|
Commuter Campuses
I absolutely hate going to a commuter campus. I feel like I'm missing out on the fun of being in a dorm, etc. And the worst thing of all is that the sororities dont have houses. The fraternities do, but they're small (like 4 people to a house), and one of them is in the ghetto. We meet in a room in one of the buildings.
So my question is, anyone else who goes to a commuter campus, when and where do you have your meetings? (or those who don't have houses) |
I go to a commuter campus, and it's not really that big of a deal. I myself hold an exec. board position, as well one of the VP's and we both commute from about 25 min. away. My school is BIG with commuting, and everyone really expects it, however while the Greek System here is small numericaly (i can't spell) ~~ we have the BEST presence of any campus I know. Anyone who's anyone is greek, and everyone knows it. Most people on campus, be a student, teacher, or staff member know that if they want something done (and done right) that they have to go to the greek system to see results. While student goverment here is pretty big, it's all pretty much just for show.
Only one org. has a house, and only like 6 people live there. It's pretty hard when it comes time for socials and such, but really it's no biggie. Everyone holds chapter meetings in classrooms on campus, so it's not like any one group is being singled out for not having a house. okay, i'm done rambling now..... |
UH-Manoa is also a predominantly commuter campus, and like Star Turtle said, it's not a big deal to us.
I lived on campus for my first year and I hated it. I've since moved back home and I live the farthest away from campus (about a 20 minute drive). The rest of my sisters either live on campus or have apartments nearby. We're very grateful to have an administration that encourages our presence on campus. They're very accomodating when it comes to facilities. We normally hold chapter meetings at in a meeting room at the Campus Center. For events like Fireside and Initiation, they're normally held in the spacious and picturesque Faculty Lounge in the Student Services Center. One of our Delta Sigma alums, Dr. Doris Ching, is the Vice President of Student Affairs. She's very active in the alumnae chapter as well as in Panhellenic of Hawaii and she's very instrumental in promoting more student interest in organizations. The only house belongs to Kappa Epsilon Theta, a local fraternity based on my campus. The house itself is small, and only a few brothers live there. IMHO, living conditions there aren't very ideal. I've spoken to many of the brothers and they all agree that it's difficult to maintain that house. Getting a house is ideal, but realistically, I don't think it's going to happen. The cost of living in paradise is terribly expensive, and I know that it would be difficult to purchase a house at this time. Our main priorities now are obtaining quality members and promoting a positive presence on our campus and community. |
It's Not So Bad!
I also attend a commuter school (Georgia State University), although our administration is taking big steps to turn that around. We're right smack in the middle of downtown Atlanta. We do have dorms though, but they are about 10-15 minutes away from the main campus. Most of us though, we travel to get to school. It takes me about half an hour each day.
Greek Life at GSU is really great. All the councils (IFC, PHC, NPHC and the new MGC) are strong and the administration is very, very supportive of our Greeks and Student Life as a whole. None of the greeks have houses due to space, but there is a floor in our University Center where each chapter (with the exception of MGC) has a suite. They are done up very nicely. So instead of houses, we all comment on how pretty the Phi Mu room is :D It really is one of the nicer suites on the floor. Actually since I've been here I've seen an IMPROVEMENT of Greek Life at GSU especially among our NPHC groups who were once small, but are growing. I also like that we have a MGC that have groups that appeal to more people. And of course, my service sorority :D ecourages those who like to do a lot of service to also enjoy a sisterhood as well. Sorry, had to plug Gamma Sig! :p In Service... Gamma Sigma Sigma Turns Golden...50 Years of Service, Friendship & Equality: 1952-2002 |
Can't complain!
Although the Greek community isn't quite as large as your Division I schools would be, it's home. My school is probably about 70% commuter. We have small dorms and such but most students still come from up to an hour away.
