[Kevin]

I may be misinterpreting some people here, but I see calls for automatic consequences to actions. In my experience, seeing things in black and white is never the best way to go.

Underage members WILL drink. There is absolutely nothing you can do to control that. You can pass all the rules you want -- the best legislation in the world could not prevent it. This in my eyes is irrefutable.

The question is, what can you do to encourage personal responsability and discourage alcohol abuse? I am sure if you did the research there would be a direct correlation between alcohol ABUSE (defined as being drunk enough to do something that you would not normally do) and liability claims (I think I've read several reports proving that to be true).

I think one of the functions of a fraternity should be to teach its members how to be true men, gentlemen even. A "gentleman" knows that drinking to excess is wrong. Always.

Fraternities cannot simply turn their backs on reality and declare in the name of reduced liability "We will no longer condone alcohol use by members". They must realize that alcohol is always going to be part of college life and the absolute best way to deal with the situation is education rather than prohibition.

LHT
Kevin Taylor
MT 5
University of Central Oklahoma