This has not been the easiest of terms for the house manager of my sorority. I don't envy she who is tasked with blitzing out to sisters to tell them that no, in fact, when the town's water supply goes AWOL, they cannot take a shower despite their recent trip to the gym, nor can they do their laundry even though they really want that skirt clean. Nor would I want to be the one to explain why the diet coke machine is not working again, or figure out what to do with the twenty boxes of expired root beer syrup when sisters start demanding Gatorade. And as much as I support the increased recycling efforts in the Greek community, I'm glad I'm not the one sorting through the trash every week.
Then there are the typical springtime debacles: calling for cars stuck in parking lot mud to be towed, determining optimum configuration of basement storage to prevent total ruin from flooding, and telling rising seniors that no, sorry, they won't be getting singles next fall. Overall, it's a tough, often thankless job but someone's got to do it. I'm just glad it's not me.
That said, the managers of our frats, sororities and coeds are the best qualified to talk about the physical plants of their organizations. So who better to ask about the often overlooked aspects and best-kept secrets of those charming, rage-filled buildings? Below are a few thoughts from some of the keepers of the CFS kingdom. If you don't see your house listed, don't get mad, we all know your house has the coolest basement/second floor/porch/backyard. Your houseman was just too busy handling that fiasco from last night/this morning/five seconds ago to respond.
Phi Delt, Michael Sloan-Rossiter '08
"We have a new bar. Also, we built a barbeque pit over the summer, and we have dogs. And a TV with DVR. Hi-def. Stadium seating. Projector."
Sigma Nu, Robert Taintor '08
"Sig Nu's hookah lounge in the basement is kind of a staple of our house on rage nights. We've also got a huge living room with a new HDTV on the third floor. On the first floor we've got a pool room that houses a pool table dating back as far as the house was built (early 1900s) and a poker table constructed by some of our older brothers."
Sigma Delt, Kiersten Hallquist '08
"Our porch is amazing. Since spring finally showed up, a lot of girls have been tanning and doing homework out there. We have a fabulous female dominated social space. I also think we have the coolest basement, with the most character. We have dark wooden walls all around with the names of previous sisters carved all over."
Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Tom Healy '08
"I think SAE has one of the most unique study spaces on campus -- we've got a fully stocked library on our third floor that's totally amazing. A great place for our brothers to study, especially when the library is busy."
Delta Delta Delta, Claire Wildermuth '08
"I bet nobody knows Tri Delt has a basement that we can and have legitimately hung out in. Supposedly President Wright used to live here too. We have many all-purpose spaces -- girls use the third floor empty hallway to do lunges, and we have a wonderful porch swing we all love. Then there's our kitchen. It gets used more than a Vegas prostitute!"
