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Originally posted by KSigkid
You're talking about the Scott Kruger incident, right?
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Yes.
I was a grad student at the time (fall 1997), so I saw firsthand the effects on the Greek system and on campus life in general, but I was a little bit "on the outside" as they didn't crack down so much on grad students (most of whom are of legal drinking age, vs. undergrads, most of whom are underage).
MIT's knee-jerk reaction was to ban alcohol at any and all events where even one underage person might be present. No fraternity parties unless they were dry. No dorm parties unless they were dry, either - I think the campus police busted up a beer bash in my old dorm. Some academic departments and labs threw holiday parties with kegs and/or wine - gone. (Those prohibitions later were relaxed a bit - you could serve alcohol if it was BYOB or with a third-party vendor.)
MIT's other reaction was to require all freshmen to live in the dorms. They even built a new dorm so as to have enough beds (they guarantee 4 years of housing to undergrads). Formerly, as soon as you pledged a fraternity, you moved right into the house. Now, fraternity rush has been pushed back a month, and when a freshman pledges, he stays in the dorms. Sorority rush has also been deferred to the beginning of spring term. (Last year was the first year that the new arrangement was in force. Numbers dropped like a rock
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