[Firehouse]

It's true that a chapter can be competitive without a house on a big-house campus, but it takes a great deal of leadership and focus. Freshmen tend to identify the "non-standard" fraternity right away. If it's a competitive chapter, then they're interested.

Regarding the national offices, frankly, the financial status of the national office should not affect the strength of any individual chapter. A very strong fraternity chapter should be so because they have a solid history, involved and generous alumni, and a very clear vision of who they are and what they should be doing. In effect, they should be largely independent of the national offcie except for administrative matters. Even the weakest national has some good chapters; even the wealthiest national has some dogs on their books. The quality of chapters shouldn't be determined by whether or not the national office has enough operating funds. And, there is no reason for any national office to be in pooor financial condition. You can't depend on undergraduate dues alone. Effective fundraising is the key, and while it's not easy, it's not rocket science either.