Well, that's what I get for believing a frat boy! sj
---- Original message ---- >Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 15:49:52 -0500 >From: Kyle Cassidy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: [UC] More than ten women does not a brothel make .... >To: "'University City List '" <[email protected]> > > "In Phildadelphia, not only can you carry your > semi-automatic firearm into the movies, but > apparently no more than 10 women may live in one > house together. I learned this from one of my > students who is in a fraternity. More than 10 women > = brothel. This law has been a bitch for the Temple > sororities...." > > According to snopes this is an urban legend: > > http://www.snopes.com/college/halls/brothel.asp > > Claim: Sororities are outlawed on certain campuses > because local "brothel laws" prohibit more than a > specified number of females from living together. > > Status: False. > > Examples: > > [Collected on the Internet, 2001] > > Sorority houses are illegal in PA. Due to a 19th > century law banning more the 5 unrelated women from > living in the same house. This law supposedly was > meant to prevent prostitution houses. > > [Collected on the Internet, 1998] > > Well, my alma mater is Denison University. Dogs were > part of the landscape when there were fraternities > on campus. There are no fraternities there anymore. > I was in a sorority, but we weren't allowed to live > in the sorority houses (old town law about more than > 8 women in a house constituting a brothel). > > [Collected on the Internet, 1997] > > I have a friend who goes to Loyola New Orleans. They > cannot have sorority houses because more than five > girls in one house is a brothel. > > [Collected on the Internet, 1995] > > I have heard from the ol' rumor mill that the reason > that sororities don't have houses at the University > of Chicago is that there's some sort of local/state > law which defines four or more unmarried women > living together as a brothel. > > Variations: > The > > number of sorority sisters that would supposedly > trigger the "brothel" designation varies from > telling to telling, with six being one of the more > common figures kited. > > This legend is told as true on any number of U.S. > campuses, always by way of explanation for each > school's lack of sorority houses. > > Origins: This mistaken belief has been recorded > since the 1960s and is probably a great deal older > than that. Its possible > > origin might lie in a mental confluence of > half-remembered tidbits about old time "blue laws" > mixed with a healthy dollop of badly-parsed newer > input about zoning laws adopted by various > communities in more contemporary times. Short and > sweet, if any so-called "brothel laws" anywhere tie > a building's classification as a bordello to the > number of occupants, we've yet to find documentation > that proves this. > > 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. Brothels earn such designations solely on > the basis of what goes on in them, not upon how many > women inhabit particular buildings. > > Even in communities that carry such housing > restrictions on their books, sororities and > fraternities are exempted from them. The thrust of > such laws is to set limits on how many people may > reasonably inhabit what were meant to be > single-family dwellings, not to enjoin those who are > living in more communal settings in buildings meant > for such purposes. Were such laws to apply to those > latter forms of housing, local YWCAs would have been > shut down and padlocked, as would a variety of > nurses' residences. > > Collegians have been explaining the lack of sorority > houses on various campuses through this flawed > factlet for many a year. Richard Roeper noted this > legend in 1994, calling it "the most widespread > piece of university folklore making the rounds" and > estimating from entries on collegiate bulletin > boards that it was being told on at least 100 > campuses. > > The belief that a "brothel law" bars live-in > sororities from campuses is so deeply worked into > the fabric of collegiate life that few now think to > question it. In 1998 a group of eight students at > Tulane University unsuccessfully searched city and > state laws for the statute, finally concluding > they'd been on a wild goose chase. "It was not found > in either city or state codes," Adriana Belli, one > of the student researchers, said. "We looked in > every law book, every ordinance in New Orleans . . . > dating back to the 1800s." > > We routinely hear from students who are convinced > their particular university lacks a sorority because > of this non-existent law. Their vehemence aside, > none have yet produce a copy of the statute they so > firmly believe in, an act that would earn their city > and institution of higher learning a measure of fame > in the world of contemporary lore. > > Men view the notion of large numbers of women living > together as strangely erotic, mentally envisioning a > veritable candy store of comely and available sex > partners, each of them bedding down for the night > virginally clutching her teddy bear close to her > babydoll-clad, pulsating 38-24-36 nakedness (which > they wouldn't if they'd ever been locked in a > women's dorm overnight - nothing kills rampant > sexual fantasy more quickly than a cold eyeful of > reality.) Add to the mix the "college girl" element > (young, nubile flesh) and throw in the "sorority > girl" detail (presumed promiscuity), and it's easy > to see why this tidbit about brothel zoning has been > so stubbornly promulgated. > > Barbara "daydream believers" Mikkelson Susan Jacobson Assistant Professor Dept. of Broadcasting & Telecom Temple University http://countlessstories.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "UnivCity." To unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>.