The only house that doesn't have a chapter house on our campus is Pi Kappa Alpha. The administration is aggressively growing and supporting the Greek Community here. We've added 3 new chapters in the last three years... Alpha Xi Delta then Sigma Nu (me!) and most recently the Pikes came to campus. We have 5 fraternities and 4 sororities. At UCO, no event is even attended unless they get the Greeks involved. We're the only people that aren't completely apathetic. Which has its ups but on the downside it's a small thorn in our side when it comes to recruitment (hard to recruit someone that doesn't know you exist!) I like it though, everyone knows everyone... LHT Kevin Taylor MT 5 University of Central Oklahoma |
I went to a commuter campus and we were the only sorority on campus that had a house. Both of the fraternities had houses but the other sororities did not. It didn't really matter because everyone always held their meetings at 7:00 on Sunday night at school. We liked to have it up at school because it was easy to set up social events.
Our school just recently began building dorms so Greek life in the future should get very interesting. Have a nice day :) |
I can completely understand what you mean. UALR has one dorm, and most students here are 25+ years old. Out of 12k students, only 350-400 are greek. We have 3 NPC, 3 IFC and 5 NPHC orgs. Each has about 35-40 members. All of the NPC and IFC groups have "lodges" not houses, and that makes things interesting. Almost everyone I know lives at home or in an apartment somewhere. Our numbers have dropped off in the past few years in the greek system, partly because most people say "I'll only be here a year..." and don't want to rush. (Though most people stay longer)
Anyone have any ideas for increasing numbers and greek awareness on a commuter campus? TG |
I am not on a fully commuter campus, but 80% of our students do commute. At first I thought it was going to be horrible, but most chapters here have a house of some sort (usually they aren't owned, just rented, so they flip a lot) and Delta Zeta just moved into our presidents old house and we got their old house and it's not far from our "greek row". I hate that we can have recruitment at our own houses and stuff, but it's not too bad!
|
Only 25% of our student body lives on-campus, plus most of the people who live on-campus live within 30min so they go home every freakin weekend. I know all of the IFC fraternities have off-campus houses, but none of the sororities have houses. All of the Greek orgs usually reserve space in the university center for meetings or in the Science building if they want a big classroom.
|
out of 10,000 students 3,000 of us live on campus. the school is working to change that however with the construction of new dorms. they are luxury compared to some of the dorms i have seen at other non-commuter schools. we dont have houses which i wish we did sometimes. but we make do just fine for socials and parties and all that stuff. we hold our meetings in one of the lecture halls on sunday nights and rush is done in the university center. it is interesting...but then again the only people who hang around on weekends are greeks and athletes...everyone else misses out!!! ;)
|
Re: It's Not So Bad!
Quote:
And I concur that greek life at GSU is great. Although I didn't become a member of a GLO until I graduated from college, there always seemed to be no shortage of activities for NPC, IFC, and NPHC organizations. |
I also go to a school that is a commuter campus. The average age of the student is 25 or older. Most students that are 18 year old freshman already know what house they want to join before they come to college so they do not bother going through formal recruitment. I am the Panhellenic President, and I do not know what to do to get number up. All 6 NPC groups have houses, but no one is at total, and no one has been for at least 5 years. We had an NPC consulting team come out 2 years ago, but nothing was accomplished. Also, we have no unity between houses. Everything we do is so cut-throat here that everyone cheats just to get quota. If anyone could help, that would be great. I would be willing to take any suggestions that anyone is willing to give.
|
commuter schools
Well.. my school is I think majority commuter, or at least spread out in apartments right around campus.. we have three girls who come from about a mile and a half away or so. No GLO's on campus have housing. We meet in board rooms and such on campus. We do have a greek system with many different sororities.... we have three NPC nationals... two national pan-Hellenic sororities.... I think three different local multicultural sororities.. and 2 NIC frats and maybe three local frats. That is actually quite a few groups.. but none of us are very big. I think our biggest is the Alpha Gamma Delta chapter with 30 girls. Mine group isnt' far behind with I think 25 girls now (including new members) Reaching quota is hard for us because we aren't supported by the school at all.. we can't send out flyers about rush during the summer or anything... so it's hard. Plus a lot of people don't start out here as freshman... so they think they don't want to pledge or come from the area and don't want to become greek to meet people... so any ideas would be appreciated. =)
|
Re: Re: It's Not So Bad!
