Changing Greek System - University Relations

[phidelt]

Our chapter is a part of a large greek system, I won't disclose the location. The university that I attend has a party reputation. The entire relationship between the university administration and the leadership of fraternities and sororities in terms of alcohol policies and drinking is backwards.

Both sides claim that they are interested in the safety of students, but what they say and what they do are different. The university is cracking down on all alcohol consumption and disciplining fraternities and sororities for violations.

In the past the University only intervened in fraternity or sorority matters in case of major incidents, such as someone getting hurt (assault) or sick (alcohol poisoning), or doing something reckless (Vandalism). And even then, in most cases they would target disciplinary action against individuals rather than the entire organization. Now they are using facebook photos of two people having beers, or noise complaints for disciplinary action against the entire organization.

These policies although aimed at keeping students from drinking and staying safe is actually leading to students drinking underground and it is becoming more dangerous. Rather than focusing on safety of students, greek organizations are focusing on not being caught. This has led to more incidents of alcohol related sickness or injury on campus.

I am a leader in many parts of campus and have spoken to other greek leaders in other organizations, my views are shared by them and we want to do something to change the status quo. I know the easy answer will be stop drinking and follow the rules, trust me when I say this is not a viable option. On this campus, students will party even after every fraternity and sorority charter has been revoked.

Greek Organizations provide safety to students in the form of a sober monitored environment were students should be able to come for a fun time without fearing that they will be taken advantage of. At all of our functions we have several sober monitors making sure that people are not drinking too much, and that they have a sover ride home. Other greek organizations on campus do the same. However when we are forced to focus on preventative measures from being caught by the University, it takes away from our ability to insure the safety of our guests.

I think that if the University agreed not to prosecute individuals or greek organizations for minor alcohol related violations, then the greek organizations would be fine to let university officials monitor the events. If the University agreed to this, it would lead to a safer environment without costing the University anything. They loose nothing, and gain safety for students.

Do you think that this is a viable option? If so, what is the best way to go about making this change happen?

I know on some other campuses, campus police walk through fraternity parties and do not prosecute alcohol related violations, the police are there to make sure things are under control and nobody gets hurt. I would like to see a similar system in place on our campus.

[crescent&pearls]

Originally Posted by phidelt

I think that if the University agreed not to prosecute individuals or greek organizations for minor alcohol related violations, then the greek organizations would be fine to let university officials monitor the events. .

It's not up to the university to prosecute individuals. That is a function of law enforcement and the judicial system. If an individual is not violating the law then there's no problem. So don't participate in underage drinking, don't provide persons who are underage with alcohol, know the laws in your city/county/state about social hosting and follow them.

It is up to the university to establish reasonable policies for the orgs that are guests on their campus. Perhaps you should try to work with your campus to provide venues for and create events and activities that give students opportunities to socialize that do not revolve around alcohol. IMO underage drinking often occurs when and where students who are under 21 have few options of other things to do, and few positive examples of how to host and enjoy events that are alcohol free.

[ree-Xi]

Originally Posted by phidelt

Our chapter is a part of a large greek system, I won't disclose the location. The university that I attend has a party reputation. The entire relationship between the university administration and the leadership of fraternities and sororities in terms of alcohol policies and drinking is backwards.

>>Enforcing laws and regulations regarding alcohol is not going backwards. It seems that the university is taking it more seriously now.


Both sides claim that they are interested in the safety of students, but what they say and what they do are different. The university is cracking down on all alcohol consumption and disciplining fraternities and sororities for violations.

>> Why shouldn't they? It's the law, and the univseristy aims to protect its students. Second, accidents related to drinking can result in huge liabilities to the school - financial, punitive and PR.

In the past the University only intervened in fraternity or sorority matters in case of majorincidents, such as someone getting hurt (assault) or sick (alcohol poisoning), or doing something reckless (Vandalism). And even then, in most cases they would target disciplinary action against individuals rather than the entire organization. Now they are using facebook photos of two people having beers, or noise complaints for disciplinary action against the entire organization.

These policies although aimed at keeping students from drinking and staying safe is actually leading to students drinking underground and it is becoming more dangerous. Rather than focusing on safety of students, greek organizations are focusing on not being caught. This has led to more incidents of alcohol related sickness or injury on campus.

I am a leader in many parts of campus and have spoken to other greek leaders in other organizations, my views are shared by them and we want to do something to change the status quo. I know the easy answer will be stop drinking and follow the rules, trust me when I say this is not a viable option. On this campus, students will party even after every fraternity and sorority charter has been revoked.

>> If they choose to do something that is illegal (by law and on campus), they have to face possible charges and sanctions. Yes, most college students drink some of the time, but it's still illegal for about 2/3 of them.

