[23856] in APO-L
Re: [APO-L] APO House rule
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Rich Quodomine)
Thu Aug 28 10:40:38 2003
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 10:39:56 -0400
Reply-To: Rich Quodomine <aposatan@hotmail.com>
From: Rich Quodomine <aposatan@hotmail.com>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
To add a little perspective, as once related to me from a former Section 89
chair:
>Has anyone thought about the purpose of the rule against having an APO
>house?
>
>I understand it's to prevent parties in the stereotypical nature of Greeks.
>But lets face facts,
>Members of APO will end up sharing an apt, house, or dorm together. This in
>turn becomes the "APO House".
Well, that and insurance and costs and who holds liability, etc. etc. There
are far more issues than just Animal House.
>
>On my campus, we don't have an office, because campus activites doesn't
>issue offices to individual >greek organizations.
Can you not get recognized by another organization, such as Student
Association or Student Life?
The real problem here is that any gathering in which 25% of the membership
is gathered together can be considered an even in a court of law. Owning a
house requires homeowners, and probably liability as well. This is expensive
and that cost would have to be borne by the chapters or an expansion or at
least review of the liability insurance currently carried by the fraternity.
Further, the bills associated with a house, from water to garbage to
utilities would have to be paid out of a common account. With such turnover
at the officers, there's a chain of custody that is involved. And what if
you have a large chapter and not everyone lives in the house? Are other
brothers obligated to pay for a house in which they cannot live?
While noble in intent, the realities of owning a house -which I do- and
being responsible for it, call for a lot of forethought. Our out-of-pocket
expenses remain relatively low in APO, which is a major draw for many
students who feel rejected from other fraternities becaue they don't have
the extra $1000 / college year to live in a house (1996 estimate in The
Spectrum, UB's student newspaper) and thus enjoy the full benefits of that
fraternity. I am very skeptical that a house can be managed without costing
the brothers significantly more than they currently pay. While I have no
doubt our brothers are more responsible than many other fraternities', I
think this is not a road I'd go down.
THis is just my opinion, and doesn't reflect Region II or any other capacity
in which I serve.
-- Rich
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