no room in the house!
by: kathI really wanted to live in the house next year but we have been told that its 'highly unlikely' given the large pledge class this year. WTF. What is panhel doing to deal with the situation of pledge class size????? What is going on with AOPi????? Why don't we have another house starting on campus soon to pick up the slack. WHAT IS GOING ON?????
#1by: What
If you have enough points why do you have to wait? If you're trying to live in next Fall, it will probably be a little more competitive since your pledge class is much larger than the usual available spaces, but I don't think that anyone can say for sure now whether you have to wait or not.
Comment#2by: $$$$$
To kath: Pledge class size is based upon the number of interested women completing the recruitment process and accepting a bid.
This Fall's high rush numbers were an unusual anomaly that, IF repeated for another Fall or two, MIGHT cause panhel to open for expansion meaning another sorority MIGHT choose to apply to come to Cal.
I don't need to point out Berkeley housing is very expensive, and any new sorority would have nowhere to build a new home (altho I think at least one national sorority no longer on campus still owns a house at greek row). Factor in costs of any new or improved sorority building meeting current ADA and fire sprinkler codes.
Cost is only one of many factors a national sorority will look at when choosing to apply to an "open for sorority expansion" campus, which Cal is not.
Thinking ahead: should Fall 2017 have only 550 women beginning rush, pledge classes will likely turn out 37%-50% smaller than those of Fall 2016. But if smaller pledge classes became the case I'd probably view posts on this board saying Cal ought to get rid of one or two sororities because there aren't enough women going thru rush!
A panhell never intentionally removes campus sororities just because fewer women pledge. Conversely, smart panhellenics considers multiple factors occurring over a 2-3 year time period that MAY indicate sorority expansion necessity.
#3by: sorority
This rush was an anomaly compared to past fall recruitments. There was an unusually high enrollment rate in recruitment as well as an unusually low withdrawal rate from recruitment. Plus, AOPi's situation didn't help.
It's also worth noting that housing varies immensely by chapter. Some houses can hold 50-60 women and there's often a wait list to live in, and some houses have 70-80 women and have trouble filling the house.
I wouldn't be surprised if there are talks of a new sorority being added in the next few years, but it depends on how this next fall recruitment goes, what happens with AOPi, and if there's anywhere for the said new sorority to live. There's not that much in the way of available real estate in Berkeley that's suitable for a sorority.
by: sorority
by: $$$$$
The main question should be what is each sorority doing to keep its members active and happy as sisters and friends OTHER than having them live in the house. What if your sorority went up in flames tomorrow and you had no sorority house to live in next year? A sorority is more than its house, and the cohesiveness of each group is independently attained. Surely living in the house is not the be-all-end-all of belonging to a sorority. I'll bet some women join and then hope they do not have to live-in due to the high cost and loss of independence.
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#4by: showmethe$
I agree that we shall have to see what the rush numbers look like next fall in order to see if a trend emerges. But I'm also not so sure how anyone can say this past fall was an unusual event either. Already we are having issues internally about housing given the large class from this fall. So long as this issue is on Panhels radar then its ok. My concern is that nobody is watching this issue and that we can have what happened this past fall happen again.
by: $$$$$
Two items for sleepy: First, panhellenic will definitely have more recruitment counselors available this Fall so no group(s) have an unwieldy number of PNMs. This should suffice if a large Fall 2017 recruitment number appears.
Second, the uneven number of live-ins per house is finite. Each house is individually responsible for its own finances, furnishings, food and repairs or lack thereof. No one from Cal's panhellenic or in Cal's administration tells a house what to charge their members or how many women must live in their home.
Truth be told, at Cal no one can tell any sorority how many members it must take in a formal recruitment. Quota is set by panhel, but a house can bid fewer women than quota and not have to give reason. That's how the system works for 99.9% of campuses nationwide.
Cal's sorority house system allows each individual group their own special design for gracious living, dining, studying, paying their bills, making home improvements. Think of the variety of sorority housing one views during recruitment! And if in the past a sorority chose to build an addition to their home but they now have trouble filling their house, no one outside that organization should or will tell that group how or when to 'fill up or else'.
No one wants to put all sororities under one dorm roof with equalized dorm-floor size and a defined identical sleep-in number. Too much sorority housing tradition has been set-up in the 130+ years of Cal's sorority presence.
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by: sleepy
Thanks for you view as it got me thinking along different lines. I kept thinking about the housing issue in general and am not so sure that the 'vacancy' disparity, for lack of a better term, amongst the houses is a 'capacity' differential between the houses so much as a 'demand' issue overall from PNMs for certain houses. It seems like if we had more equal 'demand' across the panhel members then all houses would at least in theory be at or close to capacity at all times. Maybe this theory is half-baked but there has to be some explanation (partial or otherwise) for the situation we have. The situation in my house is now quite contentious and many are finding the entire situation upsetting. I know housing isn't a 'right' but historically I don't think its ever been the issue its become in certain houses. Will keep thinking about the issue but would appreciate any/all thoughts on the overall situation as if we have another big year next fall then it will get even more complicated.
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by: reasonable
Her sorority should (and thankfully did) tell her now if space is available. No one should have to wait to find out, for how else will they find other suitable housing for next year.
Something to think about: living in the house may become a thing of the past if class sizes continue to swell. Lots of other campuses deal with that without opening new sororities. If a sorority member only lives in the house for one year it can't be the end of the world, as sisterhood means so much more.
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