[imsohappythatiama]

Although I wholeheartedly agree that the "alcohol issue" may well be the bell that tolls for the death of the greek system one day, I think that instituting a policy to expel members who break the law by drinking under the age of 21 would quickly prove to be a legal nightmare.

Under-age drinking is (in all states) a misdemeanor. So are most traffic violations. If an organization expells one member for drinking under age because he/she broke a state law, then why not expell all members who have recieved speeding tickets? I could go on and on.

Expelling members who drink underage, while a noble idea, will not work from a legal or a social standpoint. And asking members to snitch on other members (for any cause)for rewards will break down many of the very fibers that most GLOs attempt to build.

Although the idea of restricting membership to people 21 and older has merit, it is impractical from the standpoint that most students who are GLO types graduate college between the ages of 21 and 25. I graduated at 22, so that would have given me only 1 year as a Kappa...and would have given Kappa only 1 year of my money...not feasible.

It comes down to this, fraternity members: LOOK AT THE EXAMPLE OF SORORITIES. At Indiana U., where I was an active, and at Iowa where I was an advisor, the sororities' chapter houses were DRY. Period. There were no keggers, no room parties. When sorority girls drank, 95% of the time it was at a bar, at a third party vendor event, or at a fraternity house party.

Fraternities, if your underage members want to drink themselves silly at a venue that you have not sponsored and at a site you do not own, that is their prerogative. If they do it on your property or at one of your functions, they should be reprimanded severely and/or expelled.

If the sororities can do it (and they have), I don't understand why you can't see your way clear of following the very clear example.

(And I don't mean to be a pest, but most sororities pay double the insurance premiums they should have to pay--not because the majority of lawsuits and insurance settlements have been caused by sororities, but because they have been incurred by fraternities). We carry your burden, too, and so we have as much stake in trying to help fraternities out of their mess.

I in no way mean to make this a girls vs. boys issue, but I frankly have had it up to here with fraternities being measured by one standard and sororities being measured by another.

Thanks for starting this thread; I think we're getting at some crucial topics that are systemic to the entire Greek System.