Greeks choose to leave houses for chance to live on their own

Weekend parties. Provided meals. Sixty of your close friends.

Who would want to leave a house that offers all this?

Even with all the perks of living in a greek house on campus, many members of sororities and fraternities choose to live out each year.

“I think it was just time for me to live on my own,” said Phil Langenfeld, a fraternity member.

Many greek houses on campus have a live-out policy. This means that the chapter requires the member to live in the sorority or fraternity house for two or more years and then allows the member to live outside of the house after those two or more years if desired.

While living in the house, members are expected to abide by the house rules.

 This includes, among other things, no alcohol or drugs, and for sororities, a man-hour policy which restricts men from being in the house during certain times. However, for many members, the benefits of living in the house far outweigh the inconveniences some of the rules might cause.

“I like that we get a good breakfast every day, and we don’t have to make any of our meals,” said Emily Watkins, a sorority member. “And we live so close we can just walk everywhere.”

Many members see the experience of living in the house as a time to live with a large group of their closest friends.

“Living in is one of the reasons our house is so close,” Watkins said.

Although living in a sorority or fraternity house provides many benefits, many greek members believe that after two years it is time for a change.

Kyle Behringer, a fraternity member, chose to live out because he did not like living in a house with so many people.

“I couldn’t stand rooming with two other guys, and I didn’t like having to share a bathroom with that many guys,” he said. “Now everything is individual.”

Langenfeld agrees with Behringer and thinks that life outside the fraternity house is “much different.”

“Now I have my own bedroom, my own bathroom and my own kitchen,” he said.

Although time spent living outside the fraternity house can be a great opportunity for members to experience life on their own and party without the rules of living in a greek house, some members seem to lose the connection they had with their fraternity or sorority.

“We still attend the social events,” Langenfeld said. “But it’s harder to meet the new guys and stay involved.”

Watkins said she will not have the option of living out, but even if she did, she believes that many of the members of her chapter would chose to remain living in the house.

“The sophomores are just as close with the juniors and the seniors because we all live under one roof,” she said. “We have our whole life to live in an apartment.”