Cribs: AXP

On the streets surrounding the campus of Plattsburgh State, student housing is mixed with the homes of citizens of Plattsburgh. Within this small community lies an honored tradition that has been around for centuries, not only in Plattsburgh, but all over the country as well.

Fraternities are a major part of a college's social scene, as well as major players in the academic and cultural experience at college. Fraternities offer a chance for bonding and support amongst fellow students, all of whom are looking for a chance to grow up and become successful adults.

A noticeably large house toward the top of Brinkerhoff Street has long been home to one of these Greek societies. The imposing structure, which has rumored to be a haunted ex-morgue, is a three-story wooden fortress of hallways and rooms filled with students.

Alpha Chi Rho, or AXP, has 24 members, and 16 of them live in the winding and surprisingly spacious mansion-like house.

The first floor has a huge living room, with a staircase in the back leading to the basement, as well as a bathroom and some student rooms. This is where the frat has its social gatherings, such as mixers. The bottom floor has one of the most coveted rooms in the house. Immediately right of the door is a staircase leading up to the second floor.

This floor is full of student rooms, as well as a soda vendor - Pepsi, to be exact. Some of the rooms are doubles, some are singles. All of them definitely have a distinct college feel. There is a porch, as well as a kitchen and a bathroom, on this floor.

The hallway of the second floor, as well as the staircase leading up to the third floor, is all lined with paddles. These paddles represent every graduating class from AXP, and have the members names on a paddle, with extremely interesting artwork on them as well. At the bottom of the paddles, various slogans adorn the names.

The third floor, which is loft-like, has a counter lining the back wall, with rooms on either side. On the opposite wall, there is a door with a staircase leading down to the ground, which seems like a dizzying height, especially when standing up there.

There is a small arcade basketball hoop, which has been bolted to the wall. The brothers' attested to many hard-fought knockout games being battled over in this small sky-high court.

The house is surprisingly clean, especially for the fact that 16 guys are all living there. There are measures taken, however. Every Sunday is cleaning day at the house, and certain floors are designated to clean different parts of the house, different members are assigned different duties in that part of the house.

The house is virtually spotless. What about the bathrooms? Well, we won't go there.

The house has numerous hang-out hotspots, where the members of AXP, as well as various characters from around campus, regularly hang out.

There are two porches in the house, each one a vital place, each one sharing countless days spent by kids looking to relax.

"My favorite spot is the second floor porch," said Tommy Gabriel, a brother at the frat who also happens to have the coveted first floor room. "It has a great view of campus, and it's great for getting some fresh air, or maybe having a cigarette."

"Front porch, obviously," Grayson Colarusso said of his favorite spot. "I get to see everybody outside, especially when it is nice out. I also love to play washers on the front porch."

"The back porch is my favorite," said Ryan Busch, a member of AXP. "I have had a lot of memorable and intimate talks on that back porch."

When asked the same question, virtually every present member gave either the front or the back porch as his favorite hangout spot.

The structure is really quite homely, and can easily be seen as one of the coolest-designed frat houses in Plattsburgh.