Collegiate Times

Although students are busy coming to the aid of victims of Katrina and other disasters across the country, they are also taking the time to help within the community as students have been affected by loss right here on campus.

Efforts are taking place to help clean up and rebuild the Zeta Psi fraternity house after it burned Oct. 3 in the early morning hours.

According to a press release from the Blacksburg Fire Department, the fire started on a sofa on the front porch and quickly engulfed the front porch and spread inside the house.

The cause of the blaze is still unknown.

?We have sent loads of stuff to our lab that handles evidence and processing, however it will be months before we know anything more concerning the cause of the fire and possible charges,? said Lt. Bruce Bradbery, public information officer for the Blacksburg Police. ?As soon as we hear something we will be releasing the reports.?

In the meantime, the university, the office of student life, fellow students and the Greek community have been doing all they can to ease the aftermath of the fire for Zeta Psi.

?The university support has been amazing. Not even an hour after the fire, representatives from the Office of Student Affairs were out helping us obtain housing, school books and computers,? said John Dileo, senior business information technology major and president of Zeta Psi.

Eric Norman, director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life said there will be a benefit concert tonight at Top of the Stairs from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Admission will be $3 at the door and those under the age of 21 will be permitted admittance. The event is being sponsored by Lambda Chi Alpha, Delta Sigma Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Fiji, four fraternities located on Roanoke Street.

?The band performing will be Shane Hines and the Trance. We had them come down last month and play at our fraternity house. They?re good guys and good-hearted so when I told them about what happened to Zeta Psi, they jumped at the opportunity to come down and play a benefit concert for free,? said Matt Lauro, senior communication major and president of Lambda Chi Alpha.

Lauro said all proceeds from the concert event will be going to the Zeta Psi alumni association to aid in rebuilding their house.

?I wanted the Greek community to help out, especially the fraternities located on Roanoke Street. They were all happy to help sponsor the benefit concert and get promotions,? Lauro said. ?But this is not just a Greek thing. I want everybody, Greeks and non-Greeks, to come out and raise money for a good cause.?

Over $75,000 worth of damage crippled the house which was home to five Zeta Psi members. One student was moved to on-campus housing while the other four students were put up in an apartment in University Terrace, Dileo said.

?Zeta Psi is looking for assistance in cleaning their house up. They have a lot of debris to clear out,? Norman said.

The presidents of all of the fraternities and sororities on campus have asked their members if they can take time to help clean up, Lauro said.

?We never thought we would get this kind of support,? Dileo said. ?Many organizations are supporting us and helping us through this trying time.?

Lauro said they want to clear everything up in the next three days, and they have been working late nights to achieve that goal. Lauro encourages students to volunteer to help out and said the community support is much appreciated.