Outsiders say recruitment could suffer sans house
Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity officials said the organization is seeking legal counsel after last week’s announcement that Phi Mu will take its house in the Greek Village.
Pi Kappa Alpha External Vice President Adam Harms didn’t specify what legal action was on the table but said “all options would be considered.”
Jerry Brewer, USC’s associate vice president for student affairs, said Pi Kappa Alpha’s contract between the fraternity and USC was “the same contract we’ve used for years.” Brewer said there had been no developments since last week’s announcement that Phi Mu would take the fraternity’s house.
“If you’ve got people who aren’t attorneys telling you about legal action, they aren’t doing the right thing,” Brewer said.
For the past three years, Pi Kappa Alpha leased a house at 6 Fraternity Circle from Three Undergraduates Inc. But the corporation chose last week to not renew the lease, instead signing a letter of intent with Phi Mu.
“This news obviously blindsided us and is not what we wanted to hear,” said Internal Vice President J.W. Brunson. “But house or no house, we will continue to operate in just as successful a manner as we have the past few years. We appreciate the support that has come from within and outside of the Greek community.”
Interviews with at least a dozen people inside the Greek Village indicate the loss could hurt the fraternity. A look at Greek Life enrollment records show Greek organizations with houses attract substantially more members. The average number of members of each fraternity with a house is approximately 100. For fraternities without a house, the average chapter size is fewer than 40.
“It’s [a disadvantage] to the guys who don’t have a house because their letters aren’t posed up on a big old building, and they don’t have the same impact,” said David Corso, president of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. “A house shouldn’t be the only thing that affects a person’s judgment, but it definitely adds to the grandeur that is fraternity life.”
Corso compared fraternities with houses to “big cities” while fraternities without houses are like “little cities.” He said Lambda Chi Alpha would lose some of its recruiting power if it lost a house in the Greek Village.
“In big cities, it means there’s more stuff going on,” Corso said. “When you’re a little city, it’s like one or two story buildings and there’s not much going on.”
In the tight-lipped Greek Village, many won’t speak on-the-record with the media, citing alumni and national regulations. But all said the loss would harm the fraternity, which re-joined the campus in 2007.
Anna Edwards, director of student services at USC, said a house often initially helps with recruitment. Students often tour USC and marvel at the expansive houses in the Greek Village.
“But the chapters have to go on their foundation and the values of the group,” Edwards said. “The house doesn’t provide the fraternity. The fraternity just comes into the house and brings the values.”
For Phi Mu, the new house gives the South Carolina chapter a “true home” on campus, said President Kris Bridges.
“Joining the Greek Village will help Phi Mu during recruitment because members will be able to recruit from their own home and show it to potential members,” Bridges said.