The Offices of Housing Services and Facilities Services have been charged by the Board of Trustees to address the physical features of each house so that those students living in fraternities will enjoy a clean, well-maintained, and safe environment. We are charged to ensure that these facilities remain in good repair so that each year, entering second year students and returning upper class members will find their rooms and the house in satisfactory condition. While it is paramount that fraternity and sorority houses maintain their unique qualities that separate them from residence halls, ensuring that houses remain safe, clean, and in good repair is our prime responsibility to our residents. Therefore, we present the following painting policy that will enable Lehigh University to manage its housing system while still providing each house the ability to remain unique.
In an effort to establish a baseline in each house the leadership for each Greek organization (e.g. actives, Alumni/ae house corporations, etc.) supplied the Office of Facilities Services with the following information:
Common Areas
- Hallways and Bedroom Doors - each Greek organization supplied a standard color "scheme" for hallways, including wall color, trim color, and bedroom door color. All fraternity hallways and bedroom doors will be painted the selected color and will be maintained each subsequent summer with patching and repainting as needed. This will ensure that all fraternity hallways and bedroom doors will be returned to excellent condition prior to fall arrival each year.
- Existing Murals - murals located in fraternity hallways, stairwells, and common areas were evaluated by Alumni/ae and administrators; and these members evaluated whether the mural should remain as part of the décor.
- Other House Common Areas (e.g. living room, dining room, kitchen, stairwells) - if it is determined during the facilities audit that a common room, such as a living room or a dining room, would be repainted during the summer months, a paint color scheme will be requested from the house leadership and alumni/ae.
Bedrooms
- Paint color in Greek houses is limited to chapter’s selected standard color in bedrooms and common areas. Upon chapter request, a mural of significance to the chapter’s identity, history, or culture may be placed on common area walls or one wall in bedrooms. This request requires submission of a House Project Request Form by the chapter, including documented approval from the chapter president, house manager, and alumni.
- If the painting of the mural is satisfactory at the end of the year, the paint may remain. An inspection will be completed by Housing Services and Facilities Services.
- Murals or other unique paint work already in place prior to the 2014-2015 academic year, will be “grandfathered in” and remain in place; however, no new paint, unless deemed as a mural of significance approved by the Director of Housing Services, will be permitted.
If, during closing inspections in May, any bedroom that is painted an alternative color that was approved prior to 2014-15 or a an approved mural that is found to be in unsatisfactory condition by Housing Services will be painted back to the original house color and billed to the Chapter. Any unapproved painting found in bedrooms will be repainted and billed to the resident(s) of the room. Any unapproved painting in a common area will be repainted and billed to the chapter.