Congrats to Southern Miss sororities on new housing plans

[TxAPhi]

The University of Southern Mississippi plans to open a sorority village by 2007 to house all of its nine sororities. Southern Miss officials expect to decide on a location for the nine-unit sorority housing by March and ask the College Board by summer for approval to issue bonds to pay for the development. Wilbur Hall, which is where the sororities are currently housed, will be renovated into a freshman dorm.

Full article:
http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/a...502090312/1002


Nine sororities now share space in the eight-story Wilbur Hall, more commonly known as the Panhellenic House. It was built in 1963.


This artist's rendering shows the cluster courtyard of the planned sorority village at the University of Southern Mississippi. University officials say they hope to have the new facility opened by 2007.
http://vh10018.v1.moc.gbahn.net/apps...=1002&MaxW=290

[SquirrelGirl]

Those look so nice.....I wish we could get something like that, or even houses, on our campus. We have 6 sororities, each with 50-70 members, sharing one building....one hall with 25 to 30 beds a piece. For some, filling the beds can be a problem, but I know that we have a fight for rooms for next year going on right now. The sororities pay to lease the floors then the members pay. Empty beds or rooms have a shared cost by everyone who does not live on the hall. I know for us it was $75 (could have been $100 but we used budget money) this semester.

The clusters looks wonderful. Our hall was built in the 50s or 60s as well and really shows its age.....my room for next year even comes with a ghost! lol.

Congrats to the Greeks at Southern Mississippi!

[bekibug]

SquirrelGirl, I am so with you. Even though there are plans to do some sort of housing for sororities eventually, they've been put on hold b/c the University wants to put it where some on-campus apartments are now. The problem is that displaces a lot of foreign students that can't afford off-campus housing. So until that's figured out, it's the good ol' designated floor in the dorm for housing and a chapter room in the dorm basement.

[SquirrelGirl]

We don't even have a chapter room....we have a small meeting room big enough for our officers, but for any real meetings we have to use a lecture hall for our 65+ sisters.

Ugh! I hate old buildings!

Edited to ask bekibug you have the "condos" right? Or is that somewhere else I am thinking of? One of my sisters just transfered there but hasn't affiliated yet, and another of my good friends is a Pi Phi. I love Auburn

[bekibug]

Originally posted by SquirrelGirl
We don't even have a chapter room....we have a small meeting room big enough for our officers, but for any real meetings we have to use a lecture hall for our 65+ sisters.

Ugh! I hate old buildings!

Edited to ask bekibug you have the "condos" right? Or is that somewhere else I am thinking of? One of my sisters just transfered there but hasn't affiliated yet, and another of my good friends is a Pi Phi. I love Auburn

Right now, each sorority has space in dorms on the Hill section of campus. We have a designated floor in the dorm for housing (example: Tri-Delta has the 2nd floor, we have the 3rd, and we each have half the rooms on the first floor for overflow). We also have chapter rooms in the basement of the dorms, although Kappa, Gamma Phi, and Sigma Kappa are in dorms that have been renovated in the last 10 years or so, so their chapter rooms are on the first floors. Some people jokingly call them "condos," but for the most part, they're far from it.

The sorority housing that's been discussed has no definite plans that I now of. I think the official way they want to do it is multi-storied duplex style, and somewhere in there is a chapter room for that sorority. There's got to be some sort of common area at least, because our Chapter Life VP asked us to come up with decorating ideas for it and gave us the example of DG requesting that there be a tiled anchor design inlaid on their floor. I *thought* construction was supposed to start last summer, but you know how it is with universities and construction--they'll be finished when my granddaughter goes through recruitment, if then.

[mmcat]

ditto to the congrats...
any forward motion is positive motion

[OleMissGlitter]

That is great news about Souther Miss Sororities. I know those chapters down there deserve houses!

[roqueemae]

Originally posted by bekibug
SquirrelGirl, I am so with you. Even though there are plans to do some sort of housing for sororities eventually, they've been put on hold b/c the University wants to put it where some on-campus apartments are now. The problem is that displaces a lot of foreign students that can't afford off-campus housing. So until that's figured out, it's the good ol' designated floor in the dorm for housing and a chapter room in the dorm basement.

I had *heard* that sorority houses were not allowed at Auburn. Is this true? Something about a lady who had donated money with the provision that there were never to be sorority houses. Or is this one of those Urban Legends?

[SDTSarah]

Congrats to the Southern Miss sororities! We're building new houses, too. Since sophomores are now required to live on campus, I think it will be a big plus for Greek life.

It seems so weird that Auburn doesn't have houses! I would have thought it would be a given...

[bekibug]

Originally posted by roqueemae
I had *heard* that sorority houses were not allowed at Auburn. Is this true? Something about a lady who had donated money with the provision that there were never to be sorority houses. Or is this one of those Urban Legends?

Story 1) The lady that owns the copyright to the fight song will sell it to Bama if we ever build sorority houses because she went through recruitment here and was dropped by everyone.
Story 2) The city of Auburn wouldn't let more than 4 women live in one dwelling at a time unless they were family or in a dormitory because otherwise it was a brothel.
(It is true that the University doesn't own the copyright to the fight song; that's why it's not licensed for games like the NCAA football series. I dunno who does own it.) *laughs*

What I've been told by an old admin-type person is this: Auburn didn't get sororities until the 1920's (KD in 1922, Chi O a few years later, etc.). There wasn't anywhere on campus to build houses for them, and women had to live on campus (many older female alumnae have told me this was the case until the 1960's). Land acquired since then has been designated for either research or new class buildings or general student housing. In addition, there is a sort of pact between the sororities and between the University and the Panhellenic Council that nobody gets a house/dwelling unless everyone does. So we get dorms. I don't really mind; we have the benefits of a house (chapter room, living space, spiffy kitchen, etc.) and my dues are $70/month and $35 for the half-months like December and May versus thousands whether I live in the house or not.

[honeychile]

I think the ADPi's better get busy & bring up their numbers, so they don't get shut out of this wonderful opportunity!!



(Spoken with love, by a former Advisor!!)