Fraternities such as Sigma Phi Epsilon will go damp or dry and have a live-in housing assistant so members recruited in 2008-09 can live in the house during their sophomore year. A complete list of fraternities who will change their policies is at the end of the story.
Fraternity houses at Miami University may take on a whole new feel next school year.
As part of the new sophomore housing exemption for fraternities, 16 of Miami's 26 chapters have pledged to go damp or dry for the 2009-10 academic year.
As an exception to the university's new policy requiring sophomores to live on campus beginning in 2009-10, fraternities in Oxford can house sophomores if they follow a specific list of regulations.
The new rules stipulate that the household must be dry (no alcohol in the house) or damp (alcohol only in the privacy of bedrooms of individuals 21 years or older), have a housing assistant and require a minimum GPA for sophomores living in the house.
The fraternities that have pledged to go completely dry include Beta Theta Pi, Phi Delta Theta, Chi Phi, Phi Kappa Tau and Theta Chi. Eleven other chapters will go damp or dry.
April Robles, director of the Cliff Alexander Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and Leadership, said so many fraternities applied for the exemption because the overall plan makes sense.
"I think there are kind of two dynamics in the situation," Robles said. "They want to improve the quality of the experience for sophomores. And, this is a way for us to feel more confident of filling capacity of houses."
The fraternities applied for the exemption in May 2008. Applications included member academic plans, member education plans and what adviser support would be available, according to Robles.
On top of the application process, fraternities must pledge to follow the new guidelines.
"Frats had to adhere to certain standards to house second-year students and students would have to adhere to certain standards to have the privilege to live in the house," Robles said.
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One of the policies is the new ban on alcohol in common areas of the houses. According to Robles, the chapter house facility and common areas must be alcohol-free.
Individuals hoping to live in the houses will also have to apply through the Cliff Alexander office. Sophomores must have a 2.6 GPA and a good student conduct record, according to Robles.
"Every student will have to apply on their own accord if they want to be exempt (from the sophomore housing policy)," Robles said. "It is not automatic that just because they have pledged or joined a fraternity, they have the right to live off campus. They still have to apply. The applications are due by Feb. 27, a little over a month after they have had an opportunity to receive bids from the chapter."
Kappa Alpha Order (KA) is one of the 16 fraternities that applied for the exemption. According to KA President Chad Dobbs, the chapter's main concern was making sure the sophomores in the new pledge class could live together.
"The university couldn't guarantee that all of our new members would live together in the dorms-they would have to live dispersed around campus all second year," Dobbs said. "The friendships you build from living together is kind of a critical step in making the fraternity experience more worthwhile. We were concerned for the brotherhood and bringing our guys together to build bonds."
Dobbs said the difficult part of accepting the exemption will be all the changes the fraternity will have to make as a whole.
"I think the biggest challenge for the fraternity as a whole will be staying up with all the rules and regulations the university is requiring," Dobbs said. "It will be a burden to take on a whole new task that the university is forcing us to do."
Dobbs said he considers going dry just another sacrifice for the fraternity.
"I don't think going dry will be challenging, but it will upset guys," Dobbs said. "It's upsetting that you can no longer drink a beer while watching the game, but it's a sacrifice we have had to make."
Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) is one of the fraternities that did not apply for the exemption. Recruitment chair and President-elect Andrew Cornick said the upperclassmen's preference is a major reason for their chapter's decision.
"We (PIKE) were basically given a choice and based on our vote, we didn't have the support of our upperclassmen to have a dry house," Cornick said. "We decided we would stay wet and if all of our upperclassmen could live in the house, we could stay wet. Everyone who is 21 wanted to enjoy the privileges."
Another major concern behind the new changes is whether fraternity recruitment will be affected.
"From the university's perspective, they thought it would drastically improve numbers," Dobbs said. "We (KA) have seen a rapid decline in numbers, but we do not know why that has occurred ... They're acting like it's going to help numbers, but at this point I am not seeing it."
Dobbs said part of the low recruitment numbers so far may be a lack of communication about living options for current first-year students.
Cornick said he does not yet know if the changes will affect PIKE's recruitment.
"It's hard to say right now," he said. "We are looking into a friendship corridor for all of our sophomores to live in, but it's hard to say. We'll know more come January."
Fraternities that applied for exemption
The 16 fraternities that applied for the exemption as either damp or dry houses include ACACIA, Alpha Delta Phi, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Beta Theta Pi, Chi Phi, Delta Upsilon, Kappa Alpha Order, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Kappa Tau, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Pi, Tau Kappa Epsilon and Theta Chi.
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