[Rudey]

I didn't realize student orgs ever were housed together - like the marching band had their own building. I thought maybe guys from the band who loved playing horns 24/7 and perhaps wanted to play each others' horns behind closed doors, may live together but not as an org.

It's best to carry a carrot and a stick from what I've heard.

-Rudey

Originally posted by Firehouse
Rudey, I think you got me on that. I made the mistake of assuming that student housing at the University of Colorado is the same or similar to what we have here. After I saw your question, I looked up the University of Colorado website. It's interesting: they state on the website that they do not have a legal relationship with the fraternity and sorority chapters. However they DO recognize the IFC, PanHellenic, etc as student organizations that can apply for University funding. It's rare for a school to state publicly that they do not have a legal relationship with the chapters, but what's not unusual is that Colorado is similar to others chools in their desire to not recognize fraternities/sororities individually. Most schools refuse to recognize any chapter independent of their memebrship in an umbrella organization. For instance, college X would refuse to recognize a chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha as an independent student organization, extending recognition only to the extent that it is a member of IFC. That gives the university more control and supposedly reduces liability - both things they like very much.
But in fact, any fraternity or sorority chapter can apply for individual, independent recognition at a public university, and the university MUST recognize them unless they represent a danger to the institution or to students. These standards were set thirty years ago by various hippie/drug/communist/feminist/homosexual groups who felt marginalized, and sued for the recognition they had been denied. They won, and that's why the schools today cannot refuse to recognize individual chapters as student organizations. For the most part, no one bucks the system. But, there is one here on my campus. One large, prominent national fraternity established a colony here, applied for standing as a student organization, and flew completely under the radar of the greek affairs/IFC crowd. Here they are: tooling along participating in rush and tweaking their website, happy as a cod. They are not members of the IFC, but they are a university-recognized student organization.
Rudey, I guess what I was talking about was student organizations like the marching band, various religious and ethnic student unions, sports teams, political (feminist) enclaves, professional societies...that sort of thing. If the school decrees that no one can join a fraternity or sorority, then are they not obligated also to apply the same rule to all student organizations? Surely the Rugby Club has enjoyed a beer or two in its time. Most college bands have some sort of hazing program.
Colorado seems to be telling fraternities they don't recognize that they must pay to have university personnel live in their houses as school spies. The IFC is the recognized body, and the IFC said no. So often, these administrators are interested only in what sounds good to the camera, without much thought to what they're actually permittedto do.
I realize that often the best solution is to be cooperative, graceful, sensitive, diplomatic and political. It's just not my style.