Re: I Don't Think So!
 

You don't need to be forgiven for that.

\Nope, that's not right. Panhel or the school can hardly help who has wealthy alums who want to give money, or who has more nearby chapters to help out, etc. All Panhel does to equalize things is put a cap on how much each chapter can spend on rush - and believe me the wealthier chapters find ways around it.

About 10, 12 years ago, no sorority on my campus had houses. The university started moving the four sororities then on campus into campus-owned homes, one at a time. After the first one moved in, a fifth chapter came on campus.

"Amazingly," when that first chapter got a house, guess whose numbers went up! Guess who everyone wanted to join! Another chapter got a nice house a couple of years later, and their numbers went up, too. Then another moved into the biggest sorority house on campus, with mostly single bedrooms - and suddenly they were "the" chapter to join. I don't think it was any coincidence that the remaining two, one who was in a dorm and one who shared a dorm-style building with a fraternity (split down the middle) were suddenly the smallest. Of course that was then used as the justification for not finding houses for them then ("their numbers aren't doing so well"), but between the other chapters saying, "They're not real, they don't have a house," and rushees saying, "Gee, would I rather live in a crappy dorm or a pretty house?" I think either chapter would have had to work miracles to get their numbers up to "earn" a house once they had been left out basically randomly in the housing game.

I blame the university here, because they were the ones who decided to move the sororities and do it one at a time. What did they think would happen?

They're supposed to build a Greek row near some of the houses, and move the Greeks who are on the ugly south end of campus as well as the unhoused ones. But I have trouble imagining how about 12 chapters are going to fit into the two-house lot that has been selected for the site. I have a feeling some guys are going to get burned (again) when their old houses are taken away and lo and behold there isn't a new house for them.

A lot of people are saying that it depends on your campus, and to an extent that is true...only if very few of the chapters (1 or 2) have a chapter house.

Others have said that a house shouldnt' be necessary b/c sisterhood/brotherhood isn't made by living in a house.
That may be true, but remember this is a competition for rushees.

Remember to look at this from a rushee's perspective: if everythign is fairly equal what are they more likely to choose? Not saying all rushees arent' sophisticated enough to look beyond a house, but I think that it is safe to say that 99% aren't!!! Don't believe me? I'm sure if you look through some of the rush threads you will notice comments time and time again about decorations, house set up, whether the rushee liked the house, etc. IT IS IMPORTANT!!!!1

We who are on the other side know that a house is not the most important thing, but that has only come from our experiences. But again I think most people agree that when they were going through rush they weren't thinking that way...

I totally agree with you. Houses do make an impression on PNMs - and not having one when everyone else does will make it that much easier when it comes time to make cuts. Who are we kidding when we say PNMs should look past whats on the surface, like a house, and choose a group because of the great sisterhood, which they know nothing about yet or have experienced - the whole rush process is superfical! we choose new members based on 30 minute conversations!

On my campus it's pretty traditional that after living in the dorms your freshman year, you move into your sorority/fraternity house your sophomore year if you are greek. I just think of how much better I got to know girls and how much fun I had staying up all night, always having someone to do things with - and I would surely miss it if we didn't have a house!

I really really hope good things happen with this new sorority. Last year a new fraternity (AEPi) came to campus and were housed in a regular house compared to the big traditional fraternity houses, and after the inital colonizing members (i think there were about 10-15) they didn't get any more new members. Well this year they moved into a big, beautiful old fraternity house right along the river and bam, they got 14 NMs during formal recruitment - thats great for a fraternity on my campus!

I guess since I'm an "outsider" to the whole NPC world, I don't understand.. but if members openly say the recruitment process is "superficial".. why don't they change it? I'm sure easier said than done. But I guess it's just the principle of the matter. And I guess I'm way too optimistic to say that girls won't cut out perfectly good sisterhoods just because they don't have a house, or because their house isn't the biggest and most beautiful. That is almost the same as one thread in the Rush forum questioning a PNM because they didn't have a certain "image".

Many Professional GLO's are not even allowed to have houses or other properties, and we do just great. Once again, I understand these two are entirely different types of GLO's but the concept is the same. There are other business GLO's on our campus, and our PNM's have the opportunities to meet all the groups and decide who is for them (mutual selection process also).

Do NPHC GLO's have houses? How does this affect their numbers if at all?

First of all the occurance of Professional GLO's and their success is dependent on the school. People at my university would laugh at someone who treated their Professional org in the same sense as people treat their social GLO. It is very dependent on the campus. The professional GLO's here tend to be resources, with speakers and presentations...rather than intramurals, parties, big recognizable philanthropies and things that are typical among the social. There's a thread about this somewhere, on whether Social greeks consider professional/service greeks as "fellow greeks".

As for NPHC chapters, it also depends on the university, and I think it has the same type of situation as it is for NPC or IFC. If all the other chapters have a house they will be hurt, if not then they won't. Now I speak only for the midwest where IFC and NPC chapters tend not to be in any form of competition for potential members. It may different other places.

YOU All are right in both ways!

Depends on teh School!

My school, if you do not have a House well you are screwed! Both Frat./Soro. have Houses.

LXA at Fl Tech is the only one who does not have a house and are the Strongest.

William-Jewell, the Fraternitys have haouses, the Soroitys do not but are given space in teh Dorms.

Depends on teh size of the scholl and the Greek Orgs on campus!

Catch 22!

Most of the multi-racial scholls, the NHPC Orgs do not have Houses as are to small to support a costly building to support!

I cannot speak for HBC's, but feel that schools like Grambling, ETC do have houses. Someone pleas tell me if I am wrong!:confused:

A chapter without a house is like ice cream without a cone. You don't really have to have the cone, it's just a good addition. ;)

:rolleyes: ok i'm not even going there because that's not the topic of the thread.. the point I was trying to make was about housing. sorry if you don't consider us "fellow greeks".