
The lease termination that was communicated in 2019 followed a very concerning series of events that occurred while Sigma Chi was already on probation, and that led to its international organization suspending its charter. Stanford did not believe that indefinite continuation of a lease was appropriate in light of these issues.
More broadly, Stanford has been seeking to ensure equity and fairness in the allocation of Greek housing, so that all Greek organizations can apply for the chance to be housed.
The 550 Lasuen house is the only Stanford undergraduate residence overseen by a non-University entity. Stanford currently has 24 recognized Greek organizations on campus, many of which are interested in housing. The process Stanford has developed in recent years for allocating Greek housing seeks to improve equity and fairness, allowing other deserving fraternities and sororities to apply for the opportunity to be housed on campus.
Finally, Stanford’s undergraduate housing system is much larger, more complex, and more diverse than it was at the time when Sigma Chi initially occupied the 550 Lasuen house. Serving the needs and interests of our students today requires flexibility in the uses and assignments of the physical facilities on campus. An ongoing lease to a non-University entity limits this flexibility in responding to the needs and interests of our student body.
As it returns to campus, can Sigma Chi regain access to housing on the Stanford campus?
Yes. Stanford has a process for allocating housing to Greek organizations on a four-year cycle, and Sigma Chi will be able to apply for housing as part of this process.
This process allocates campus housing for fraternities and sororities in good standing for a fixed term, rather than indefinitely, to expand opportunities for other fraternities and sororities to be housed. This will provide Sigma Chi with the same opportunity as other Greek organizations to obtain a house in the coming years.
Is Stanford required to provide an alternate house for Sigma Chi under the terms of the lease?
No. The Settlement Agreement signed by AOHC does not require that Stanford provide another house. Even in the absence of the Settlement Agreement, the lease does not require that Stanford provide another house because, at the time that Stanford gave notice that the lease would not be renewed, there was no Sigma Chi chapter at Stanford and 550 Lasuen no longer was used as a residence intended primarily for active Sigma Chi members. After the suspension, 550 Lasuen was operated as a coed residence out of the Stanford housing allocation process, with an operational agreement between Stanford and AOHC governing each academic year, including the 2022-23 academic year.
Is it true that Stanford initiated the legal proceedings on this matter by suing AOHC?
No. AOHC filed a lawsuit against Stanford on June 11, 2019. Stanford then responded by filing an unlawful detainer action on June 20, 2019.
Is it true that a court ordered Stanford to pay attorneys’ fees to AOHC?
No. The court did not order Stanford to pay attorneys’ fees to AOHC, nor does there appear to be any basis upon which the court would order the payment of fees (there was no prevailing party provision in the lease, nor does there appear to be a relevant statute that provides for fee awards to a prevailing party).
Why did Stanford oppose a nomination for the 550 Lasuen house to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places? More broadly, why is Stanford terminating the lease when Sigma Chi has made many positive contributions over the years?
The Sigma Chi chapter and its alumni indeed have made many positive contributions to Stanford and campus life over the chapter’s long history. Stanford recognizes the long-term association of Sigma Chi with 550 Lasuen, the understandable warm feelings that Sigma Chi alumni have for the house, and the good that the fraternity’s members have done over the years.
One of Sigma Chi’s proud moments was in 1965, when it pledged the first Black member of Sigma Chi nationally – an action that was opposed at the time by its international organization. This was the basis for a recent proposal for the 550 Lasuen house to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Stanford’s professional heritage preservation staff reviewed the nomination and researched the historical context around it. Stanford has many historic buildings and takes its stewardship of these resources very seriously. However, the findings of the review suggested that Sigma Chi’s action in 1965, while praiseworthy, was not sufficiently groundbreaking either nationally or at Stanford to warrant a national historic designation for the 550 Lasuen house. The historical context includes, for instance, the fact that some Stanford fraternities were pledging members of previously excluded groups as early as 1947; in 1961, at least one Stanford fraternity, Theta Xi, had pledged a Black member; in 1962, the Stanford chapter of Sigma Nu had left its national organization over a clause barring Black students from membership; and in 1964, three faculty members and 40 Stanford students traveled to Mississippi for Freedom Summer, where they faced danger from vigilante groups.
Scholarship on the Civil Rights Movement and desegregation on college and university campuses does not identify the Sigma Chi house at Stanford among the major historical sites associated with these social movements. After seeking confirmation for the claims made in the nomination, and finding little support for the claims of a major leadership role in the Civil Rights Movement, Stanford chose not to support the nomination.
Whether or not the building merits a historic designation, Stanford continues to value the many contributions of members of the Greek community, and particularly supports the efforts of our Greek organizations at Stanford to continue advancing equity and inclusion, along with health and well-being, community and belonging, and intellectual and personal growth.