Senior Alex Sigrist sits at his computer at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house on Church Street.
From a university standpoint, the decision to hold Miami University fraternities exempt from the sophomore housing requirement, provided they meet certain requirements, is final.
However, the number of fraternities that will apply for exemption is uncertain. Vice President of Student Affairs Richard Nault said the university has not yet sent out formal applications, and fraternities will have until April 15 to make a decision. For now, they are still in the discussion stage.
"We hope that fraternities will consider their possibilities carefully," Nault said.
The first-year students arriving on campus this fall will become the first group of sophomores impacted by the new housing requirements-which mandates that students live on campus for their first two years-so fraternities must have preparations in place by fall 2009.
According to a letter issued to fraternities, if they wished to be exempt, each fraternity must have a second-year curriculum fraternity coordinator who would report to the assistant dean of students and the Cliff Alexander Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and Leadership, as well as an adviser affiliated with the campus to provide support and interact with the fraternity.
Although neither would reside in the fraternity houses, each fraternity must select a third adviser, who will reside with them, from among three categories.
The letter said the three categories the fraternities can choose from are an additional assignment house director who would be a graduate student, faculty or staff member from the university; an independent house director who would be someone unaffiliated with the university, such as a hired house parent; and an undergraduate fraternity community assistant who would be a junior or senior student within the fraternity.
All three would be responsible for working with the university to make sure that the required curriculum is delivered in the house.
In addition, second-year students entering fraternities must have a 2.6 cumulative grade point average, attend alcohol education and sexual assault prevention classes and have no university Code One violations.
According to the letter, fraternities will also have to become damp, meaning that common space must be alcohol-free while persons over 21 can drink in their rooms.
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However, they may apply for a waiver through the Cliff Alexander Office if they wish to host an event involving alcohol for a special event, such as alumni or parent gatherings.
Nault said each chapter must make a decision based upon its own best interests.
"A lot of people believe that by having the sophomore exemptions, a lot more men might consider fraternities as a possible option," Nault said. "It also provides an opportunity for some who are deciding they don't want to do it and just house juniors and seniors."
April Robles, interim director of the Cliff Alexander Office, thinks the biggest pro for fraternities interested in exemption would be having a unified partnership with the university as well as being able to bring more members into the houses.
But she also sees drawbacks.
"For some fraternities, with some of the requirements as far as housing conditions and common spaces being alcohol free, it may be a big jump," Robles said. "They go from having social events with alcohol in their house to moving all those activities uptown to third party vendors."
Robles believes it is up to the fraternity advisers and their corporation boards to decide just as much as it up to the chapters.
"It's a big decision for the future ... not just for current members, but people who have a vested interest in the chapter and the community," she said.
Nault does not foresee many changes that may occur in the fraternity rush system as a result of the changes brought about by the sophomore housing requirements and fraternity exemptions.
"They already have a 2.3 GPA requirement for you to even go through rush, and they're sensitive to how a student is doing academically," he said. "Fraternities are always looking for a certain set of core values, so I doubt this'll change (the rush system) that much."
Robles pointed out that students may look at fraternity exemptions as an easy way to get out of living on campus, but she is still optimistic about the new option.
"I think our fraternities will be cognizant of people's motivations as to why recruits are deciding to join a fraternity," she said. "They'll (pay attention to) whether or not they're in it for the benefits of membership and what they'll get out of being in a fraternity."
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