Colorado State looking at Live In GA's
 

This article, excerpted from the Denver Post, talks briefly about Graduate Assistantships in Greek Housing similar to those at the University of Maryland discussed in another thread here in Risk Management...


Denver Post
May 30, 2005

CSU takes new alcohol tack
Student counseling, fraternity-house monitors among new campus initiatives

By Monte Whaley
Denver Post Staff Writer

Fort Collins - Officials at Colorado State University acknowledge they
can't eliminate alcohol use among their students.

Still, campus leaders hope to shift the college experience away from dollar
beer nights and Jell-O shots...

...In essence, a sweeping set of initiatives announced last week aims to turn
student drinking from an obsession to an afterthought, say architects of
the plan.

Everything from a "social norms" campaign emphasizing the consequences of
binge drinking to a student-led group focusing on preventing alcohol
poisoning will be introduced this fall. Other programs for substance-abuse
treatment will be expanded, as well as outreach efforts for neighborhoods
overwhelmed by student partying.

The school's Greek system also is part of the reforms. CSU will create
graduate assistantships to staff fraternity houses and monitor behavior,
similar to what hall directors do in campus dorms. (DA comment -- befor anyone asks, the Greek housing at CSU is not owned by the university)

"We believe these actions are a major step toward realistically yet
effectively addressing the problem of alcohol abuse at Colorado State and
on campuses throughout the nation," CSU president Larry Penley said.

The moves Penley unveiled last week were based on recommendations from an
alcohol task force formed after the September death of sophomore Samantha
Spady.

Spady died from alcohol poisoning, and her body was found in a
now-disbanded CSU fraternity. Her death followed two nights of
alcohol-fueled riots near campus.

Those incidents sparked an outcry among parents, lawmakers, alumni and
school officials that the university wasn't doing enough to prevent
dangerous alcohol abuse among its students.

Many CSU officials and experts concede such a cultural shift among students
will take years, even decades, to pull off. After all, college is
traditionally where young adults experiment, often with drugs and booze...

...If the reforms are fully implemented, students who experienced the pain of
Spady's death will be the first ones to buy into them, said outgoing
student body vice president Ben Goldstein.

"A lot of students last year lost a best friend, and for them to balk at
these attempts at the university is just unrealistic."

Are there any stats on Greeks having more problems with alcohol at the school than the general population?

I don't think it's a bad thing at all but I wonder if it solves an overall problem at the school.

-Rudey

This could be a good deal.

During my ug days (when the house was heated by a fireplace) we could select a grad student as a live-in "advisor" - the chapter gave him free housing, and the school gave him free tuition/fees and a some training.

The problem is turn-over. A supervisor would be more valuable if he stayed on the job for several years.

It's an excellent question for which I don't have an answer.

I should point out that the article is excerpted and what struck me as interesting is that the Greek's at CSU were NOT the main thrust of the story in this case, but rather the alcohol culture as a whole on the campus.

My editing probably made it look like there was more emphasis on the Greek System than there was/is. This is a campus wide program. The reason for the way I presented it is because of the GA's that the university is planning to hire -- much the same as at Maryland.

The entire article is available in Fraternal News.