Quote:
Greek Life here is getting even better. I should have quoted the person who asked how things can be improved in terms of greek life on commuter campuses. Greeks need to work together and collaborate on programs. My chapter just did a forum last night showcasing the newer greeks on our campus. While we didn't get a great turnout :( it gave us an opportunity to meet one another-and we hope to bring some more fun programs to the campus next fall! Working together is really important, IMO, if you want those students to join. A lot of students here just go to class and go home and are not interested in getting involved. It's all about positive exposure! |
I have news for you all........Just about any school of decent size is a commuter school!! UCLA, which has a great Greek system does nothave that many people living on campus or even near it. I do not like the commuter school excuse that people use to explain away why the Greek system is failing, or at least not growing, at their school. The way to get more invovlement at a school and growth among chapter is to work together. If groups backstab each other and can not trust each other enough to get things like Greek Week together, then everyone will see that and will not want to join. College is what you make of it and so is your chapter. Hopefully other SFSU Greeks will see this. PM me and we will talk.
|
I actually think that commuter campuses are greatly helped by having a greek system, it's a great way to meet people on a campus where a lot of people don't live together. I know being in a soror has given me more of a "college" experience since I can't have some of the other things that go along with college life like eating nasty dining center food or leaving notes on your friends' white boards...
|
I love my commuter school!
We don't have houses but the fraternities are getting houses this year...Fiji already has theirs with about 40 guys living there now... FIU is moving away from the commuter image with a football team, 2 new dorm buildings, and 3 new campus buildings...things are looking really good... as far as meetings and such everyone has meetings thursday nights in the student union building, if your greek your there on thursday night... our campus is run by greeks and we get ALOT of campus support...its a great way to get involved on a campus like ours... i live on campus and I love it!!! the dorms here are almost like condos... but they come at a price... i live with one of my phi sisters (that means we rushed together) and so far its been great...a few of my sisters also live on campus but the majority live at home... soon FIU will be in big competition with UM... since its in the same city...but im glad i came here being in a commuter school isnt as bad as i thought it would be ;) www.fiu.edu/~greeks |
The University of Akron is very much a LARGE commutter campus. Only 3% of our campus is Greek which when you truly think about it isn't alot (even though there are around 700 members in the Greek System). However....80% of the organizations on campus are led by Greeks.
All of our IFC and Panhellenic groups have houses...some are bigger, some are smaller. When it comes to women's recruitment, DG, ADPi, and Kappa are able to host Pref in their houses. Alpha Gam and Alpha Phi don't have large houses so they use rooms in the student center for their Pref parties. Our typical Formal Recruitment (usually in the Fall) is 4-5 days. Quota ranges from 10-15 and house total is 65. None of our groups at the moment are at total. DG hit total in Fall 01 due to our efforts (along with our nationals) to COB so much that we would increase our numbers. We hit quota during recruitment (which was 12) and the week later we took 20 women...taking us to 32 new members and making that the biggest pledge class in a long time. ADPi and Alpha Gam are very close to total along now with us considering we all lost many members to graduation and alumnae status. Alpha Phi is decent in numbers and Kappa has decreased enormously in the past couple years. They will be going towards the same thing that my chapter did last fall with their Nationals. I can say...as a commuter student (soon to living in the DG house) it was nice to have a place to go to between classes, work, etc. I was very involved in high school and knew that this would be the one thing to keep myself involved. I have held a VP in my chapter and two Panhellenic Exec positions (PR last semester....President this semester). Its been a wonderful experience....and I wouldn't change any of my decisions...however, I would like to see more people like myself get involved on campus whether they live on campus or commute. The men have it a little easier than the women. Their houses hold more members than the women (the most in our houses range from 4-16, the guys range from 10-30...i think) and there are also 11 fraternities compared to our 5 sororities. In order to recruit more people, we have been trying to get out to more incoming freshman during orientation and by sending out fliers in the mail. Our PR chair (Panhel) has been working so hard in the past month, considering she just got the position in the middle of May since I moved up to Pres. So.....here's to crossing my fingers for a successful recruitment!! |
