TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — University of Arizona fraternity Sigma Nu's house sits smack in the middle of the residential Rincon Heights Neighborhood.
They're one of four fraternities stationed south of the main campus.
The brothers at the house say it hasn't always been the easiest relationship, something neighbors in the Rincon Heights Neighborhood Association agree with, calling their past relationship with the fraternities "checkered."
“An issue we kind of made for ourselves last year was we hosted a social event almost every Friday night," said Sigma Nu President Zachary Stults. "That kind of repetitiveness— I mean people are going to complain.”
This year, Stults says he was determined to change that relationship.
After meeting with their Chapter adviser, Stults went to a Rincon Heights Neighborhood meeting, eventually joining the RHNA.
"We're an organization of 132 men." Stults said. "We have a lot of manpower in a sense, so if there's anything that needs to be done in the neighborhood, our guys are willing to do it."
This year, the group got involved in the community garden and
hosted two neighborhood trash cleanups, even encouraging the fraternity across the street to do one of their own.
They also invited the neighborhood to their house for a movie night, showing The Princess Bride on a projector in their backyard.
Sigma Nu Risk Manager Arun Barath Vijay Sankar says that like their brotherhood, this neighborhood is a more than a four-year commitment.
“There are guys that are going to be in this house years after we’ve graduated," Sankar said. "They’re going to be in the same neighborhood, and we don’t want them to have to go through the trials and tribulations we had to.”
Sigma Nu just signed a ten year lease, so the guys say they're hoping to keep this new relationship strong, with Stults saying, “I’m going to make sure it's not just a short term thing.”
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Alex Dowd is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9, where her work combines her two favorite hobbies: talking to new people and learning about the community around her. Her goal is to eventually meet every single person in Tucson. Share your story ideas with Alex via email, alex.dowd@kgun9.com, or connecting on Instagram or X.
