Greek problems at Duquesne University

[DUgrad]

33girl,

You are so right! A city school is way different than a school in the sticks(sorry to all of you in the rural areas...no bad feelings). I don't know the new head of Greek Life at Duquesne. It is very different to live and go to school in the city. There are alot of places to live besides dorms! The dorms were always expensive at DU but they forced you to live in them through the sophomore year.

The juniors then went to live on the southside or in Brottier..another dorm that was once an apartment building. From what I gather. Greek Life, res life and Fr. H wanted juniors living in Towers which is now a freshman/sophomore dorm. No junior in their right mind is going to pay to live in that dorm when it is way cheaper to live in Brottier, split the cost 2-3-4 ways or live on the southside.

They bullied all the greeks and tried to force them to live in Towers and the girls in my chapter told res life...forget it.. That's when alot of the trouble began. There are more independents and others living in Towers...no junior will live there. Besides, the girls told me their parents said no way to the expense of living on campus...its too expensive when you have tuition, books and room and board.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by DUgrad

They bullied all the greeks and tried to force them to live in Towers and the girls in my chapter told res life...forget it.. That's when alot of the trouble began.

That's why I always get a little nervous when they start talking about "Greek Villages" at any of the state schools...it would be great if it worked, but I'm afraid it would turn into 1) shunting the Greeks into an out of the way area and making them even less visible on campus 2) forcing people into housing when they can get better, cheaper housing elsewhere.

You guys are really hamstrung because Duq does hold more power over the students than the other local universities.

[RedRover]

Duquesne was rare for a Catholic university in permitting fraternities and sororities to exist on campus. In the very old days, the fraternities took their member along ethnic lines, ADP was predominately Italian American, Betas were Polish American (according to some Beta I knew when I was at Duquesne, Beta Pi Sigma stood for Brotherhood of Polish Student), Kaps and Gamma Phi were predominately Irish American.

When I was Duquesne, 1976-80, the Greek community wasn't that large -- hey, it was the 70s. I understand that the Greeks prospered in the 1980s and 1990s. The university has gotten a lot larger since I graduated.

In addition, when I was in college, the Social Clubs (Sheiks, Playboys and Mynx) were quiet large as were some of the pharmacy organizations (Phi Delta Chi, Kappa Psi). Alpha Phi Omega functioned more like a social Greek organization than a service organization.

The wing system in Towers never quiet worked in practice as it should have worked in theory.

[DUgrad]

Does anyone who is a Duquesne alum or a current sister or brother know why Brottier is so much cheaper than the other dorms?

[jeremypichi]

Originally Posted by DUgrad

Does anyone who is a Duquesne alum or a current sister or brother know why Brottier is so much cheaper than the other dorms?

Brottier actually costs about the same as the other dorms, depending on your apartment configuration. The rates are posted here. To live in any other dorm on campus, it'll cost you $4273 a semester, that is including a meal plan. For Brottier the costs $4450 for an unfurnished studio apartment per semester, which can fit two people. To my knowledge, that doesn't include a meal plan but I could very well be wrong. I'm also pretty sure that you have to sign a year lease, so the summer rent is another $1780. You also need to factor in that Brottier is kind of a shit hole. They have had many problems with roaches (more than the other dorms), and earlier this year a hot water pipe crashed through the ceiling of an apartment and landed on a person's bed. Thankfully the person wasn't in the room at the time, but all of their belongings were pretty much ruined.

It is a lot better to just move off campus. I get a loan refund check every semester for about $3500, which covers most of my rent and bills for about 9 months out of my 12 month lease (my place costs a bit too much). Depending on where in the city you live, it is very possible that you could cover rent, bills, and food for the entire duration of the lease with little to no out of pocket expense. Mt. Washington has nice places with dirt cheap rent, as well as some places on the Slopes. There are additional costs such as groceries or a commuter meal plan or a parking permit, so in the long run it costs about the same to live on campus for the academic year as it does to live off campus for a calendar year. Another thing that most commuters don't realize is that the University still has jurisdiction over you because you are still a DU student. Even though its harder to get in trouble being off campus, the University can still punish you for "that kegger the frat threw last week", assumming they get wind of it.

long story short, it costs roughly the same to live in towers, brottier, or off campus. I could be completely wrong because I suck at math, but thats why I'm a music major.

[RedRover]

Brottier is the old Cricklewood/CitiLine Towers, right? I heard DU built the structure as a dorm, but for some reason, couldn't use it and Towers got built. DU sold the building to the Gumbergs, alumni of course, who turned it into apartments.

[jeremypichi]

yeah, it was the old CitiLine apartments, right down the hill from Old Main. Apparently DU bought it in 2004 and made it into a dorm. It is decent, but it could be a whole lot better. Hell, all the dorms could be a lot better.

[brunetteddd]

That's true about the dorms; I toured all the schools in the Burgh, and the dorms for all of them were god-awful.

The one I remember hating the most was Schenley Towers at Pitt. *Gags*

Sorry, I don't particularly want to live in a wedge-shaped shoebox for a whole year.

[DUgrad]

Hello All:

So, between all of my little sisters and some of the alumni on this site I still have to wonder how housing became the "showdown" issue. Is it more than housing that has the greek system all screwed up at Duquesne? Is this the only issue that contributed to recruitment being so low? I know the girls in my chapter have told me in no uncertain terms that they won't work with Fr. H any longer and the new head of Greek Life..they have no trust in them any longer. One of the parents of my sisters is in the process of buying a house on the southside for the chapter.

[Du22]

I currently go to duquesne and I am in a greek organization. I can assure you that at the very least 50% of the problem is DU's Admin., Father Hogan, and the new director. The wing rule is something like 100% fraternity/sorrority members on a wing, which at a school such as Duquesne, is rediculous. Father Hogan is trying to basically rid Duquesne of greek life. No senior member of a fraternity/sorrority wants to live in a dorm... with sophmores, juniors, and now some freshmen. It is just rediculous what they are doing. The rules are way too strict. They try to take all the fun out of greek life.

Sorry for the long post.

[DUgrad]

Du22:

I am getting ready for work at my school but I wanted to confirm that what you have said is EXACTLY what I have heard from my sisters, both collegiate and alum. Fr. H wants to get rid of Greek Life and the new head of Greek Life has made a complete mess of things.

One of the parents of the collegiates bought a house over the weekend on the southside and he said that if he is challenged by Duquesne he will go directly to court. He has a good attorney that said no one can tell someone that can't buy a home and who they can rent to. So, he said any noise from Duquesne and he will go to court and to the newspapers.

What a complete mess Fr. H and head of Greek LIfe have made..NO ONE wants to join a greek group now at Duquesne. Thanks alot, Duquesne!

[DUgrad]

HI ALL:

Eventually, the bad taste left in everyone's mouth by Duquesne will lead to less money given by alum. I think someone said this somewhere already in this chat. When people are unhappy they don't give and maybe that is what Duquesne needs in order for things to get better.

[jeremypichi]

Fr. Hogan is the executive vice president for Student Life. My understanding is he is basically in charge of damn near everything as far as the students go, including greek life. I believe the only people really above Fr. Hogan are some of the other campus executives and the President of the University. Then again, there is always the alumni since they are potential donors. If there is one thing that I've learned here, its that money talks.

[MaggieXi]

Money does talk. If you have trustees and some of them are greek or alumni from the on campus orgs, you may want to approach them in a friendly business matter.

[RedRover]

Father Hogan is a member of the Spirtan congregation that owns the university. Trust me on this, the congregation supercedes everything -- alumni, the board of directors. Only the Vatican would supercede the congregation