Greek life moving onto campus has been quite the topic of controversy among the Greeks at FHSU. If you ask one person, they may say that they absolutely love it, while others say the idea sends shivers down their spine.There are many pros and equally as many cons when looking at the idea of moving Greek life on to campus. Here’s a brief look through the students’ view on the wide spectrum of opinions.
Pros
- When looking at some of the existing sorority and fraternity homes that are currently located off campus, they appear to be pretty battered. Over the years, hundreds of different students have lived in those houses. Many of them could use some renovations and updates, however, that is a cost that most of them cannot afford.
- Moving on to campus means that there will be constant maintenance on the buildings. Along with that, upgrades will be done every couple of years, making sure that the houses stay somewhat up to date.
- Coming from a student’s perspective, one of the biggest pros is the janitorial benefit. Having professional staff from the university clean the bathrooms and common areas every day is awesome. What college student doesn’t like having someone do their chores for them?
- Living on campus makes it easier to stay connected to other students at FHSU. Especially the other Greek chapters that will live in the themed housing too. It will mean that 4 chapters can live essentially right next door to each other, which will likely build the Greek community even stronger than it is now. Also, proximity to Lewis Field Stadium will be nice for football season, Greeks will be able to tailgate in their own back yard, which will hopefully result in bigger crowds at the football games.
- A huge pro for chapters that don’t already have houses is the fact that they will finally have an opportunity for their members to live together and have a place to call their own.
Cons
- Chapters could lose their individual identity. Some members fear that because 4 chapters will live all within the same building, people will stop thinking of them as Tri Sigma, Delta Zeta, and so on, but rather just see them as “the Greeks.”
- Many people have vocalized concern about the price of themed housing. Compared to the price of off-campus Greek houses now, themed housing will cost quite a bit more. Another concern about price is that it still will cost more than living in the residence halls like McMindes or Weist.
- Something that juniors and seniors have mentioned is that upperclassmen generally don’t like living on campus because it makes them feel like it’s freshman year. Having the restrictions that come with living on campus could potentially scare away upperclassmen because they won’t have the freedom that they want after 20 years of life at home.
- With the demolition of the old Weist parking lot, many people are concerned about parking on campus. The themed housing can hold 96 people, will the Greek parking lot be able to hold that many cars, and will other on-campus student be able to park there, or will it be a different parking zone? There are a lot of unanswered questions in this category.
- In many cases chapter members are concerned for sentimental reasons, myself included. Many memories have been made in the houses people are already located in. During reunions and homecomings when alumni come back to Hays and visit their old fraternity or sorority houses, they can point to exact spots in the house where some of their favorite college memories were made. By losing their houses, many chapters feel as if they will be losing a part of their history.
These are just a few of the many possible pros and cons that have been mentioned so far amongst Greek members. Despite some concerns from the students, the construction of the themed housing moves forward, and the chapters moving in have one more year to prepare for uprooting their homes to move on campus, and for some moving to a house for the very first time. Only time will tell the success of the on-campus Greek housing, and whether or not people wanted to move, everyone is still hoping for the best.