Residents of Nuestro Hogar Latino will move to a new theme house next fall when Sigma Nu reclaims its building on 4 Henry St., according to Director of Residence Life Chris Reid.
The theme house, whose name translates to Our Latino House, “serves as a safe space to celebrate the commonalities and differences within a Latinx identity” that stems from cultures across Latin America and the Caribbeans, according to the residence life office’s website.
But Nuestro Hogar Latino (NHL) is more than brick and mortar for the members of Comunidad Latina Estudiantil (CLE), a student organization that uses NHL as its home base for meetings and events.
“When we think of our best memories, we think of NHL,” six members of the CLE executive team said in a group statement. “Something that the school won’t be able to replace is the memories.”
While CLE executive members said they felt blindsided by the move, they are feeling optimistic about relocating their carne asada cookouts, Merengue dance workshops and chisme (or gossip) nights to a new home in Lexington: 218 E Nelson St., formerly known as the Sustainability House.
“My goal is to continue working with CLE leadership this term on plans for the new location,” Reid wrote in an emailed statement to the Ring-tum Phi. “While change can be challenging, I’m very excited about CLE’s willingness to continue the mission of NHL on campus and especially to see how they utilize the new location for building community.”
As NHL moves out, the Lambda chapter of Sigma Nu will move in. The fraternity was established at Virginia Military Institute in 1869 and the Lambda chapter was formed at Washington and Lee University in 1882, according to the fraternity’s website. The fraternity left W&L’s campus in 2020 when no new members had pledged, according to previous reporting by the Phi.
The Lambda chapter announced on its Instagram account on Jan. 15 that it was “officially back,” and followed up with a post on Jan. 31 that said it had recruited five new candidates.
Jack Wright, ’19, president of the Sigma Nu Housing Corporation, did not respond to three emails and three voicemails from the Phi requesting comment about the fraternity’s return. The Phi’s attempts to speak with Sigma Nu members were directed back to Wright.
Reid said Sigma Nu’s “right to be able to be in that house should the chapter return” was part of an agreement made between the university and the fraternity when it voluntarily closed its chapter in 2020.
But CLE executive members said they didn’t know about the possibility of losing their house until a meeting on Dec. 5 with Reid and members of the Student Affairs office.
“The decision was already made before we went to that meeting,” according to the CLE statement. “We were just left asking, ‘Was the house ever really ours?’”
“Our primary focus of that conversation was ensuring that the NHL mission could continue, albeit at a different location, and that we would work closely with CLE leadership to ensure a successful transition,” Reid said.
The CLE executive members toured the Nelson Street house with Reid on Jan. 15 and formally accepted the offer to move there on Jan. 17, according to statements made by both parties.
By then, 4 Henry St. was already long gone. Sigma Nu posted a photo of the house on their Instagram on Jan. 5, advertising its close proximity to campus and event space during the formal recruitment period.
Now, CLE is navigating an “awkward phase” of living in a house that won’t be theirs next year, according to the group’s statement. But they said the uncertainty is nothing new for NHL.
The NHL theme house was first created in the 2019-2020 school year, according to previous reporting by the Phi. Originally located next to the Washingtonian House on North Main Street, NHL was the first designated space on campus for Latinx students to build community.
But the building wasn’t home for long. In February 2021, the ceiling of a resident’s room collapsed, and NHL students were moved to a theme house on Lee Avenue while repairs were made, according to previous reporting by the Phi.
NHL students were moved again in the 2022-2023 school year to their current location at 4 Henry St., according to the residence life office’s website. The building was the perfect space for NHL, CLE executive members said, with large common areas for hosting events and welcoming next-door neighbors at Sankofa — a theme house committed to providing a social space for students of the African diaspora, according to the residence life office’s website.
Reid said both 4 Henry St. and 218 E Nelson St. have “similar amenities in terms of community-style living and programmatic space.” He added that the office of residence life will partner with CLE and university facilities before fall term to complete some upgrades at the Nelson Street house, such as painting and adding décor.
But CLE executive members said the new NHL location on Nelson Street will not be as ideal as their current home. It’s a 12-minute walk away from Elrod Commons, according to Google Maps, making it less central than the colonnade-adjacent Henry Street. It’ll be a tough sell to get club members to make that walk for events, especially for those hosted at night, according to CLE’s statement.
The new location also doesn’t feel as welcoming, the CLE executive members said. The former Sustainability House is sandwiched between the Sigma Chi and Kappa Sigma fraternity houses on Nelson Street — and is colloquially known by students as overflow housing for the two Greek organizations. CLE said in its statement that concern for safety has been on students’ minds more since vandalism occurred at the Red House, a center for LGBTQ+ students, in November.
Both factors could combine to result in lower attendance for events and meetings, CLE executive members fear. But they said they are determined to make Nelson Street a good home for NHL and approach the move with a “light-hearted spirit.” They’re even planning a mock-funeral for 4 Henry St. so students can say their goodbyes to the space at the end of the term.
CLE executive members added that the move won’t affect their campus-wide programming, such as the annual Latino Heritage Month Kickoff and Baile events — which had about 350 and 200 attendees this school year, respectively.
As theme housing applications for the 2025-2026 school year open today, CLE members said they hope students will join them for a new adventure.
“What we have known as NHL is changing, but we’re all willing to take this next step,” CLE executive members said in their statement.
David Dowler • Feb 10, 2025 at 11:42 am
The article does not provide historical perspective: Lambda Chapter of Sigma Nu occupied 4 Henry Street for many decades. My brother-in-law (deceased) lived there in 1955.