Monaghan to open private Catholic women's dormitory

By Ginnefer Cox

Daily Staff Reporter

Billionaire and devout Catholic Tom Monaghan recently purchased a fraternity house and will be opening a dormitory for Catholic women students.

The Domino's Pizza founder and former Detroit Tigers owner bought the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house last year, and will be opening the dormitory on August 25th.

The Sigma Phi Epsilon house was privately owned by a local company, and was being leased to the fraternity, according to Luke Ravlin, president of the fraternity.

The fraternity, formerly located on 725 Oxford, will now be moving to 1601 Washtenaw.

The Catholic dormitory, which will be called the Oasis House and will not be a part of traditional housing at the University, has been advertised through local venues such as local churches and newspapers.

The dormitory is geared primarily toward Catholic women at the University, but is also an option for Catholic women at other nearby institutions such as Eastern Michigan University and Madonna University.

The Oasis House, which has a fourteen-student capacity, will offer daily prayer service and community meals. The house will contain a chapel for prayer, as well as a computer lab, family room and dining room. Rent for the house is $475 a month, which includes all meals and utilities.

Brooke Belisle, house director for the Oasis house, said the household will encourage the women to not only focus on their academic growth, but their spiritual growth as well.

"I really hope for the girls to be nurtured in an environment in which their academic and moral development can grow, and an environment in which the girls can deepen their relationship with Christ and the Catholic faith," Belisle said.

Monaghan sold Domino's Pizza last fall for one billion dollars, and has dedicated himself to promoting the traditional basics of the Roman Catholic faith.

He founded Ave Maria College in Ypsilanti, a four-year co-ed Catholic college, and has plans to open a Catholic law school in Ann Arbor for the fall.

Monaghan, who has said many Catholics are being inconsistent in their faith, is opening these institutions in the hopes of rebuilding a solid Catholic education system.

Other Catholics have not always shared Monaghan's views. Nicole Smith, campus minister of St. Mary's church in Ann Arbor, said she feels many Catholics are very informed about their faith.

"All Catholics may not be able to quote Bible verses, but it does not mean they don't know their faith," Smith said.

LSA sophomore Heather Jensen said she feels that although religious education is important, people should be informed on all religions.

"A well rounded education should definitely have a religious component. That would not only promote understanding of all the world's faiths, but would also encourage moral behavior," Jensen said.

Currently, 11 women are enrolled to live in the Oasis house for the fall.