The term “frat house” has been in our vocabulary for a very long time. This first official fraternity housing was built in Michigan as a one-story “lodge,” long before the stereotype of sticky floors and solo cups was concocted. In comparison, the first sorority house was built just an hour away from us in Syracuse, around 1874. These organizations started out as secretive clubs to discuss debatable topics and form bonds, and have now grown into a national collective that raise millions of dollars for charities, do thousands of hours of community service and of course, are sometimes lucky enough to live in mansions. In hundreds of universities across the country, these “frat” and sorority, aka “srat,” houses are built on or next to campuses on a designated strip known as a “Greek Row.” Schools as close as Cornell, Syracuse and Cortland have some version of these, but not us. Even though Binghamton University is home to more than 55 Greek life organizations, there is no real home for them on our campus.

Greek life at BU is not a new thing. It started in the 1960s with the creation of a local fraternity, Tau Alpha Upsilon, and has greatly increased in membership over the years. As of 2018, about 15 percent of students at BU are involved in Greek life organizations across the seven councils. These organizations raise thousands of dollars every year for their philanthropies, as well as help the surrounding community, but they lack in-person representation on our campus. Sure, many fraternities and sororities do have some form of group housing in Downtown Binghamton, but this is minimal and generally unsafe since it’s unregulated. If BU and national organizations truly cared about the members of these organizations, some form of official housing would be provided.

There are many reasons why official Greek life housing, or a Greek row, would help the University. First, having fraternity and sorority houses in one localized area, ideally monitored by Binghamton’s New York State University Police (UPD), would definitely help protect students. Girls wouldn’t have to worry about wandering the streets of Downtown Binghamton looking for a sketchy frat house and then worrying about catching the bus back to campus. This would be an important improvement, especially considering a rise in BU students coming forward about sexual assault. With over 150 reports against fraternities, according to the @shareyourstorybing Instagram, there has been a growth in movements to abolish Greek life. With the construction of a Greek village, BU would have much more control over the organizations, which may help in preventing these attacks. Students would also be much safer in a controlled environment, away from non-students. The University would also be able to monitor fraternity activity much more, which could prevent some of the illegal activities such as the extreme hazing that took place almost a decade ago, when many Greek life organizations were kicked off campus. Not to mention, it would be much easier to provide medical treatment to students who are injured or ill if they are in a sectioned area.

In continuation, this would be very beneficial to the city of Binghamton. If fraternity houses were moved closer or on campus, there would be less negative associations between the University and the raucous reputation of Greek houses. The people of Binghamton wouldn’t have to deal with the frat houses next door filled to the brim with BU students, blasting music until 4 a.m. If the University constructed a Greek village on one of the side streets next to or above campus, away from the rest of the city, this would prevent the mix between Binghamton residents and college partiers. This could also lessen the amount of underage students at the bars, since there would be more of a physical separation between the houses and the bars.

The benefits to the Greek organizations would also be extensive, as having on-campus housing would likely increase membership rates and increase the quality of their experience in general. Organizations with on-campus housing would be able to spend more time together. Also, things like recruitment, bid day and philanthropic events would become much more centralized. Not to mention, it would help the organizations feel like they actually have a place and a purpose at the University, and aren’t just a basement to party in.

Of course, I understand that this is an extensive dream. Not all organizations would like this overreach, preferring to stay in the depths of Downtown Binghamton. Generally fraternities that reside on Greek rows have set rules given by their universities. These may include a limit on the amount of parties they have a week and rules about how many people live in the building. This would definitely be a turn off for some of the organizations being asked to move there. It’s also important to mention the extensive price tag that the construction of this Greek village would have. But there’s definitely a possibility. Schools like Pennsylvania State University have found an alternative to a full Greek village, by assigning floors or sections of residential dorms to certain organizations. This is definitely possible for our school, and would give a home to our Greek life organizations.

Nicolette Cavallaro is a sophomore majoring in integrative neuroscience.