I was reading the Argus this morning with the top of the fold headline blaring “ARBORETUM COULD BECOME SDSU FRATS,” in large capitalized letters as if it represented a major disaster that has befallen the nation.
And all I could think was “… where in the heck have they been?” SDSU has been pushing this for years, going back to when I was an undergraduate at South Dakota State, and a member of a fraternity.
The story goes on with regards to how areas of the arboretum connected with the now fenced off McCrory Gardens is somehow supposed to be considered some sort of enviro-museum. And that “The green space was designated as the South Dakota State Arboretum in 1988.”
I have no reason to dispute those things, but not too long before that, South Dakota State was pushing the fraternities and sororities hard to create a fraternity row on either side of the street, nearly the entire time I was an undergrad from 1984-1989 (Yes, I took 5 years, but I took 1988 off for an legislative internship & to work an election for the SDGOP).
The University was aggressively pursuing the fraternity row concept, and if I’m recalling correctly, was offering the fraternities and sororities extended leases on land running south from Alpha Gamma Rho and Farmhouse Fraternities. They wanted to create this Fraternity area to consolidate them all in one place. The kicker was that at the time, no one was really biting.
In my fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, we were quite happy with our house 1 block off of campus. And the Alpha Xi Delta and Chi Omega soroities who were even closer to campus were even less interested. And for organizations residing off campus, many were less than keen on the idea, wondering what would happen if we were then residing on University property, and the University decided to try to exert authority.
Leasing the land as opposed to owning, as well as not wanting to be subject to the authority of “the man,” we heard less and less of this as time went by, until we stopped hearing about it at all. I suspect that’s about the time the area on the east side of the road was designated as a state arboretum.
But fast-forward thirty years later. My old fraternity house burned down from a bad electrical outlet, and the long-standing sorority houses having been knocked down and subjected to the University exercising eminent domain. And we also have a big uptick in the number of fraternal organizations, many of whom have been renting and are now seeking to lay down stronger roots for the SDSU community. And so, the long-ignored fraternity row idea has new life, significant construction, and may actually come to fruition about thirty years after the fact, in the exact place that has been planned for it all along.
Of course, that means it’s time for the Argus to generate a non-story panic over the fraternity row that might finally come to be over thirty years after it was originally proposed.
Whatever sells papers, I suppose.
Thank you for bringing this up Pat!
I found it odd that the Argus would make this seem so negative. Also, the term “frat” is borderline derogatory to me. I’m a part of a Fraternity, not a frat.
Greek life at USD is alive and thriving. 20% of USD’s on campus population is Greek. If SDSU continues to work towards having a. Strong Greek system, everyone will benefit. The members, the university, and the community!
Do you suppose that the author’s only concept of a Fraturnity is derived from Bluto and the Animal House? 🙂
SDSU was known as the less pretentious of the two largest universities in the state because historically it did not have the frat scene that USD had. SDSU had some cool kids going there.
Northern was the anti-frat school being really down to earth and more inclusive than USD. 🙂
I’m guessing a greek system never really got established in Aberdeen because it was a small teacher’s college, never viewed as a real University, and will be the first one closed down by the Board of Regents when they get sick of paying for all the State Universities.
*drops the mic*
haha! 🙂 Not sure if Northern would ever be closed but I was against Northern joining the rush of our smaller state colleges changing their name to University. Northern in my opinion should of remained a college and capitalized on remaining a college with it’s small school and class atmosphere to distinguish itself from the larger universities. It was like going to a private school at public school prices.
side note: I enjoyed the USD billboard touting the USD/SDSU football rivalry with inviting an old friend for dinner showing a Coyote chasing a Jackrabbit. Of course in nature a Wolf would kill and could eat both of them as long as it could catch that trickster Coyote. 🙂
go Wolves!
The article doesn’t make sense:
1st Paragraph: “officials are eyeing a pristine swath of trees for more fraternity houses.”
2nd Paragraph: “land targeted for development is minimally maintained.”
Also, the article makes sound like they are taking over the entire 45 acres of the arboretum but later it says it in only taking over 3 acres.
At the end of the day, this seems to be an issue for SDSU and its competing interests to resolve. The fact the Argus made it the headline story is at minimum bizarre.
This is just part of the AL’s new approach of “watchdog journalism” where they’re trying to dig up controversy (to sell papers/subscriptions). It doesn’t matter whether it is a real controversy, just anything that has the potential to be one.
Pat, Isn’t there a new frat house or two south of FarmHouse already ? The wooded area in question is east of AGR, correct ?
I graduated a while ago, but to my knowledge Alpha Xi Delta has been living in their new house on the site in question for a couple of years. Chi Omega has had a house corp for quite some time that is working on developing their plans for the site. Pat may have to answer this one, but I believe there is one other new house out on Greek Row as well.
Like the above have said, this isn’t news. A quick Google search shows that the Brookings Register had an article about this in 2010(http://www.brookingsregister.com/v2_news_articles.php?heading=0&story_id=8585&page=76). Once again, a timely, well informed piece of journalism by the illustrious Argus Leader. (<–sarcasm)
in advocacy journalism, it’s important to know what you’re advocating before writing the story. they did their advocacy due diligence here. however, journalism continues to swirl down the toilet.