[john1082]

First, I visited Wake Forest a couple of weeks ago. I was in the Greensboro area and paid brief social calls on NC A&T, Wake Forest, and Elon. Great guys all, folks that I am quite proud to call my Brothers . . .

Wake Forest occupies a university owned building as do several of the other fraternities. Our Brothers DO live upstairs, it just isn't our 'house' but effectively it is.

In the mid-ninties LXA had a push to require ALL chapters chartered or rechartered to be dry. That lasted about 18 months or so. LXA was offering money to chapters to 'take the pledge'. Apparently the Wake Forest recharter came along at that time. Their charter suspension in the eighties apparently involved alcohol . . .

As a condition of their re-chartering a deal seems to have been cut with the University to stay totally dry for five years after getting their charter - or at least that is my understanding of the deal. What that means is no alcohol in the lodge, no alcohol at a formal, no alcohol on the ski trip, no beer with the pizza downtown after the chapter meeting, no Nyquil, NADA! As a practical matter think about the financial impact on a formal: Add $500 for the bar minimum because you don't have a bar.

We are the only only house on campus with this deal. It has become increasingly onerous and recruitment has taken a major hit. Four of us sat in the living room and did the stubby pencil work and determined that the available pool of potential rushees interested in a dry house at Wake Forest hovered at around 100 men, give or take. Heavy on the take side. That's it!

I did not instigate this, this change was in the works for some time. There are some other dynamics involved but I think you can draw the picture now.