U MD requiring $15,000/yr. "residential fellow"

[hoosier]

Dec 3, 2004
Frats criticize residential fellow program
By Tomas A. Pag‡n Motta
For The Diamondback


Some fraternity members are decrying a university decision to move graduate student assistants into fraternity houses as supervisors, saying they do not want to pay a university employee to intrude on house management.

Five graduate students moved into five fraternity houses this year to serve as residential fellows who act as liaisons between the chapters and university, monitoring food quality, cleaning contracts and facilities management. The Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life implemented the program to increase efficiency in programming within the organizations, officials said, and fraternities are required to pay their residential fellows $15,000 annually. The assistants also receive tuition remission.

Senior Residential Fellow Jose Lozano moved into the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house as part of the program, which the university's Alcohol Task Force Final Report suggested in March be used to evaluate the report's impact on alcohol consumption in Greek houses.

"The goal is to increase the quality of life and provide a better living environment [in houses], to be the glue of your association," Lozano said.

Fellows leave disciplining to the internal fraternity judicial system, Lozano said, despite claims the program is an attempt to end drinking parties. Fraternities already have to register events or parties in advance with Student Event Management, commonly referred to as "frat police."

"Greek life is down so much; everybody's feeling it," said a fraternity member living on Fraternity Row who asked to remain anonymous.

The rift is apparent within the Interfraternity Council, where elements of the program, such as the fellows' salaries, remain a topic of debate. IFC Vice President of Administrative Affairs Seamus Hughes said he prefers a house director who is not a university employee.

He said he thinks the goal is to wean fraternity members from their houses into off-campus satellite locations to make room for more housing for incoming students. He also said he sees the program as demeaning to fraternity members and compared the residential fellow to a resident assistant in the dorms - a claim vigorously denied by IFC President Brian Novell.

"I would encourage anyone that expressed concern about the program to be open-minded," he said.

OFSL Housing Coordinator Heidi Biffl denied claims the program was created to improve public perception of Greek life or is a result of the deaths of two students at fraternity houses since 2001.

"This is not a cause and effect situation; we are looking to be the pre-eminent Greek community in the country," Biffl said. "If we were looking to quell fraternity and sorority life, I don't think the university would support hiring the staff."

But some members argue that this is another blow to fraternity houses. They cited the addition of door locks requiring an ID swipe card, the removal of horseshoe pits around the houses and party registering as attempts to change the negative public perception of university fraternities. ÿÿ

[Tom Earp]

Stalag U MD!

This is way over the top by any stretch of the imagination!

Talk about pinning Greeks to the wall! With the money crunch in many chapters, whoa nellie.

What a sweet heart deal for Res. Grad. Students, room and board, plus $15,000.

[Munchkin03]

I think this is a GREAT idea...most schools have a less intensive program than UMD's in place already.

Having a graduate student around, who's usually in Greek Affairs or some other aspect of Higher Ed Leadership or Administration, works out really well for all involved. It's no different than having a housemother around.

[Tom Earp]

munchkin03, totally disagree there.

House mothers are hired by the Chapters, not foisted on them by the Schools.

[valkyrie]

OH NOES, I agree with Tom here.

If the folks in University administration want some type of older "authority figure" living in the fraternity houses, why not present that to the fraternities and leave it up to them to hire someone? I'd be more than a little ticked off to have some stranger plopped into my house because some admin. types thought it would be a good idea.

Anyway, don't they have House Corporation Boards? All of that stuff is what HCBs do. Tell the fraternities to hire "house dads" if the HCB isn't enough.

What's up with the removal of horseshoe pits anyway? OMG TEH HORROR of people playing horseshoes in their yards! WE MUST STOP ALL THE FUN NOW! Are these the same no-fun-having-losers who are responsible for the elimination of good old fashioned Jarts?

[DeltAlum]

Having someone older and perhaps a little more "mature" isn't a bad idea -- but to have that person chosen by someone other than the chapter is bad news.

Some of our chapters have had "Proctors," who are often grad students, but they have all been Fraternity alums to the best of my knowledge.

[Munchkin03]

If the U. owns the houses, they can basically put whomever they want in there, especially since this appears to be more of a facilities management issue than monitoring the fraternities' behavior. Also, I doubt the frats' national offices took this lying down.

