Greek life, Greek myth

  Photos by COURTNEY STEWART Noble Millie
plays foosball with his fraternity brothers despite a dislocated
rotator cuff from a recent snowboarding accident.

By Stella Chu
Daily Bruin Contributor

The entire second floor is alive with activity as loud music
blares from multiple stereos. Shouts can be heard from some people
who have turned a study break into an impromptu bowling game in the
hall.

In a nearby room, where multiple Bob Marley posters cover the
walls and old newspapers taped against the window substitute as
curtains, undeclared second-year student Noble Millie attempts to
concentrate on his studies in the cramped space he shares with a
roommate.

Although this scene could very much parallel a typical evening
in an on-campus residential hall, here in the Sigma Pi fraternity
house, there are no noise complaints and there are no resident
assistants to stop the bowling game

“There are no objections to the noise and there are no
authority figures telling you what not to do,” he said.

Common sense, according to Millie, replaces a written set of
rules.

“I agree that it’s loud, but at the same time,
everybody has mutual respect for each other,” he said.
“I think people at the dorms are babied.”

According to Millie, in addition to this unspoken code, the
Interfraternity Council as well as Sigma Pi International sets
limits.

“Things aren’t out of control,” he said.
“There still are standards that we go by.”

Millie joined Sigma Pi in the fall of 1999 but just moved in
this quarter after living in both Rieber Hall and Saxon Suites.

Although the house is rarely quiet, Millie said he has no
complaints.

“I can deal with the noise,” he said. “If I
have to, I can leave or I can just climb up into bed and nobody is
really going to bother me.”

Like Millie, others members of the fraternity enjoy the social
scene of living in the house as compared to a residence hall.

“It’s like living in a house with 40 of your
friends,” said Andy Lipetz, a third-year economics student.
“If you’re ever in the mood to do something, it’s
guaranteed that at least five or six other guys will want to do the
same thing.”

Even getting ready for social events will encourage fraternity
among members living there, Millie said.

“A lot of the older guys will drink together to get pumped
up.”

But despite the greater social benefits, he said there are
sometimes too many distractions.

“People are always in and out and there are so many random
things to do,” he said. “For fun, some people have
thrown stuff off the balconies”

On the other hand, Millie said members can find silence in the
house if they really look for it.

“We have mellow nights sometimes, where guys just sit
around and watch movies,” he added.

Finding a quiet place to study is surprisingly easy even if
it’s not finals week.

“Some people go downstairs to study where it’s
really quiet,” he said. “But I’ll sometimes just
go somewhere on campus.”

DSL Internet access is also available throughout the house.

“The Internet that we have here is actually faster than on
campus because fewer servers use it,” Millie said.

Not only does living in a fraternity house offer a somewhat
limitless social life, it also costs less to live in the house.
After sampling life on campus, Millie decided to move into the
Sigma Pi house primarily because of its affordability.

“It’s the cheapest place to live in Westwood,”
he said.

And with a maid who comes to clean every Saturday and a private
chef who cooks three meals five times a week, Millie said he finds
life at the house better than living on campus.

“The food is great and breakfasts are made to
order,” he said. “Maybe there’s less selection
but it’s just as healthy.”

But there have been some down sides in terms of room
priority.

“I just moved in and because of that, I got stuck with the
smallest room in the house,” Millie said. “It’s
based on some point system and some of the older guys have first
pick. I’m probably at the lowest rung here.”

A little improvising, however, helps to ease the crammed space
in some of the rooms. Clothing cabinets double as entertainment
centers, roommates share computers to save space, and the tops of
doors serve as towel racks.

Sometimes even common household items are scarce.

“I guess no one is in charge to buy toilet paper,”
he said. “So everybody buys their own and hoards
it.”

Finding places to park also poses problems, sometimes creating
cutthroat competition among brothers to get one of the coveted
spaces.

“There are only nine spots and people are pretty ruthless
about it,” Millie said. “One time, I announced that I
was leaving to get some food and a group of guys in the house
followed me outside just so they could claim my spot.”

Once again, however, common sense and respect take over in such
a situation.

“People will have consideration for each other and will
move their cars,” he added.

Although conflicts such as these will inevitably arise, most are
easily resolved.

“There’s always going to be issues, but everybody
takes care of them quickly because we know we’re going to be
living with each other,” Lipetz said.