a home away from home

#1 07-31-2000, 08:05 PM

hi. i will be starting college this fall, but i won't be living on campus-i'm going to be a commuter :-( when i was younger and dreamed of going to college, i always pictured myself living in a dorm and making so many great new friends. i have heard so many stories about sororities and how great they are because it is a home away from home and it's like a second family. so, my question is, is there anyone here in a sorority or frat who doesn't live on campus and just commutes to school? i was just wondering what it's like for you. i know you don't have to live on campus to be in a sorority, but i kind of wish i was. is college life the same if you don't have all the freedom of living without your parents for the first time?

RUgreek · #2 07-31-2000, 11:56 PM

The only difference from commuters and the students that live on-campus is the nightlife and weekend events. People who live there, at least at my school, hang out and do things together at night and on the weekends. Plus, when you're part of a sorority or fraternity, most of the social events are schedule on the weekends. So, that's where the difference is. That doesn't mean a commuter doesn't have the opportunity to enjoy them or other parts of the greek life. Everyone experiences college differently so don't worry, you'll have fun wherever you're living.

RUgreek

mwedzi · #3 08-01-2000, 12:18 AM

Lucy, I commuted 30 miles to my school each way everyday and often on the weekends from my sorority. It can be done.

lizzie3d · #4 08-01-2000, 03:02 AM

Despite attempts to force me to move into the house this year, I chose not to. After 3 years of terrible roommates and moving every three months, I can't handle living with people anymore. I decided to move off campus. Although I don't get the social scene like I would if I lived in the house, I know if something important happens my girls will call me and let me know. Your sisters never forget about you because you live off campus! It's still a benefit to be Greek, even if you live off campus. You get not only the social aspect, but also the bonding and the feeling of having a family just a few miles away. It's nice having a home away from home.

Lizzie

Siobhan · #5 08-01-2000, 01:30 PM

There's nothing wrong with being a commuter. In fact that was one of the many reasons for making my decision to rush. It's hard to meet people in classes when all you do is come to campus in the morning and leave in the afternoon. Being in a sorority I had my Wednesday night meetings, and any other day when my sisters wanted to hang out. The cool thing to is that by the time rush was over there were 5 DPhiE's in my psych class. That was cool

Asia2000 · #6 08-03-2000, 01:40 PM

I have never lived in a dorm and really don't ever want to. I haven't had any trouble making friends or getting involved socially. My other resource for this was clubs and on campus activities. Get involved and you'll meet tons of people. Plus, I am in the process of working for a sorority and that helped too (this process is very different from NPC, keep that in mind). I love it. I have friends over any time, all the time, do whatever I want (which, usually ain't much .. . it's the principle of the matter) and I can have boys over (just kidding, but there is no curfew type rule at home). So I love it.

Plus, it's quiet when you want it quiet and noisy when you want it noisy.

But that's just my opinion.

AlphaChiGirl · #7 08-04-2000, 01:49 AM

Well, although I live on campus, I won't be living in my house this year (I'll be a counselor in the freshman dorms), so I do have a concern about not being there in the house, with my big and the rest of the pledge class. I'll be there a lot, for chapter and whatnot, but I won't be a part of everyday happenings, which sucks, for real.

Oh yeah--someone mentioned curfews? No men allowed in the rooms? I know that's not an issue in our regular dorms (co-ed by room), but is it something that's covered by individual national organizations, or by the chapter? I know our chapter has specific rules about them, but they're pretty lenient...I guess.

Texas Alum · #8 08-05-2000, 04:39 AM

AlphaChiGirl -
(LITB!

)
I am pretty sure this varies from org. to org. Some groups have certain housing rules in the national constitution, and others leave it to the House Corp. for the particular chapter.

At our house, men were never allowed off the first floor (the common areas, i.e. library, foyer, dining room, TV room, etc.) - with three exceptions:

1) Male family members are allowed upstairs during Parents' Weekend - for those three days the whole house is open to guests.
2) Boyfriends or male family members are allowed in the house on "move-in" day in August and "move-out" day in May... to help with furniture, boxes, etc.
3) We had a full-time porter who was at the house during the day six days a week, and handled maintenance, repairs, etc. Before he could go on the second floor, he had to warn everyone over the intercom five minutes before! (so you could shut your door or whatever)

Re: curfew - no men (except the security guards) are allowed in the house between 11 pm - 8 am on weekdays and 1 am - 9 am on weekends!

I wonder how our house rules compare to others? FYI, we had a 60-girl house, 150-member chapter, NPC, large univ. campus.

9 Pearls · #9 08-06-2000, 07:03 PM

I don't live on campus. My school is about half commuter/ half resident because there is not much dorm space. You still are on campus all day with classes, so you see your sisters everday. If you live very far from the campus, it may be a burden to return to school for every event. If you live nearby, its just a hop, skip and a jump to get back to school.