Members and residents of Theta Chi have returned to their chapter house at 52 Broad St. as of Friday, March 31 after an extensive rodent infestation forced a house closure and the relocation of its residents earlier in the semester.

Residents have been unable to live in or access the building since returning from the winter break recess in late January 2023. Colgate University officials confirmed that an extensive eradication effort has been underway to remove an unconfirmed number of rats from the premises. In addition to the extensive extermination efforts, clean-up process and building repairs have been completed to address damages form the previous infestation and prevent future infestations.

Municipal inspections for the living and communal spaces of the house resulted in approval for residents to return last week. A commercial kitchen inspection of the changes made as part of remediation efforts has not yet occurred, and until a commercial inspection can happen, the house’s kitchen will remain closed.

Senior and Theta Chi member Simon Lee shared excitement to be returning to the chapter house for the remaining weeks of the semester.

“I am happy that we are back,” Lee said. “Even though it took a little longer than we anticipated, I appreciate all the University’s effort to get us back to our house.”

Residents of the chapter house, until last week, were housed in temporary housing at the Townhouse Apartments on State Route 12-B or at the Sophomore Residential Seminar (SRS) House on Oak Drive.

Senior Chase Garvey-Daniels was one of the Theta Chi members relocated to the SRS House. He expressed his relief to be back in his standard living space.

“It felt incredibly relieving and rewarding to move back into the house after these past couple of months,” Garvey said. “While I’ll miss the kind folks over at SRS, it’s nice to be back with everyone that I haven’t had as much personal time with this semester.”