Five years ago, the University’s revised program housing policy forced the three all-male campus fraternities to make a decision: house women or move off of campus. Initially, all three were opposed to adding women, but Psi Upsilon (Psi U) and Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) eventually acquiesced due to financial concerns. Beta Theta Pi (Beta), on the other hand, refused and cut off all official ties to the University.

For the past few years, however, DKE has been exclusively male, which has prompted rumors about a shift in administrative policy. In a Feb. 1 e-mail to The Argus, Dean Rick Culliton explained the University’s change in policy.

“Coeducation is no longer expected, but we hope that these organizations may someday welcome women as full partners in their organizations—whether and when to do so will be up to the student members,” Culliton wrote.

In response to the news about the changed policy, presidents of the fraternities have begun to reevaluate their plans for future years.

“We appreciate the University giving us the freedom to govern ourselves,” said Psi U President Matt Perry ’11.

Culliton explained that the policy change is not a result of an alteration in the University’s attitude toward gender integration.

“The University has always had as a goal that all program houses be open to any student interested in the mission of the house,” Culliton wrote.

“There were never quotas established, although DKE and Psi U did their best to recruit women to live in those houses. However, the women living in these houses were not fully integrated into the mission of the house because the fraternal organization did not permit women. In evaluating this dynamic, Residential Life created a separate structure for recognizing these groups which is essentially a parallel to the program house model.”

While the new policy may restructure the former resident recruitment policies for Psi U and DKE, Beta has the highest potential to be affected.

According to Culliton, the University would like to resuscitate the relationship with Beta. Currently, the only acknowledgement of Beta on Residential Life’s website comes in an italicized addendum below the write-ups for all of the University’s other program houses, “Beta Theta Pi is not recognized by Wesleyan University and is not considered part of University housing.”

“We have recently been in conversation with Beta about the possibility of reestablishing a connection, but the organization is not currently interested in formalizing a relationship,” Culliton said. “Frankly, the University is concerned about some of the activity at the house, which is one of the reasons why we have been trying to forge a relationship.”

Beta President Graham Gnall ’11 could not be reached for comment.

Both Psi U and DKE housed women for several years following Residential Life’s changes, but for the past two years DKE has only housed brothers.

“My freshman year…all the guys really enjoyed having girls here,” DKE President Todd Keats ’11 said. “In recent years, we’ve admitted more brothers. Therefore, it’s unnecessary for us to house women as a means to fill our spots. Generally, we have more kids that want to live in the house now than we can actually house for the year.”

Sophie Levan ’12, who lives in the basement of Psi U along with Grace Jones ’12, Alexa Atamanchuk ’12, and Anna Brugioni ’12, said that the fraternity environment has its benefits.

“The presence and sense of a community that comes with living here was a big motivator, as was the ability to live with a large group of friends and not be restricted to pairs,” she said.

While residents of both Psi U and DKE say they have found coeducational housing to be a positive experience, the requirement that the fraternities house women has tended to create problems. Because the fraternities have housing systems that reward more active members with priority over room picks, women who choose to live in house are by default excluded from the most desirable rooms. Furthermore, fraternities must choose between making a good-faith recruiting effort and housing all of their members who desire residency.

”I don’t think girls should be required to live here,” Keats said. “But it’s definitely an option that we would look at again if we could not fill our house with brothers.”