Singing â脛煤Happy Birthday,â脛霉 Sigma Chi fraternity members crowded around Jill Lovell Friday afternoon.
â脛煤What are you, 20?â脛霉 one asked.
â脛煤21,â脛霉 Lovell said with a smile.
â脛煤Weâ脛么re going to the bars!â脛霉
Lovell, who actually turned 63, is Sigma Chiâ脛么s house director â脛矛â脛矛 one of the few among University of Minnesotaâ脛么s more than 30 fraternities.
The positionâ脛么s responsibilities vary depending on the chapter. Lovell spends her time maintaining the house, monitoring the budget, coordinating events and sometimes serving as an adviser.
The fraternity pays for the position through membership dues, and some house directors have free board in addition to their paycheck. In the Sigma Chi house, Lovell has her own living room, bedroom and bathroom.
While house director is the official title, Lovell and others in her position are informally called â脛煤house moms.â脛霉
â脛煤They call me â脛貌momâ脛么 most of the time,â脛霉 said FarmHouseâ脛么s house mom Mary Ann Bannerman. â脛煤I like that.â脛霉
Bannerman, a University alumna with 30 years in youth development under her belt, has worked at the fraternity for six years. She got the job shortly after retiring, when her nephew â脛卯 a fraternity member at the time â脛卯 suggested she apply.
â脛煤It was a complete shot in the dark,â脛霉 she said.
The process involved three different interviews with the fraternity members and several informal visits to see if she could relate to the chapter.
â脛煤Sheâ脛么s more than a house mom â脛矛â脛矛 sheâ脛么s kind of our adviser, and sheâ脛么s there for a lot of life advice,â脛霉 said Isaac Salfer, FarmHouse president.
When she first moved into the house, fraternity members wouldnâ脛么t let Bannerman clean. She said had to fight to get to clean the room next to hers. And though she helps with cooking the evening meals, her main job is to make the dessert.
â脛煤She kind of adds a womanâ脛么s touch to us, which may be weird to some fraternities, but itâ脛么s nice for us,â脛霉 Salfer said.
FarmHouse international bylaws require each chapter have a house director.
â脛煤At FarmHouse, we like to be known as the gentlemen of campus, and I think [Bannerman is] kind of a big reason why,â脛霉 Salfer said.
Meanwhile, Sigma Chi got a house director as one of the requirements set by Donald Freeberg â脛卯 an alumnus who purchased a second house for the chapter.
Lovell is originally from Alexandria, Minn., and came to the city to find work. For decades sheâ脛么s been running her own house cleaning business. But sheâ脛么s been with Sigma Chi for 14 years â脛卯 and loves it.
â脛煤I try to explain it like when I get them, they are like little flowers,â脛霉 she said. â脛煤Their mom and dad planted them, and they have these nice solid roots, and then I get to feed them and water them and watch them grow and bloom.â脛霉
The houseâ脛么s bustling atmosphere doesnâ脛么t bother Lovell, who helps coordinate many of the Sigma Chiâ脛么s social events like the Sweetheart Ball.
â脛煤It makes me laugh to hear them down there just chuckling and a-hootinâ脛么 and a-hollerinâ脛么,â脛霉 she said. â脛煤It just makes me smile.â脛霉
Lovell said she was first attracted to the position because of the way she saw the members treat the house mom before her.
â脛煤Who else at my age can say they live at a frat house?â脛霉
