HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/28/2025 Item 4a, Walker, K.
kathie walker <
To:E-mail Council Website; Stewart, Erica A; Shoresman, Michelle; Francis, Emily; Marx,
Jan; Boswell, Mike
Subject:Cal Poly Must Provide On-Campus Housing for Its Fraternities
Mayor Stewart and Council Members Shoresman, Marx, Francis and Boswell,
In light of Cal Poly's housing presentation at the upcoming Council meeting, I would like to provide the
following input: It is critical that Cal Poly take responsibility for housing its fraternities on campus to
relieve the ongoing burden placed on the City and its neighborhoods. Most fraternity events involve
alcohol, as confirmed by Cal Poly’s own Greek Life policies requiring registration for such events. These
alcohol-centered parties are the primary source of neighborhood disruptions, drawing large crowds,
creating excessive noise, and requiring repeated police intervention, at the expense of the City and its
residents.
This problem is not new. In 2015, following the St. Fratty’s Day incident that drew thousands of students
to an off-campus fraternity party at 348 Hathway and caused a roof collapse with multiple injuries, Cal
Poly officials, including President Jeffrey Armstrong, publicly proposed creating an on-campus “Greek
Village.” At that time, both Mayor Jan Marx and neighborhood leaders supported the idea, recognizing
that on-campus Greek housing would promote safety, accountability, and relieve pressure on residential
neighborhoods. The university incorporated the concept into its Master Plan discussions and described
it as part of a broader “specialty housing” initiative. It was addressed again in 2019. Yet years later, no
Greek Village has been built, and the plan appears to have been abandoned.
Cal Poly has the largest fraternity membership of any other CSU and continues to recruit new fraternities
to its campus. 20% of Cal Poly students are involved in Greek Life, therefore, increased student
enrollment will result in more fraternity and sorority members. (Sororities are not allowed to host parties
with alcohol so they go to the fraternities to party.)
During Cal Poly’s presentation to the SCLC on September 18, 2025, Anthony Palazzo, Executive Director
of Facilities Management and Development, confirmed that the university is not planning to build a Greek
Row, stating that “the finances aren’t there.” He suggested that fraternities might instead be assigned “a
building or a floor within a building” in new residence halls which is an inadequate solution that fails to
meet the practical needs of these organizations or the City’s neighborhoods.
Cal Poly plans to require first- and second-year students to live on campus, but fraternity membership
spans all four years. Most fraternity officers and many active members are juniors and seniors who are
not eligible for on-campus housing. Without a designated place on campus, they have rented houses
and operate their fraternities off-campus in residential neighborhoods, where large, alcohol-fueled
gatherings repeatedly disturb residents and demand costly resources from the City, including police and
code enforcement.
Meanwhile, Cal Poly is investing $1.3 billion in new student housing projects, a water treatment facility,
and other sustainability initiatives and infrastructure. If the university can finance these projects, it can
1
and should allocate space for fraternity housing. A well-planned, university-managed Fraternity Row or
Greek Village would provide a safe, accountable environment for these organizations and end the
ongoing disruption to City neighborhoods. There are many potential solutions and a task force could be
formed to explore the possibilities. For instance, it's possible that fraternities could raise the money for
building their house if the land on campus is offered to accommodate each fraternity house.
The City’s residents should not continue to absorb the impacts of Cal Poly’s decision to exclude
fraternities from its campus housing strategy. I urge the Council to press Cal Poly to reinstate and
prioritize the Greek Village concept in its Master Plan. Fraternities should have their social fraternity
houses on campus, not in the City’s neighborhoods.
Respectfully,
Kathie Walker
2