Widespread nuisance from fraternity houses: “I’m hard of hearing and even I lie awake”
Fraternity and sorority houses across Amsterdam cause serious nuisance to their neighbourhoods. Neighbours lie awake during the week because of all-night parties and shouting in the street. Due to a lack of clarity about who holds final responsibility within the houses, a solution seems far off for local residents.
Wednesday morning, 4.00 am: the Portuguese Suzie* (54) and her three teenage children have already been awake for hours. The deafening music from the neighbouring fraternity house of Hera on the Nieuwezijds Kolk pounds through the walls. Cleaner Suzie considers confronting the boys, calling the police, but she has done so many times and it never helps. She decides, for tonight, to just endure it once again. In an hour and a half she has to be at her clients’ door with her cleaning supplies.
Since early September, Folia has visited ten of the 38 fraternity and sorority houses, speaking with more than thirty neighbours. Folia investigated more than ten houses in total, but only included the responses of residents from houses where at least three or more neighbours could be interviewed.
*Because some neighbours did not wish to speak fully on the record, only first names and ages have been included for all residents quoted.
The first month of the academic has passed, which means life in fraternity and sorority houses has begun anew. A fresh batch of youthful and energetic residents has arrived; they cannot wait to party in their new homes. But with parties come thumping music, shouting on the pavement, and ultimately sleepless neighbours. Such nuisance caused by fraternity and sorority houses is a large-scale problem in the city, as shown by a Folia investigation. Eight out of ten houses investigated by Folia cause structural nuisance in their neighbourhood (see methodology, Ed.).
“Serious misconduct”
The Amsterdamsch Studenten Corps (ASC), commonly referred to as ‘the corps’, has 2,700 members divided into 38 fraternities and sororities. These are sub-associations consisting of either men (fraternities) or women (sororities), each with its own culture and initiation rituals. They meet weekly in the society building of the corps.
The fraternities and sororities of the corps also all have their own houses. These houses are usually owned by the fraternities or sororities itself. Eight to seventeen members of such a group live in such a house. Parties organised by the respective fraternity are also often held in these houses. Partly due to “serious misconduct” in the neighbourhood, the ASC board decided in August to deny the Thalia fraternity any new members. During a tour by Folia, it became apparent that the problems at the Thalia house on Vondelstraat in Oud-West are just as prevalent at other fraternity houses. At four fraternity houses, the nuisance is so serious that neighbours say they want to move.
Terror of noise
Noise nuisance is by far the biggest source of complaints. Residents living near eight fraternity and sorority houses suffer from blaring music and loud conversations on the street late into the night. Neighbours most often say they lie awake at night because of the bass thudding from the speakers of the neighbouring fraternity house. Residents next to the male fraternity Hera even report that the bass makes their entire home shake. “I often feel like there’s an earthquake,” says a 28-year-old neighbour. Eva (57) describes the constant noise nuisance she experiences from the male fraternity Aeneas on Plantage Parklaan as “a terror of noise.”
Because parties are held in fraternity and sorority houses all year round, there is almost never a period without noise nuisance for local residents. Only in July, just before the initiation period, is it relatively quiet, as many fraternity and sorority members are away on holiday. Most neighbours say they do not mind the occasional party finishing at a reasonable hour, but the music rarely stops at midnight.
During the week
What is more, the parties do not only take place at weekends, but also during the working week in several fraternity and sorority houses. “I have to get up early in the morning for my job as a software engineer. It’s incredibly demanding, but the boys next door couldn’t care less,” says Amit (42) from India, who lives next to the Beaufort house on the Kloveniersburgwal, which already came under fire in 2017 for severe noise nuisance.
According to all interviewed neighbours, the noise nuisance caused by the various fraternity and sorority houses reaches its peak in August. In the first two weekends of August – ahead of the fraternities’ and sororities' initiation rituals later that month – new members are recruited. Recruitment takes place at the fraternity and sorority houses and is accompanied by loud music. Members also chant and sing at the top of their lungs on the street several times. “I’m an entrepreneur and I work on my business from home,” says Michael (28), who lives between the fraternity Homerus and sorority Oktopus on Kerkstraat. “They take turns going wild; I don’t get anything done all day.”
Moving out
The nuisance has major consequences. At four out of ten fraternity and sorority houses, several neighbours even say they want to move. When Beaufort neighbour Amit complained about the noise to the residents of the fraternity house, one of them replied: “Then you shouldn’t have chosen to live next to a student house.” In another video recording seen by Folia, a visiting female member of the corps can be seen threatening to physically attack the complaining neighbour after a verbal altercation. Although other residents of the neighbouring building are less negative, Amit says that because of the many incidents he no longer wants to stay in his home.
