Living in a frat house, pledging not included

When students are denied on-campus housing, most quickly scramble to find space off campus.

Some guys turn to houses with Greek letters on them, houses where they may find a lot more than just a room.

College junior Joe Katz was denied every choice on his on-campus housing application at the end of his freshman year. His name went on a waiting list, but he was denied again.

Then Katz's freshman roommate, a brother in Theta Xi, told him about a vacant room in the frat's house, located at 40th and Spruce streets at the time.

"It afforded me housing, and I got to be with my friends," said Katz. Three of his friends from his former hall in Hill College House are in the frat.

Most fraternities fill their houses with their own brothers. But once in a while, a frat - especially smaller ones like Theta Xi - does not have enough brothers to take up every room, leaving space for subletters.

And being surrounded by the Theta Xi guys all the time, Katz was eventually hooked. He rushed fall of his sophomore year and became a brother, even though pledging had not appealed to him during freshman year.

"At the end of the day, rushing isn't that big of a deal," Katz found after living with his brothers.

Wharton junior and Theta Xi president Justin Sapolsky said the frat has had a couple of other subletters in the past - though not very often. He also says that when non-brothers have moved in, the arrangement has worked out for both the subletter and the frat.

"Just from living here, Joe quickly became immersed in the culture of what we are, which is why it makes sense that he joined eventually," Sapolsky said.

But not all frats with open rooms take subletters.

Sigma Nu has one open room right now, but since that brother is coming back for the spring semester, the room is being left vacant for now, said Logan Slakter, the frat's president.

And not all situations in which a non-brother lives in a fraternity house arise pleasantly.

College junior Adam Dulberg was president of the Kappa Alpha Society fraternity until a week and a half ago, when he deactivated his membership in the frat and stepped down as president, saying he was disenchanted with fraternity life.

However, Dulberg still resides in the frat house, since his lease obligates him to pay rent for the rest of the year. He said his living environment no longer has the brotherly love of a frat, though he does still have some friends in the house.

"In some ways, the dynamic is very uncomfortable," he said. "I'm surrounded by people who didn't necessarily agree with my decision."

Dulberg originally planned to live in the KA house through senior year, but now plans to seek a room elsewhere.

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