Selective houses consider uniting under umbrella group

What's in a name? A lot, according to representatives from seven of Duke's nine selective houses, who last night debated, among other things, whether to establish a named umbrella organization.

At a Mirecourt-organized meeting, about 18 leaders gathered to discuss a number of issues facing selective houses this year and ways to collectively solve them-from establishing rush rules to publishing a selective house pamphlet. High on the agenda was the proposal to start an organization of selective house members who would represent selective house interests to the administration-thus "legitimizing" the groups, in the words of senior Taylor West, treasurer of Mirecourt.

But with their diverse missions and characteristics, selective houses are not necessarily a unifiable group, argued members of several houses who expressed concern that their voices would not be fairly represented by an umbrella organization. Senior Rob Kaufman, president of Brownstone, said he would prefer if the organization did not have a name. Others disagreed, however, saying that a name would strengthen selective houses' voices. "I think it's good to have a unified voice," said senior Mihir Gandhi, president of Wayne Manor. "A name adds legitimacy to any sort of selective house leadership forum."

Although they did not reach a final consensus on the issue, the representatives seemed to agree that such an organization would not be a bad idea. Greek organizations have the Interfraternity Council, National Panhellenic Council and Panhellenic Council to govern and represent them to the administration. The selective house organization would serve no governing purpose; it would simply help lobby the administration for the concerns of selective living groups. Representatives expressed concern, for example, that selective houses are more vulnerable to University sanctions than greek organizations because of their relative lack of history and financial backing.

The group also discussed rush policies and the possibility of establishing a common date upon which each house would have to notify the freshmen it had accepted. That way, freshmen would be given a fair chance to decide among selective houses, should they be accepted to more than one. Representatives also discussed drafting a selective house brochure that would include descriptions of each house.

Another meeting of the group was tentatively scheduled for Oct. 18, so that the house representatives can continue to discuss rush schedules and alcohol policies, among other issues.