Even as two recent evictions this semester have raised questions about the maintenance of fraternity houses, one Tufts student is heavily lobbying for the passage of a U.S. Senate bill that could have a significant impact on Greek organizations.
The Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act of 2009 (CHIA) on April 2, 2009 was introduced in the U.S Senate and seeks to improve collegiate housing while alleviating rising college costs.
CHIA addresses the disparity between universities and non−profit organizations, such as fraternities and sororities, in the area of tax−deductible donations for the creation and improvement of college infrastructure.
Universities are currently allowed to accept tax−deductible charitable donations for college infrastructure upgrades, but other organizations that also provide housing on campus, like fraternities and sororities, cannot.
"Any organization that seeks to provide a housing component as part of its educational program is currently unable to use tax−deductible dollars for improvement of infrastructure," Dan Backer, a volunteer with the Zeta Psi Government Relations Program, told the Daily.
If passed, CHIA would modify the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow for tax−deductible donations for collegiate housing and infrastructure at non−profit organizations.
"CHIA is a way to offset costs without putting pressure on university budgets and without putting pressure on taxpayers," Serge Eygenson, a junior who is involved with lobbying for CHIA in Washington, D.C., said. "This will give people who want to help students the benefits of tax deductible donations … Everyone wins."
This change encompassed by CHIA will create an increased incentive for alumni to make charitable donations that will support organizational collegiate housing and improvements to such housing, according to Eygenson, a Zeta Psi brother.
"In tough economic times, it is hard to explain to an alumni that a donation is not tax deductible … that is a big difference−maker," Eygenson said.
Increasing funding for the maintenance of safety standards at non−university housing is especially relevant to Tufts, given the recent evictions at the Delta Upsilon and Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity houses, according to Eygenson.
He added that the ballooning Greek population on campus and the strain on campus housing are both issues that CHIA can address. "The cool thing about this act is the huge potential impact at Tufts," Eygenson said.
Eygenson recently introduced a resolution in the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate expressing support for CHIA's passage. The Senate on March 14 unanimously passed the resolution.
"It's pretty much to stand in support of what Serge is doing," TCU President Brandon Rattiner, a senior, said. "We recognize that there are implications of this sort of legislation, and we want to support a cause that we think is correct."
Supporters of the bill on the national level link CHIA's goals with maintaining the affordability of universities.
"It essentially allows private donors to invest private dollars into a public good that creates jobs and keeps college affordable," Backer said.
CHIA has 27 current sponsors in the U.S. Senate and 182 current sponsors in the House of Representatives.
"The majority of the house is either a current or past sponsor, and we hope to achieve a current majority of sponsors this year … It is a widely supported, bipartisan bill," Backer said. "We're hoping that the bill passes in 2010."
A significant safety upgrade that CHIA's tax−deductible donations will sponsor is an increase in the number of fire sprinkler systems in residences.
Currently, only 39 percent of Greek housing at American universities have fire sprinkler systems in place. The presence of sprinklers directly affects the fatality rate in the case of a fire; there have been no fire−related deaths at fraternities with sprinkler systems.
Eygenson noted that at Tufts, every Greek organization that provides housing has a sprinkler system.
