Going Greek will always have its benefits, but those who rush will have one fewer advantage in the Draw come next spring.

Students in this year’s pledge classes who enter into the Greek system with a housed fraternity or sorority will no longer have the option of later using a preferred year for on-campus housing if they are unable to live in the house or choose not to do so.

“Starting with those students who pledged Greek houses this spring, all preferred years will be removed from the student’s record when we receive the pledge list from the houses,” Director of Housing Assignments Sue Nunan wrote in a statement to explain the change in policy. “If these students or any future Greek students apply for campus housing, they will need to apply unpreferred. They can file a petition to request these preferred years returned if they have to live out of the house for two years or if they de-pledge the fraternity or sorority.”

This change marks a departure from existing policy, according to Executive Housing Director Rodger Whitney. With the old policy, a student living in non-Greek housing for junior year could use their single remaining preferred year and return to their house senior year, despite the fact that the student would technically have no preferred years remaining. But with the new policy, Greek students will forfeit both of their preferred years when they join a fraternity or sorority.

Whitney emphasized that the change fit with the University’s perspective on housing for students in the Greek system.

“The basis of the [new] policy regarding housing for Greek students is that once a student pledges a fraternity or sorority, the responsibility of providing housing to the member falls to the house,” Whitney wrote in a statement.

Both Whitney and Interfraternity Council Vice President Brian Inouye agreed that, ideally, members of a Greek house would live there for three years.

“We will begin to work with fraternities and sororities to ensure that their members are provided at least two years of housing in their Greek house,” Whitney said, “although ideally it would be three years living in the house. “

“Each fraternity member is integral in the composition of each house,” Inouye added. “There are many community service and social events that each member takes part in, and, if they want to participate, it is easier if they are living in the house.”

Inouye expressed disagreement with the change in policy.

“I think that there are new problems with the new system,” Inouye said. “Specifically, what happens if someone joins a fraternity and decides to live out of the house without de-pledging because he would like to continue participating in the structured community service and social events? If he moves out of the house sophomore year, he doesn’t have any preferred years for junior or senior year. I find this to be incredibly unfair.”

Inouye added that he understood the reasons behind a change.

“As a fraternity member, I don’t want the system touched,” Inouye said. “But as a Stanford student, I would understand why they would do so.”

Whitney Martin ‘09, a member of the Intersorority Council’s Executive Board, also expressed reservations about the policy.

“I think it’s geared towards trying to equalize in terms of those not in a frat or sorority,” Martin said. “But because the Greek system is getting bigger, the houses can’t always house everyone.”

“Ideally, there would be at least two years in the house, and one year un-preferred” outside of the house, she added. “But there could be a situation in which a person is unable to fit and then has two years unpreferred.”

Other students weighed in on the change.

“I think that it’s just one of the advantages of being in a frat,” said Stephen Burhenn ‘10, a pledge of the Kappa Alpha fraternity. “It’s just like if you live off campus for a year, and come back and still have a preferred year. I don’t think it’s necessarily fair.”

Others disagreed.

“The change seems fair,” said Alex Krimkevich ‘10. “It closes a loophole, in a way, because frat houses are a pretty good deal. You really do get three years of preferred housing living in them, and, granted, it was a benefit of joining a frat, but I don’t think it was fair.”