College Myths Debunked: The Sorority Brothel?

September 23, 2009 1:00 pm     Posted in Back to School, Reality  Kari- Florida State g+ page

sorority house

Sorority house. Not whore house.

As college students, we are constantly inundated with new knowledge. It can be useful, thought-provoking, or crammed into our head on a Starbucks-fueled binge several hours before an exam. However, very rarely do we question the validity of all this new knowledge (unless you take philosophy classes, then you’ll question away).


By Kari

That’s where College Candy comes in. We’re not going to debate whether or not the Theory of Relativity actually exists (a disappointment, I know, but I’m a communications major and stopped taking science classes after Baby Bio fresh year). However, we are here to thoroughly investigate the most widespread college knowledge (no, not rhyming)—the myth.

Recently, a good friend of mine came to visit me at escuela. When she got here, we screamed and squealed and moved all of her bags upstairs into my room. We chatted and caught up for a while, before I offered to give her a tour of my place.

I adore giving house tours, because the place where I live is so much more than my home—it’s my sorority house. I love showing friends and family all the beautiful details of our old Southern mansion, pointing out hidden symbols and telling the histories behind everything that decorates the house.  My guests are usually very interested and complimentary, so I was kind of bummed when I realized my bestie was being super quiet (and not in the “I’m-so-jealous-you-don’t-have-to-cook-or-clean” kind of way).

When I asked her what was up, she sighed and told me that she’d always wanted to live in a sorority house, but unfortunately the city where her campus was located strictly forbade her chapter from having one. “Why the anti-Panhellenic attitude?” I asked. To which she replied, as thousands of collegiates before her have, “Well, under city law, any more than 5 women living under the same house is considered a brothel.”

Whaaaat?! Brothel? Huh?!

Seriously, all those movies and books have it wrong. No, Sorority Row, we do not throw giant foam parties in our formal sitting room (my House Mom would spontaneously combust). Sorry, Alexandra Robbins, we are not having “naked parties,” and not all of sorority housing is glamorous (I’m a 21 year old woman who sleeps in a bunk bed). Hell, we aren’t even allowed to have guys upstairs (ever)! How the hell could a sorority house, or for that matter, any female dwelling be considered a brothel based solely on the number of its occupants with vaginas? I decided to investigate.

Turns out, this rumor has been circulating for quite some time. Richard Roeper commented in the Chicago Sun Times that it was “the most widespread piece of university folklore making the rounds.” That was in 1994, and not much has changed.

According to Snopes, the myth probably originated due to confusion and misinterpretation of “Blue Laws” and zoning restrictions.  “Some municipalities do indeed have zoning laws prohibiting more than a specified number of non-family members (male or female) from living together, but not even in those cases would a household in violation of those codes be labeled a brothel.”

More importantly, any law that stated such doesn’t apply to fraternity, sorority, or any other form of intentionally communal living. So, good news for my friend (if she wants to contact her national headquarters and start some hardcore fundraising), sororities (and fraternities, and non-Greeks alike) can indeed all live happily together under one roof without the city labeling them as prostitutes.

Unless, of course, they are exchanging sex for money. That might be a problem.

16 Comments on "College Myths Debunked: The Sorority Brothel?"

  1. Casey says:
    Wed, 23rd Sep 20099:15 am 

    If there's no red porch light then there shouldn't be an issue right? j/k

    But seriously, what about dorms? Do they not fall under the same category?

  2. Erin says:
    Wed, 23rd Sep 200910:09 am 

    Yeah I would think dorms would be considered the same, there must be something the colleges must do to prove they are not, perhaps they have to prove that it is regulated living quarters for students and thus the law is not applicable? I don't know anything about the law in that state or any state except NY. But there must be a way they get around it legally.

  3. Erin says:
    Wed, 23rd Sep 200911:58 am 

    Well after seeing some comments, all I can say is that is some weird awful law. I'm guessing it must be old and it's certainly outdated. I'm not being sarcastic when I say that really sucks for people who want to be in the Greek system and live within the Greek housing.

  4. Kelly - Simmons Coll says:
    Wed, 23rd Sep 20091:31 pm 

    There is no "brothel law" anywhere in the US!

  5. cait says:
    Wed, 23rd Sep 20092:22 pm 

    umm…yeah, there is. it's not necessarily called the "brothel law" but it exists, read these:

    http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/140-22.htm
    specifically: "but shall not include dormitories of charitable or philanthropic institutions or convalescent or nursing homes licensed under section seventy-one of chapter one hundred and eleven or rest homes so licensed, or group residences licensed or regulated by agencies of the commonwealth."

    http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/140-26.htm
    specifically: "If it is required that registers be kept, as provided in sections twenty-seven and twenty-eight, evidence that the person in actual charge, control or management of the hotel, lodging house or premises has knowingly permitted the occupation of a private room of less than four hundred square feet floor area or of premises, containing a bed or couch, by the same woman on different occasions within a period of thirty days with different men, or by the same man on different occasions within a period of thirty days with different women, shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section."

    so, yeah, it is illegal in some situations…at least in massachusetts

  6. cait says:
    Wed, 23rd Sep 20093:32 pm 

    in the city of boston, more than 10 women living in a house with no men is considered a brothel…unfortunately, boys get to have their frat houses but us girls are left out in the cold with no sorority housing :(

  7. Jenna says:
    Wed, 23rd Sep 20093:34 pm 

    I’m not really sure what’s up with my school. The sororities and fraternities have their own houses, but none of them are actually allowed to live there; they have to live in the dorms, and they use the houses mostly for functions and storage. It’s a lot of empty rooms going to waste, though.

  8. Kari says:
    Thu, 24th Sep 20096:39 am 

    Kelly is right! The only thing that might be interpreted as such are laws about zoning restrictions that were written to prevent issues like 10 students living in one house built for a family of four. If a building is specifically purposed for communal living (like dorms and most fraternity and sorority housing), there is no problemo : )

  9. Sarah says:
    Thu, 24th Sep 200910:59 am 

    At my University they bought a hotel around the corner from campus for all the sororities to live in because houses aren't allowed, there is a law about unmarried people living together in NC and some apartment agencies won't let you because of the law.

  10. Elle says:
    Wed, 30th Sep 200910:36 am 

    My best friend is in a Sorority in San Marcos, and they can't have a house because of this either. So it extends to parts of California too. I think it's almost humorous, but so sad at the same time.

  11. Caitlin says:
    Thu, 1st Oct 200912:49 pm 

    Kari- just wanted to say feel the same way about my sorority here at FSU!

    GO NOLES.

  12. Caroline says:
    Thu, 8th Oct 20094:08 pm 

    What sorority are you in?

  13. Me says:
    Mon, 12th Oct 20095:57 am 

    That's my sorority house! woohoo!

  14. debategeek says:
    Sat, 10th Apr 201012:40 pm 

    Actually, there are brothel laws in Indiana (Muncie, home of Ball State University) to be exact. So, there are a couple of places left that do. However most other places do not, and Greek Housing really can help a campus attract students who are involved and don't want to move *too* far away from the campus.

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