Merriam-Webster defines a brothel as “a building in which prostitutes are available.” But one ubiquitous rumor skews the definition to include any house where more than seven unrelated females live. An institution as old as Yale has its fair share of mysteries, most of which are eventually unraveled: this one, however, has been oddly pervasive on Yale’s campus, and has yet to be answered in any conclusive way. Off-campus sorority houses have historically been home to only seven or eight people, but are they deserving of being called “brothels”?
Like all good rumors, this one is rooted in fact: it’s hard to tell if sororities that house their members are brothels, because a law did indeed once refer to them as such. These laws, generally cited as the basis for this illegality, are the 17th century Blue Laws, which originated in Connecticut and became widespread throughout the Northeast. They were devised to regulate moral behavior centuries ago, but are still reflected in some college towns’ zoning codes. In 2011, Northwestern students gathered to protest Evanston, Ill.’s outdated and previously unenforced law that limited the number of unrelated people legally allowed to be housed together to three.
In New Haven, city zoning requirements “limit the number of residents in a single dwelling unit to four unrelated individuals,” as specified by a document released by the City of New Haven on Zoning Accommodations. The requirement stands for anyone, regardless of gender. Still, fraternities and sororities fall outside of these regulations. According to the City of New Haven’s Residential Occupancy Inspection FAQ, bedroom occupancy in larger houses is limited based on square footage. For one occupant, a sleeping room must be at least 70 square feet, and for four, 200 square feet. An additional 50 square feet must be added for each extra occupant.
Real Estate firm Pike International, owner of several off-campus residences where Yale students live, also emphatically stated that their policy has nothing to do with gender and, under New Haven’s regulations, has more to do with space. “No more than two individuals can stay in each bedroom,” a representative said, but as long as the bedrooms exist, each one can be filled. Pi Beta Phi’s house has six bedrooms, so, in keeping with the actual zoning laws, they are filled with only six upperclassman members. Kappa Alpha Theta’s seven beds are also filled. If they had a bigger house, Pike says, they could have more residents.
Katie D’Andrea, BC ’13, a Pi Phi alumna, says that her only knowledge of the myth came from her years as a Connecticut resident, and that no one in Pi Phi really took it seriously. The small house wasn’t conducive to the huge parties fraternities throw, but she says most agreed that was for the best. “We never could invade it like boys in the fraternity did,” she explained. Not particularly unhappy with the lack of Saturday morning vomit scrubbing, Katie says their sorority house was used for more “sister-hoody events” like TV show watching and birthday parties—not your typical brothel fare.
“Invading”—or, mass arrival and attendance at open parties—is easy to do at frats, which usually have doubly large houses: at least 13 brothers live at the SigEp house on High Street at any given time, and brothers crash on every couch and bed at the ADPhi house on Lake Place. A typical week ends with the floors of fraternity basements soaked in beer and sweat, while basements in sorority houses are less battered.
“It seems to me that the national sorority organizations impose more restrictions on sororities that operate at Yale than the fraternities at Yale,” says John Meeske, Associate Dean for Student Organizations and Physical Resources. Meeske and Dean of Student Affairs W. Marichal Gentry have met with several sorority and fraternity leaders to encourage a dialogue about issues and concerns regarding Greek life on campus. In doing so, Meeske has become aware of several sorority-specific regulations about “what sort of events they can hold, whether alcohol can be involved, and where they can be, [which could come from the antiquated idea that] women need more supervision,” he says. “There is definitely a greater oversight of the sororities by the national [organizations].”
Estacia Brandenburg, an Account Executive at MJ Insurance, a home insurance company that covers the houses of several sorority chapters nationally, explained that national protocol regulates where men can be in the building and what visiting hours are. At some Yale sororities, males are only allowed in the common area of the house and are restricted from sleeping over. Laws specific to each organization and chapter restrict men from hanging out on the second floor late at night.
Sorority members would only speak to the Herald on the condition that they remain anonymous due to publicity policies from their respective national organizations. One sorority member believed that fraternities are asked to abide by the same rules but decide to handle the repercussions if these rules are broken. After throwing a party, “Fraternity presidents run the risk of going to the Executive Committee and just kind of deal with it,” she said, while sororities choose not to. “Everyone knows the aftermath of a big party like that,” she laughed. “I don’t think anyone in a sorority house is jealous.”
She felt that Yale students have an overwhelmingly negative opinion on Greek life, and wondered if being able to hold more campus-wide events would positively affect their reputations. In-house parties have to be more exclusive because of smaller space, and are usually limited to sisters and their close friends. Sororities do sometimes rent out venues for events, but their houses are off limits. Fraternities and sororities can enforce gender roles on bigger campuses, she says: the guys throw the parties and the girls show up. Since there are fewer sororities than fraternities, however, this is not as evident.
It’s comforting to know that in the 21st century, unmarried women living together are not actually considered prostitutes in the eyes of the law. Adding a couple of stairs and a front door does not make a seven-person house any more illegal than a 12-pack dorm.