Social houses face annual review

Author: Tom Brant

The Community Council's Subcommittee on Social Houses recommended continuing Delta House under the conditions of their 2006 sanctions, at the Council's annual social house review meeting on Monday. The Subcommittee also recommended continuing the other four campus social houses - Omega Alpha, The Mill, Xenia and Kappa Delta Rho (KDR) - with only minor stipulations.

Although Delta may apply for reinstatement next fall, the discussion Monday revealed that it was unlikely Delta would have its own house again before Fall 2008. Room draw for the 2007-2008 academic year will have already occurred before Delta can be reinstated next fall, meaning regular students would have to be rehoused mid-year if Delta were granted a house in September.

Delta was sanctioned by the Inter-House Council (IHC) last spring after a party held at Prescott House, the social house's former home, violated numerous College policies. As a result of the party, Delta was denied residential status and placed on a year-long suspension by President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz in June 2006.

Now Delta is working to maintain membership and prepare for rush next fall. Two questions presented to the Council, which will be ultimately passed on to Liebowitz, were whether Delta could be granted a designated space to conduct rush in the fall, and whether Delta members could live with one another "as friends" in Commons suites.

On Monday, Doug Adams, chair of the IHC and a member of the Subcommittee on Social Houses, told the Council that one reason for recommending Delta be able to hold pledge in the fall was its coordinated volunteer and philanthropic efforts over the past year, which are unusual for a social house.

"In general the social houses don't really do [community service] as a collective, although individual members do," Adams said. "We'd like to encourage them to do more as a group."

The Subcommittee recommended granting Delta a "large social area" on campus from which to conduct their rush and pledge events next year. Proposed locations included the lounge of a Ridgeline house or a Commons Lounge. Delta president Chris Angelini '08, who was present at Monday's meeting, said that he was appreciative of the recommendation, and emphasized that having a space set aside for pledge would be an advantage for Delta.

"This is kind of a preparation for us," he said of next fall's rush. "We'll be able to see what we're going to have to do to come back."

But Dean of Student Affairs and Co-Chair of the Council Ann Hanson expressed hesitation over offering Delta a temporary social space within another dorm.

"If I were to draw into Jewett House next year and then find out that Delta with its $1,300 worth of dorm damage was conducting its pledge in my house, I wouldn't be happy," said Hanson.

Trepidation to allowing Delta to hold pledge in the fall stemmed mainly from the dorm damage inflicted by the social house while it had residential status. In the Winter and Spring terms of the 2005-2006 academic year, dorm damage at Prescott totaled nearly $1,400.

Despite the problem of dorm damage and Delta's current suspension, Angelini said that house membership is currently at 52 students, the second largest after Omega Alpha, which has 65 members.

Even though Delta members are living separately this year, house spokesman John Montesanti '07 said that they have continued to hold meetings and organize non-alcoholic events.

"We have continued to meet biweekly as an organization to maintain unity and to continue working towards reinstatement," Montesanti wrote in a statement to Council members. He cited a tailgate party at a home football game, participation in Relay for Life and efforts to become the first carbon neutral social house as some of the group's efforts to remain an active student organization.

Despite hearing recommendations for the continuation of the remaining social houses, the Council considered concerns regarding residency and party issues and heard recommended stipulations for three of the four houses for the 2007-2008 academic year. As a way to address recent problems of reaching residency capacity, the Subcommittee recommended a stipulation that KDR achieve full capacity by March 2007 or face moving to a smaller residential location on campus. Currently, only 12 students reside in KDR out of 17 available beds, making this the eighth year that the house has failed to meet its capacity target.

"We realize that we need numbers to sustain ourselves," said Jessica Weiss '08, the president of KDR. "Distance may be one of the big reasons we're having troubleÖgetting people to come to parties."

Despite the house's problems of filling beds, the group would not be forced to disband.

Xenia, the only sub-free social house on campus, also faced recommended stipulations related to residency and membership for the coming academic year. The house would be required to achieve gender balance in its membership. Currently, female members of Xenia comprise 74 percent of house membership.

"The biggest issue for [Xenia] is being out of compliance with gender balance rules," said Adams. "Gender balance is something we look at for all student organizations."

In its recommendation for the continuation of Omega Alpha, the Subcommittee stipulated that the house eliminate smoking inside Brackett House, where the organization is currently located. The Subcommittee recommended the Mill for continuation without any stipulations.

The Council's recommendations will now go to President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz for final approval.