Like I said---some schools have some sort of Residential Greek Graduate Assistant...sometimes they live in a house, other times they are put in U-owned apartments. For the most part, they have very little interaction with the chapter members.

I'm sure my view's going to be pretty unpopular. I've learned a lot about the way colleges work this past year.

[squirrely girl]

aw hell naw -

bgsu has this type of thing because the houses are school owned, but they're supported by grad asst. stuff not the sorority or fraternity itself. also - are the members of the fraternity already paying the university for housing? if so, the university needs to take the 15K outta that instead of requiring more. i mean sheesh, part of a dorm residents fees for their dorm room goes to pay for RA's and stuff but they aren't required to give up MORE.

marissa

edited to add - i don't have a prob with a residential supervisor, i have a problem with them being PLACED and then forcing the fraternity to also PAY 15K a year for that. if they wanna place somebody in univ. owned housing...fine...but don't make the residents pay additional funds. also - at bgsu, there's a bit of a mutual selection process when getting these types of people.

[hoosier]

Probably 50 years ago, all of the chapters jumped when the Univ. - led by Greek alums school pres. and dean of students, and a Board of Trustees (with 12 of the 14 members GLO alumni) - said we have some extra land near the campus, and the state has approved a few mil for student housing - PRESTO - we'll build 18 chapter houses, all near alike, on this horse-shoe shaped street. We'll even send over a cleaning crew every Monday and Friday, and do the big repairs during the summer. You'll luv it.

Now, 50 years later, there's only liberals from anti- and non-fraternity schools in the administration bldg., and this horsehoe drive with lots of grass and a few problem GLOs might be a good spot for the new Enviromental Studies Dept. Bldg. The GLOs are in no position to move or improve their situation. If the administration says pay this employee of our $15,000, what can you do. It's called Unintended consequences.

Also, remember last year when the U MD freshmen athletes were hazed (forced to dress up as tampons, as I remember), the administration CRACKED THE WHIP, suspending the varsity players from all games (during the off season).

[Tom Earp]

squirrely girl, what is bgsu?

I thought Clarksville has A-P?

[33girl]

Originally posted by Munchkin03
Having a graduate student around, who's usually in Greek Affairs or some other aspect of Higher Ed Leadership or Administration, works out really well for all involved. It's no different than having a housemother around.

I'm guessing that this is part of the problem - that the chapters or the alumni have no say in who will be in there and the people who UMD is picking don't know their arse from their elbow about Greek life.

I mean, when a housing corp hires a housemother (or housefather for that matter) they lay out certain aspects of the job for them, like NOT being there for rituals and if the person doesn't get it or doesn't comply with it, they're out. I doubt that the university is stressing that fact.

Plus - they are making the fraternities pay a set amount. I have no idea what houseparents make or if this is too much/too little for that area, but if I'm paying someone even 2.5 cents for a job I want some hand in approving their selection.

[James]

If th4e university owns the both the property and the structure its kind of hard to argue with them if they want to put in a RA . . . however, thats not something the frats should be paying for out of pocket.

It sounds like they are extorting the fraternities. They are saying pay 15 grand extra or move out.

IT also saves the university money if these are grad students because the fraternities are in effect fotting their entire cost . .. housing and a stipend.

Nice deal for the college.

[Tom Earp]

Ah James, that is where the RUB comes in!

Also, with the high costs of keeping a house up, it seems a blessing that some Schools are building Greek Courts or Areas.

But is this not again where Schools can have more control over Greeks?

If Greeks quit screwing up and run themselves properly would the Schools want to spend that kind of money?

[JaimeNicole]

i go to UMCP, and my sorority has a house mom and we love her! shes not a dictator, or a b----, but she is in charge. shes always willing to talk to us, give us advice, or just around watching tv with us. some of the sisters are so close with her that she was recently in one of my sisters weddings. while i have heard horror stories about awful house moms/dads, i have no complaints here!

[Coramoor]

They were seriously considering doing something similar on the WVU campus last year. THe University was going to buy 4 or 5 fraternity houses-have advisors put in them and a few other requirements. Stuff like paying for an outside cleaning service (ran by the University), a meal plan (ran by the university), and implement a quota on the number of men that live in each house (determined by the university) or the univesity could actually rent rooms out to non fraternity members...

It didn't pass.