Quote:
At UMD, it is hard to rush, especially now. Our "hang out" building is closed for remodeling for 2 years. The new building does not want anyone to hang out in there. Instead they want people to hang out in the Rec on the other side of campus, where NO ONE is gona walk to! Only one org can have a booth set up for a bake sale, and one org can have a booth set up for whatever. When COB time comes around, it really sucks. Last winter we had a Phi class of 2, and the Phi Sigs had a pledge class of 1, while DphiE had a full pledge class because they got the booth first. Not sayin that they are bad or that's the only reason why people joined, but students are gona go with what they see first. We set up flyers, signs, talked to girls, whatever. No one reads the flyers. What I just explained is exactly what I hate about goin to a commuter campus. It really sucks for us. |
Wow, no on lives on campus huh? That is really a commuter campus. But I agree with what Hannahgirl said. It is a good way to meat people. I also think it weeds out the people who do not want to work as much for your org and school, because it was not handed to them already as a great system with lots of peole and support.
|
My campus is mostly commuter. The school is attempting to move away from that image and build a strong campus life but it's an uphill battle.
Commuter campuses oftentimes are more supportive of their Greeks in my experience than your larger schools. We're some of the only people interested in giving back! That's why ALL of the Student Senate Officers that I know of and most of your student Government is Greek. We're involved in just about anything that anyone cares about because we care! There's definitely a good side of the coin that doesn't get talked about much. At least at my school. |
A lot of Greeks are trying to get on Student Government so that people can change their minds about us. There are already a few on it. One time, when it was voting for president time, one of the candidates and her vice president came in all the Greek chapter meetings to campaign, saying that they would try to make it known that Greek life is important, blah blah or whatever. What happened when she got voted president? Nothing. No support.
I think on normal campuses, students are more involved, no matter what organization, club, whatever they belong to. |
Knowing your school, I feel your pain! Many of the students don't live nearby either so no one really wants to hang around. Two of my good friends were Phi Sigs there a while back and they had the same concerns you do.
|
my school, Cleveland State University, is a commuter school. nearly 90% commutes from various parts of the greater cleveland area. the greek system is pretty strong but needs a lot of work. the two greek houses that we have on campus is Tau Kappa Epsilon and Sigma Tau Gamma(my group). we have one Dormitory, But the school is trying to have another dorm build right now.
|
Quote:
And on the subject of commuter campuses, usually mostly freshmen live on campus and yes, it's a "once in a lifetime" type of experience, but the rest of your college years you never hang out in the dorms, anyway ( I lived in a suite on campus for 6 weeks in the summer before freshman year, and it was definitely enough!) As for Greeks not having houses, I've read others' posts about how it doesn't matter at all if they don't have a house...how about those off-campus parties that take place in regular houses that are known as a particular fraternity's house? Those houses feel every bit as much like regular fraternity houses as the real thing. And I know many times brothers and sisters will live together in apartments and houses...when my chapter first recolonized they bought out a wing of one of the apartment complexes. TV makes dorm life seem really cool...huge spacious rooms (like in Felicity) and your roomates and floormates who become lifelong friends. In reality you have a teeny weeny living space (this is my experience, not everyone's), psychotic roomates who drive you crazy, you have to carry your darn laundry three flights down, and you've gotta eat CAMPUS FOOD or live on Easy Mac and Ramen. Don't get me wrong, I love the atmosphere of my campus and towards the end of last semester I could be found in any of my friends' dorms more than my own apartment, but don't feel bad because you can't have the "typical" college experience. TV and movies have idealized it. |
| All times are GMT -4. The time now is 11:37 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions Inc.