Can I get the same experience being in a sorority if I can't live in their house?

[33girl]

Originally Posted by Titchou

This would probably be frowned on by their insurance carrier. Ours, who handles most of the NPC groups, discourages it. Boarders represent a risk management issue.

You mean because the insurance is written so that it only includes initiated members and NMs?

The concept of a boarder (if it's take boarders or lose the house) can be awesome, if she's/he's the sort of boarder who never actually spends any time in the house except to sleep. A boarder who wants to be part of the GLO can be a very hairy issue.

[Titchou]

Originally Posted by 33girl

You mean because the insurance is written so that it only includes initiated members and NMs?

The concept of a boarder (if it's take boarders or lose the house) can be awesome, if she's/he's the sort of boarder who never actually spends any time in the house except to sleep. A boarder who wants to be part of the GLO can be a very hairy issue.

It's difficult to have one set of rules for members living in and another for boarders. The standard room contract applies to members as do most of the lease agreements between HC and the chapter. So the issue then is who does the baorder sign the contract with and who governs her activities? It's a very messy wiggly line so that the best thing is to just simply not do it unless there is some compelling reason. In that case, the insurance company should be contacted to determine the legal issues and requirements thereof.
When I was Director of Housing, we just didn't do it. Simpler that way. And yes, what do you do about ritual in the house that only members can attend? Do you bar the non members during that time? Is that legal in your locale? Too many gray areas.

[AOII Angel]

We had RAs in the sorority dorm my last two years that were non-members. We liked the people but did not like the practice of putting them in our halls. It was intrusive and was a problem with our organizational privacy. I can't imagine why you'd want to purposely put a non-member in a sorority house unless you couldn't fill rooms and had to pay a mortgage.

[33girl]

It's a lil different story when:
1) you don't own the house and no house corp is involved (everyone signed individual leases directly with the landlord)
2) you don't do ritual or formal rush at the house anyway since it's too small.

In our case, we just let the women know that there were times they'd have to be out of the house (or stay in their rooms) for big-little, open rush parties etc. It worked out alright - they both had practically fulltime jobs on top of school and were gone a lot anyway. My mom's BFF's son was a boarder at a house at Penn State though - quite different affair than our little shacks - and I never did know just how that would work out.

I could have sworn during the DePauw/DZ brouhaha it said they had boarders, although I may still not be fully awake and just imagining that one.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by 33girl

It's a lil different story when:
1) you don't own the house and no house corp is involved (everyone signed individual leases directly with the landlord)
2) you don't do ritual or formal rush at the house anyway since it's too small.

In our case, we just let the women know that there were times they'd have to be out of the house (or stay in their rooms) for big-little, open rush parties etc. It worked out alright - they both had practically fulltime jobs on top of school and were gone a lot anyway. My mom's BFF's son was a boarder at a house at Penn State though - quite different affair than our little shacks - and I never did know just how that would work out.

I could have sworn during the DePauw/DZ brouhaha it said they had boarders, although I may still not be fully awake and just imagining that one.

As small as they were at that time, I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

We had to do the same things with our RA, and while it was never a huge problem, we resented having to do it since our RA had always be an AOII before. We did do ritual in the dorm so she had to completely leave the area before that started and promise never to go near the ritual closet. I don't think she really had any interest.