[Munchkin03]

...I've been there. Not on your side, but on the side of the people who just didn't want to live in house. My sophomore year (the fall after I pledged), I was a dorm counselor and was exempt from living in house (keep in mind, our "house" is simply one-third of a dormitory in a quadrangle built for fraternities). I liked being a part of the house, but could not have imagined myself living there. There were problems with EVERYTHING, problems that didn't happen to me in my freshman dorm OR in the dorm where I lived my sophomore year. Add to the fact that I just didn't mesh with the girls who were in charge that year (all conservative and a bit on the racist side), and you couldn't have paid me to live in-house. That actually caused a lot of problems, where my loyalty as a member (keep in mind I was one of the most active, and if I hadn't gone abroad, would have been chapter president) was questioned and I had women who claimed to be my friends and sisters say some of the meanest, most vile things to me. My junior year, I lived in a suite with some friends and had a BLAST (yes, there were some problems, but typical). This year, I decided to live in-house. I'm serious when I say that every day there is something new. I've stopped using the house kitchen (and cook at Mr. Munchkin03's or in the Independent kitchen) because it's nasty and no one wants to clean it up. There are girls here who pretend that they have maids, the kitchen, bathroom, and common areas are that unsanitary. There are factions between the first and second floors. There are always catty little accusations of theft, and I know of a few people already who are going to deactivate because things suck so badly. These are previously loyal members, who feel the house has deteriorated into a sham. It's things like that which make people not want to live in-house.

Sorry for the rant. I just got my second deactivation letter of the semester (I'm VP-Finance) and I'm more than a little annoyed, because I know what's happening. This probably doesn't apply to your situation, but a lot of people feel completely justified in the decision not to live in-house, and I can't say I don't agree with them. Living in a fraternity house, even if you're a member, isn't what everyone wants to do. Is that really a problem? The only way I can see getting around it is assigning a point system for housing assignments for the next year, and by requiring at least one year in house.