A House for my Brothers, A House for Me

Delta-T in the pavement.

When I walk up the front steps to the house I can smell the food that is being cooked at a nearby campus diner, mixed with a bit of car exhaust, and a nearly inconspicuous bit of nature. As I am walking I usually don’t look up, I know by heart what I would see anyway: blue painted house, small tree to the right and left, bit of shrubbery, old and very large tree to the right side of the house, porch swing and bench. Instead, I keep my eyes to the ground to make sure I step on the Delta T symbol, which has been crafted into the sidewalk and is the symbol of the Triangle fraternity, for good luck. Not sure why I think this will bring me good luck, no one ever told me it would or anything. It just feels right. Sadly this is the end of good feeling coming from the aesthetics of the Triangle house. To be honest the inside is quite dilapidated. For instance one of the front windows broke because it rotted out of its frame and fell when someone went to use it. This being the case I want to propose that money be raised to renovate the house and make it livable. However, some might say that another fraternity house that is lived in would only add to possible drinking problems not to mention that the house is historical and will be very costly to get the proper materials and building styles to stay within code while renovating. Despite this, I think that having a livable house will increase brotherhood in Triangle and make it easier to be coordinated for our work for the community. I propose that the higher-ups of the Triangle organization should find a way to work with the current actives at the Louisville chapter to come up with the funding to renovate the chapter house so that it can be lived in, in order to increase brotherhood and academic status for its current members and those that follow.

The two major reasons for not having the house renovated are drinking, and cost. First I would like to discredit the drinking problem. Drinking tends to become part of college for many students. Some may worry that another house on Greek row that is lived in might add to the number of drinking students. In fact studies will show that members of Greek organizations will drink more often and heavier than non-Greek related students. (Mark et al 187) At our Louisville chapter this will not be a problem since our Greek Row is dry. Triangles want to live in their house, not lose it for good.

Second and more importantly is the cost. The cost of the renovation is affected by two main variables. One being all that has to be done to make the house considered “livable” by the university, the other is what must be done while completing the renovation to preserve the historic status of the house. The university mostly wants a sprinkler system installed, however a lot of the wood in the house is old and rotting and would need to be replaced to support such a system. Both of these items will be quite costly. Since the house is considered historic the cost is raised since special materials and labor techniques will have to be used. (Al-Nammari, Fatima, and Lindell 472) There is nothing that can be said to make this part of the problem go away. The cost will be the cost. However, I can say that from seeing how organized we are to how organized another chapter I have visited that do live together, it would easier to raise money to pay back the cost rather than raise the money for the cost. It is easier to find ways to not attend fund raisers and other Triangle events when you aren’t coming home to the base of operations for them.

Broken window at the house, one of the
many things that needs repair.

The benefits of renovating the house should outweigh the negative aspects, or there would be no need for the project. Benefits would come in several ways: increase in community service, possible lower cost of living on an individual level, improved Triangle academics, a chance for healthier living conditions, and a general increase of moral in over 50 Triangles. Starting with the cost of living, current dues at the Louisville chapter are 200 dollars less than the monthly rent that I am personally paying at my current residence. Some research into cutting college cost found that in some places being in a Greek organization was about 2500 dollars cheaper annually than living in student housing. (“Consumers in the know”)

It would most likely be found that after having the Triangle house renovated and the members move in that the amount of community service projects and turnout for them would increase. This would be because currently some Louisville chapter Triangles think that the house should be the target of a community service project and would be more willing to help others after seeing that someone out there in the world cared about them. Also common sense would dictate that it would be easier to organize a group of people when they are living under the same roof and not having to call 50 plus members to remind them all of the event. Not to mention the positive peer pressure that can be applied by roommates that can call the “I’m too sick” bluff along with other excuses.

Health would be another good reason to bring many brothers into a house that must follow campus health and safety codes from off-campus housing. One survey found that 39.6% of off-campus housing for college students came with visible mold. ("Environmental Health Risks Associated with Off-Campus Student-Tenant Housing.") This along with other health issues also listed in the survey caused varying degrees of sickliness that kept students from attending classes. ("Environmental Health Risks Associated with Off-Campus Student-Tenant Housing.") By living on campus the university would make sure that such health hazards didn’t exist, which would be better than the alternative even if it comes at the occupants expense.

Triangle code of ethics. Number 5 in particular .

The most important improvement to many people would be grades. A study found that roommates can be a very large determining factor in a student’s grade point average. (Shegog et al 53) I know few people that I attend college with that live alone, and based off talking to friends of mine in many different living conditions, roommates can be a lot of help or a painful drag on their academic status. Bad roommate choices or an unlucky assigned roommate can be a detriment to a student’s grades in many different ways. On the other hand a good roommate will be able to help with homework assignments and studying for exams. Since Triangle is comprised of engineers, architects, and scientists, there is always someone with your same major to talk to ask a question or get help. The only limiting factor is tracking that person with your major down and hoping they aren’t busy being students themselves. By putting many of the Triangles under one roof would make it easier to find the help we need for our difficult degrees.  

I cherish the Triangle house, but I wish it was in better condition. I hope that I have proven those reading this, that have the power to make the necessary changes, that the renovation is a worthy goal and that they find a way to work with us at the Louisville chapter to make our chapter house livable. The ultimate goal being to create an environment in which enduring friendships may be formed, and there is little that is more bonding than living together. It would be nice to make our house a home.

Works Cited:

    Al-Nammari, Fatima M., and Michael K. Lindell. "Earthquake recovery of historic buildings: exploring cost and time needs."Disasters 33.3 (2009): 457-481. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 July 2011.

    Bandy, Allyson. "CONSUMERS in the Know." Women in Business 57.2 (2005): 18-19. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 July 2011.

    Johnson, Erin, Eugene C. Cole, and Ray Merrill. "Environmental Health Risks Associated with Off-Campus Student-Tenant Housing." Journal of Environmental Health 71.6 (2009): 43-47. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 July 2011.

    Mark D. Wood, et al. "Fraternity and Sorority Leaders and Members: A Comparison of Alcohol Use, Attitudes, and Policy Awareness." American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse 36.4 (2010): 187-193. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 July 2011.

Sharon Shegog, et al. "Liking, Cooperation, and Satisfaction between Roommates." Journal of College & University Student Housing 34.2 (2007): 53-60. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 July 2011.