The ultimate goal of any sorority is a successful recruitment. With a successful recruitment season, the house will receive a larger pledge class.
While this year’s sorority recruitment proved to be extremely successful for all of Butler’s chapters, the price is now being paid by rising junior members.
They are being put in a social and economic bind by unaccommodating residence life housing rules.
Living in a sorority house completely changes the Greek experience–and for the better, in my opinion. Members get to know their sisters in a new way and grow closer as a unit.
I think every sorority should guarantee its new members the opportunity to live in the house for the entirety of their sophomore year. The experience allows new members to develop lifelong bonds with their Greek family.
At the same time, it’s important not to forget about older members.
As a freshman going through recruitment, I was comforted knowing my entire sophomore and junior, year I could be housed in my sorority.
My parents were also comforted by the cost of this endeavor, as living in any sorority house proves to be at least a few thousand dollars cheaper per semester than living in Apartment Village.
Although my sorority has been very accommodating of my pledge class, comforting us and trying to make the transition smooth for the 14 of us that will have to live out of the house– the university has not necessarily done the same.
Devon Lott, Alpha Chi Omega member, volunteered to live out of her house her junior year.
“I have enjoyed living in so much,” Lott said. “I feel like I’ve gotten so close to my sisters by living with them, and it honestly feels like coming home to my family every day.
I just felt that many of my sisters wanted and deserved to live in the house more than I did, and I didn’t think it was fair to take away that opportunity from them.”
Changes that have been made to the housing’s lottery system prohibit students from creating floors of makeshift units, typically done by fraternities or sororities who have students living out.
At a time when, in some cases, an entire pledge class is living out, why shouldn’t that be allowed?
Other college campuses without Greek houses have Greek “suites” in residence halls or floors. An option like this would not be unappealing to students, as they could still be surrounded by their sisters or brothers in their living environment. It also would cost the university little extra effort, time or money.
Lott said she plans on living with a mixture of Greeks and independents in AV next year.
“Personally, I don’t mind living with non-Greeks,” Lott said, “but I can definitely understand how many Greek students would want to continue their fraternal bonding by living in designated units in AV.”
Becky Druetzler, director of Greek life, said that because there are more students in the Greek system than before, “everybody has to start thinking a little bit differently.”
I couldn’t agree more, although I think such things need to start at the residence hall and university level.
Some houses are looking to alumni to make up the difference and subsidize the cost of living in a university residence hall. Others have tried to do the same within their own chapters.
Whether through subsidizing costs or allowing Greeks to live in residence hall units together, the university should take into consideration the emotional and financial difficulty of the situation its students are facing.