Several neighbours next to the Hera house on the Nieuwezijds Kolk have also decided to move out because of the noise nuisance. In the second building next to the fraternity house are flats for people with hearing impairments. “I’m hard of hearing, but I can still hear their parties,” says Kim (28). The flat above hers is now also for sale. Her upstairs neighbour, a 40-year-old woman, likewise wants to leave because of the constant racket: “Those boys really don’t care about their neighbours.”
At six out of ten fraternity and sorority houses, neighbours say they feel forced to leave their homes for weeks at a time. This exodus mainly takes place during the busy party weeks of the initiation period in August, often right in the middle of the high season. “Having to leave then costs us a lot of money,” says a 23-year-old neighbour on Kerkstraat. She lives with her boyfriend next to the houses of both Homerus and Oktopus. “Even just watching a film on the sofa is impossible with that noise.”
Desperate
More than twenty neighbours say that the lack of communication is the biggest problem. “One-on-one they are friendly boys and girls, but when it comes to nuisance it’s completely unclear who in the group should be addressed,” is the common sentiment. This is largely due to the constant turnover within such fraternity and sorority houses, neighbours say. Agreements have to be made anew every year because new fraternity and sorority boards and house residents move in. “Once again this year I don’t know who I’m supposed to talk to,” says Sara (60) living next to sorority Karaat on Jacob van Lennepkade.
What’s more, when nuisance occurs, the designated contact person for the fraternity or sorority house is often unreachable or unclear. Neighbour Amit says in despair that Beaufort has already given him at least five different numbers of people he “really must call when there’s unrest.” At night – as Amit lies staring at the ceiling with the bass pounding – responses are usually absent.
Neighbours of the most disruptive houses would also like to see the properties used less as party venues. Most understand that they live next to a busy student house, but they had not expected it to function as a party location for the entire fraternity or sorority. Neighbour Herman (83) of the Atomos house on Keizersgracht, who was rector of the Utrecht corps in the 1960s, recalls that in his day student houses were simply used as places to live. “I don’t understand why they don’t just hold their parties at the ASC society or in one of Amsterdam’s many pubs,” he says.
Dead silence
Fraternity Odoleh on the Keizersgracht, near the Jordaan, has shown for years how it can be done properly, neighbours say. For about eight years the fraternity house has had the same contact person for several years at a time, and he is always easy to reach. At weekends there is at most one party a month, which is consistently announced both orally and in writing in advance. During the week, after 10 pm, there is dead silence. “Since agreements were made, living next to such a house is perfectly fine,” says neighbour Rick (53).
Neighbours are also full of praise for sorority Pinot. Whenever they organise a party, the girls who are responsible bring round a goodie bag. “With wine and earplugs,” says neighbour Jan Hein (64) with a grin. During the initiation period in August you might hear a bit of shouting, which has to be tolerated, says the adjacent research institute NIAS. For the rest of the year, parties at the house are limited and take place in good consultation, according to several neighbours. Neighbour Jan-Hein adds: “After a few months they’re too hoarse to shout anyway.”
Longing for peace and quiet
The good neighbourly relations and limited parties at Odoleh and Pinot offer hope to the residents living near the eight nuisance-causing houses. Most say they would not mind tolerating the occasional bit of student behaviour if there were more peace overall. A French neighbour of the Odoleh house says that with more quiet, a few incidents are manageable. “Last year those boys suddenly ran outside carrying a burning sofa. They are, of course, still students.”
Other neighbours long for peace. They say they would like fraternities and sororities to establish contact with the neighbourhood, appoint one responsible person per fraternity or sorority for a longer period of time, and use their houses less as party venues. “The municipality, the ASC, alumni, surely someone has to do something about this?” says Amit, a neighbour of Beaufort.
Response from the corps
ASC rector Quirine Postma says in response to this article that the signals are being taken seriously: “We explicitly disapprove of nuisance caused by student houses.” She says the ASC will enter into discussions with the relevant houses.
The corps also acknowledges that continuity in responsible persons is essential, but says that fraternities and sororities already have fixed contact persons who live in the houses for several years. “We also ask fraternities and sororities to inform neighbours of their activities in advance and to take possible nuisance into account.” In its response, the ASC does not address whether it was aware of the incidents described above, but says it is “closely monitoring signals.”
