Sisters, brothers, moms enjoy greek living

With three meals a day, a house full of girlfriends and a peaceful place to sleep, Kristin Burt said she has it made as a resident of her sorority house, Phi Mu.
“No living situation is going to be perfect, but I feel like I have the ideal situation,” Burt said.

For most IU students, going away to college means leaving a house of brothers and sisters behind. For members of the greek community, however, college means a new house and a new kind of family.

While not every greek organization has a house on campus and not every member lives in a house, Burt said she loves sorority house life.

“There are so many different backgrounds in our house,” Burt said. “There’s always something new to learn about someone every day.”

Many sororities feature day rooms, where women have their closets, televisions and desks. For sleeping, there are cold dorms, where the majority of the sisters sleep in Phi Mu.

“I personally love the cold dorms,” Burt said. “It’s cold, dark and quiet. It’s so nice to get away from the noise of the house.”

For men who go greek, fraternity houses offer many of the same benefits as a sorority, such as prepared meals.

However, the living situation can be different. Sean Kelley said men in his house can have their own room, about the size of a dorm room. They can also pair up and share a sleeping room and a day room. Kelley said the best part of living in a fraternity is living with 50 of his best friends, even though it can be difficult to study.

“There are a lot of distractions if you’re trying to bunker down and get work done,” Kelley said. “But a lot of guys share classes together, so it’s a great opportunity to talk about classes.”

But college students are not the only residents of greek houses. Another important player in greek life is the "house mom," someone who lives in a house full-time or part-time to oversee the house’s cleanliness, security and the overall lifestyle for its residents.

At Kappa Alpha Theta, the house mom is Jan Smith, commonly known as Mama Smith. She was previously a "house mom" at Purdue University, but she now lives in an apartment on the first floor of the sorority. Smith said the best part of her job is simply being with the girls and offering advice.

“Some of them I have a very close relationship with, and I keep in touch with the girls,” Smith said. “Last year I had three girls that were seniors here, and they sent me Christmas cards and notes, asking me how I was doing.”

While Smith did not live in a sorority house when she went to college, she thinks anyone who has the chance to live in a greek house should take advantage of it.
“I feel they can learn a lot. You have a lot of different personalities,” Smith said. “You can bounce off all of this information. I think it’s fulfilling.”