Quote:
Originally posted by dzsaigirl
I don't know if it is fair or not. It seems like they took the initiative to get housing. Why don't the other two sororities try to get a house off campus? You could just rent a house, not everyone has to live there. Some of us did it, some didn't. Having a house definitely helps during rush. I know that this is not what you want to hear, but, I think that if the bar is raised, you have to jump up to meet it...
I hope that everything works out though...I can't believe that group can have a pretend house and have alcohol though...their national and their advisor must be really laid back!
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I'm glad you brought this up, I had forgotten to clarify a few things
1) This is a 4-year residential college. You are not allowed to live off campus unless you are married, student teaching, or a fifth-year senior.
2) This is a very small school. At 1100 students they have huge housing problems, some people have to change dorms every term. Chapter total is 59. The ABC's I'm guessing have 35-40 members, so do the XYZ's. Kappa has 14 (chapter almost shut down last year but made a great comeback). With chapters being that size, and student costs being what they are (private school, tuition is about 24000 a year), it's unlikely they'd be able to afford to rent a house or buy one. There's also the disadvantages of the age of the chapters: ABC and XYZ have both been around since 1915, Kappa's chapter was established in 1981. While the other two groups have prominent alums, Kappa doesn't, and therefore has fewer resources for money. Alum giving is HUGE at this school, 85 percent of the students are on financial aid.
3) The school also has the proportional rule. That said, any time a freshman set foot in that house alone or with a group of other freshman women during the first semester, it would be considered dirty rushing. Even if it's just a study session, it's still considered a Rush infraction unless there are other upperclassmen present, GLO-affiliated or not.
4) There is no way the other groups can get a house for the next year, as housing decisions have already been made. The other groups would have to wait until the 2003-2004 school year to apply.
5) As far as alcohol goes, I have no idea how they were able to bypass the rule. It IS considered a sorority house by University standards, but I think they think that's secondary to the theme of the house.
6) Another factor I forgot to mention is the housing lottery. Everyone gets a number based on class standing. After your theme house is approved, you get your pick at houses based on your lottery numbers. If there are 5 approved groups and only 4 houses, the one with the lowest overall housing lottery number average loses out. A group that applies with all seniors is going to get a house, chapters with larger classes of sophomores and juniors wouldn't get a chance, couldn't even argue in the name of equality.
I don't know if they'd be allowed to build an ABC-specific house or not. This a campus that is VERY short on space and it regulates buildings pretty tightly. And everything else
Yikes, that's a lot of typing. Hope I cleared some things up!
My other thought is that it isn't even in ABC's best interest to have a house: If other chapters go under, they have to leave. If I remember correctly they must be on campus with at least two other national groups.
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