well that's that

OnePlus69Is70 · #1 10-28-2002, 02:09 PM

I was in the Greek Life office today, as I often am, and in chatting with the advisor I found out he has a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor of Student Affairs on Thursday, and that the meeting is probably to inform him that the university report on alchol use in the fraternities came back, and that they're forbidding underclassmen from living in the fraternities. That pretty much means there will be no more fraternity housing, since we won't be able to afford to keep our houses open without the underclassmen.

I am so angry, and so sad. We just got our house fixed up. I know that as a system, this is exactly what we deserve, but it's not what my chapter deserves.

I wonder if UConn is still taking transfer apps.....

DeltAlum · #2 10-28-2002, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by OnePlus69Is70
I know that as a system, this is exactly what we deserve, but it's not what my chapter deserves.

An interesting observation which pretty well sums up the situation for a lot of chapters. "A few bad apples, etc...."

I hope that you've read the situation incorrectly and that things work out for you.

KappaTarzan · #3 10-28-2002, 03:33 PM

i'm so sorry.. i know what umass tries to do to fraternities and sororities.. we aren't even recognized by UML... all i can say is try to fight it.. and if you can't, you CAN still survive, i promise you this. we have survived over 20 years of not being recognized by UML, and we are going strong. numbers go through little ups and downs, but at the end of the day, we are still here. BEST OF LUCK and GREEK LOVE...

jess_pom · #4 10-28-2002, 04:00 PM

Are the fraternity houses on campus? If not, how can the university limit where an individual chooses to live?

OnePlus69Is70 · #5 10-28-2002, 04:07 PM

The houses are off-campus, and that's the problem. Underclassmen are required to live in the dorms, with four exceptions: they're married, they're in the army, they live with their parents, or they belong to a fraternity or sorority. Most UMass students actually live in the dorms- of 18,000 undergrads, 11,000 live on campus.

AchtungBaby80 · #6 10-28-2002, 08:52 PM

So you're saying they're going to change that rule to say that being in a fraternity or sorority isn't a reason to be allowed to live off-campus, right?

Kevin · #7 10-28-2002, 10:43 PM

That's what he's saying.

OnePlus.. I'd talk to an attorney and see if there's anything you can do to combat this rule. Otherwise you may try downsizing your real-estate.

AchtungBaby80 · #8 10-28-2002, 10:51 PM

I don't know if there's a whole lot you can do. Getting a lawyer seems like it would be really expensive, especially since you'd be up against the almighty powers of a university.

Unless you could get *lots* of other students to protest this with you...

sugrsingr · #9 10-29-2002, 02:21 AM

Talk to an attorney. My school's frats are facing losing their houses after a contract for over 50 years. But they have talked to their alums who filed a suit against the school which got a lot of publicity. The more publicity, the better the chance that the school will listen to the frats involved..

It can't hurt to try!

Kevin · #10 10-29-2002, 02:24 AM

And honestly you may have a case because they are stealing your sole source of income. You could actually attempt to seek monetary compensation for the rent money you'll be losing under the new rules.

See how the local laws play out.. It's worth pursuing.

aephi alum · #11 10-29-2002, 09:32 AM

It can't hurt to talk to a lawyer and to your alums, though it may not pay off to fight the ruling.

How about renting out unused space to non-members? My school just enacted a rule requiring freshmen to live in the dorms - previously, all fraternity members including freshmen lived in their fraternity houses. This left a lot of houses with empty beds, since they're now housing 3 classes instead of 4. Some fraternities are renting their extra space to grad students (there's a HUGE shortage of grad housing) and one is renting space to women. Might be worth considering.

KappaKittyCat · #12 10-29-2002, 09:59 AM

Sigh...

Going to have to disagree here. The University has every right to set whatever housing rules it sees fit.

Underclassmen are required to live in the dorms, with four exceptions: they're married, they're in the army, they live with their parents, or they belong to a fraternity or sorority.

Sounds like UMass was cutting the Greeks a huge exception here. I'm surprised that nobody else pitched a fit about it a long time ago. At my school, if only the Greeks were allowed that exemption (as opposed to athletes or members of the Christian Fellowship or singers in the choir), the other organizations' members would have raised holy hell about discrimination.

Long and short: UMass gave the Greeks a privilege: allowing underclassmen to live in Greek housing rather than on campus. With that came a certain expectation of responsibility on the part of the Greeks to keep alcohol use to a reasonable level, and to at least do what they can to keep alcohol out of the hands of underage members while they're in the house. The Greeks did not live up to that expectation, so UMass is pulling the privilege. They're definitely within their rights to do that. I'd say the best you can do is talk to your Greek Advisor and see if a compromise can't be reached. Then, enact some strict policies about underage drinking in the houses and enforce them.

n.b. I was hesitating to post about the situation at my school, but now that someone else has brought it up, I guess I should. That'll be coming soon.

33girl · #13 10-29-2002, 10:57 AM

Okay, jess and I are both going

because at the Pennsylvania state schools, you can live wherever you want, whenever you want....there are no mandatory freshman housing rules (at my last check - someone correct me if this has changed). How does that rule affect enrollment?? More importantly, how on earth do they get away with this at a public school?

OnePlus69Is70 · #14 10-29-2002, 11:18 AM

This has always been the way here. This is a RESIDENTIAL school- living in the dorms is considered a part of the curriculum. Before about 1980, everyone was required to live in the dorms. The only reason we don't do that anymore is there simply isn't room, although if we had the space, i'm sure every student would be required to live on campus. (That's the way it is at Amherst College, which is about a stone's throw away.) Most Mass. public schools, if they have room in the dorms, require their underclassmen to stay on campus.

We already rent space to non-members, too much space, in fact. If we add any more of them, they'll be the majority in the house.

This situation sucks, but it was coming regardless. Most chapters were going to lose their houses sooner or later- the majority of the structures are about ten minutes away from falling in on themselves. Some of them are little better than shacks. And we've been having a rough time of recruitment, anyway- last spring the average class size was 2, six houses had no new members. This semester looks to be a tiny bit better, but not much.

We had a priveledge, we screwed up, we're getting what we deserve. I saw this coming a year ago, and I tried to get the other houses to pay attention. My house voluntarily went dry to try to set a good example. I tried to get the IFC to hold chapters to the rules, and got my chapter ostracized for it.

Honestly, this is probably a good thing. Our Greek system is of questionable value- we're tiny, we don't really do anything good for the school, and the houses are an eyesore. I really don't see the good in the school's trying to prop up a system that's no good.

OnePlus69Is70 · #15 10-29-2002, 11:21 AM

Oh, and I don't believe Greeks have a right to exist, btw. The purpose of UMass is to educate the citizens of the Commonwealth. It shouldn't have to support any organizations that don't support its mission. The sororities clearly do- they do tons of community service, provide great housing, and have GPAs well above the campus average. The fraternities are completely the opposite, and they deserve no breaks.