Greek life was changed at the beginning of this school year at UR when two fraternities, Sigma Nu and Sigma Phi Epsilon, moved from their Quad residences to two separate floors in Wilder Tower.
The move, which distanced the fraternities from their fellow brotherhoods, was prompted by the change to freshman housing.
The fraternities now occupy the fourth and sixth floors of the building, living alongside two of their sorority counterparts as well as their classmates.
?It is a positive change. We have more singles and clean bathrooms and lounges that are twice the size as the ones in Lovejoy,? said junior Mike Spurgeon, president of SFE.
Similar comments came from the brothers of SN. ?It?s not bad. I lived in Towers my freshman year and liked it. It?s working out all right,? said junior Tom Petitte, a member of SN.
Junior Joel Berlinghieri, Petitte?s fraternity brother, agreed. ?It?s different, but not necessarily any better or worse,? he said.
The other residents of Towers have no major complaints either. ?It?s become more of a party dorm, which can be a good thing,? junior Meredith Gray said. ?I like it better.? However, she said, there is ?noise all the time.?
But although there has been occasional criticism about noise, the majority of the residents, Greek or unaffiliated, seem not to mind. ?I thought it was going to be chaotic, but it?s fine,? said junior Mike Fassil, who lives on the first floor of Wilder.
Even residents closer to the fraternities? floors feel similarly. ?I haven?t heard any complaints,? said junior Ben Hafensteiner. ?They haven?t done anything.?
Many residents also feel that the spread of fraternities is good for the overall community, and that it has increased the ties among Towers residents as a whole. ?It was a good move,? Gray said. ?It spreads the frats out more so that not every frat lives in one place.?
Despite the positive feedback, there are minor issues that are beginning to arise. One of the major questions that has grown is the lack of contact with the freshmen, which is vital to the fraternities? recruitment process. ?We aren?t closer to the freshmen, which is a downfall for recruitment,? Spurgeon said.
?I?ve never heard of the fraternities in Towers,? freshman Amy Bauer said.
?I?ve been over there once,? freshman John DiRaddo said. ?I had fun ? the setting was all right and I?ll definitely go back, but I like the quad better.?
Darnieder can be reached at ldarnieder@campustimes.org.