Greek Organizations provide safety to students in the form of a sober monitored environment were students should be able to come for a fun time without fearing that they will be taken advantage of. At all of our functions we have several sober monitors making sure that people are not drinking too much, and that they have a sover ride home. Other greek organizations on campus do the same. However when we are forced to focus on preventative measures from being caught by the University, it takes away from our ability to insure the safety of our guests.

>>I think that this is a false statement. How does holding a party and serving underage students provide "safety" to them? You cannot judge someone's level of drunkenness by "watching" only; BAC can raise considerably and some people may not "feel" or "demonstrate" what we typically associate with being "too" drunk.

I think that if the University agreed not to prosecute individuals or greek organizations for minor alcohol related violations, then the greek organizations would be fine to let university officials monitor the events. If the University agreed to this, it would lead to a safer environment without costing the University anything. They loose nothing, and gain safety for students.

>>Again, underaged drinking is ILLEGAL. You really cannot expect university officials/safety officers to look the other way, can you?

Do you think that this is a viable option?

>>No.

If so, what is the best way to go about making this change happen?

>> Unless you can get the drinking age changed (which each state abides by in order to get federal funding for highways), I don't see a way.

I know on some other campuses, campus police walk through fraternity parties and do not prosecute alcohol related violations, the police are there to make sure things are under control and nobody gets hurt. I would like to see a similar system in place on our campus.

>> Not to be snarky, but I don't see that happening. Sorry, I think you're stuck with the rules.

PS. your fraternity likely has rules as well. Blatantly disregarding them can have consequences, too.

[phidelt]

Our chapter is a part of a large greek system, I won't disclose the location. The university that I attend has a party reputation. The entire relationship between the university administration and the leadership of fraternities and sororities in terms of alcohol policies and drinking is backwards.

>>Enforcing laws and regulations regarding alcohol is not going backwards. It seems that the university is taking it more seriously now.

>>>The purpose of those laws is to keep people safe. My reference to a backwards relationship was the lack of effectiveness of the enforcement. In fact the enforcement of the laws is actually leading to more unsafe situations which directly CONTRADICTS the spirit and purpose of the law.

Both sides claim that they are interested in the safety of students, but what they say and what they do are different. The university is cracking down on all alcohol consumption and disciplining fraternities and sororities for violations.

>> Why shouldn't they? It's the law, and the univseristy aims to protect its students. Second, accidents related to drinking can result in huge liabilities to the school - financial, punitive and PR.

>>>The huge liabilities that arise from incidents is exactly the reason why the leadership of Fraternities and Sororities would like to change the current system. With more incidents occurring because of underground drinking in unsafe environments there is worse PR, worse financial and punitive judgments. By modifying the way certain laws are enforced, the University stands to reduce a significant portion of the liability they are currently seeing.

In the past the University only intervened in fraternity or sorority matters in case of majorincidents, such as someone getting hurt (assault) or sick (alcohol poisoning), or doing something reckless (Vandalism). And even then, in most cases they would target disciplinary action against individuals rather than the entire organization. Now they are using facebook photos of two people having beers, or noise complaints for disciplinary action against the entire organization.

These policies although aimed at keeping students from drinking and staying safe is actually leading to students drinking underground and it is becoming more dangerous. Rather than focusing on safety of students, greek organizations are focusing on not being caught. This has led to more incidents of alcohol related sickness or injury on campus.

I am a leader in many parts of campus and have spoken to other greek leaders in other organizations, my views are shared by them and we want to do something to change the status quo. I know the easy answer will be stop drinking and follow the rules, trust me when I say this is not a viable option. On this campus, students will party even after every fraternity and sorority charter has been revoked.

>> If they choose to do something that is illegal (by law and on campus), they have to face possible charges and sanctions. Yes, most college students drink some of the time, but it's still illegal for about 2/3 of them.

>>> Most college students drink some of the time...That is exactly the point, and regardless of enforcement of laws they will continue to do so. It has been prooven that regulation and enforcement of regulation does not deter drinking in college. With that said if the point of the regulation is to keep people safe, than wouldn't it be best for all involved to focus on the spirit of the law and not enforcement of it?

Greek Organizations provide safety to students in the form of a sober monitored environment were students should be able to come for a fun time without fearing that they will be taken advantage of. At all of our functions we have several sober monitors making sure that people are not drinking too much, and that they have a sover ride home. Other greek organizations on campus do the same. However when we are forced to focus on preventative measures from being caught by the University, it takes away from our ability to insure the safety of our guests.

>>I think that this is a false statement. How does holding a party and serving underage students provide "safety" to them? You cannot judge someone's level of drunkenness by "watching" only; BAC can raise considerably and some people may not "feel" or "demonstrate" what we typically associate with being "too" drunk.

>>>Holding a party were people can drink in a monitored environment and receive a sober and safe ride home DOES provide safety to those students. The alternative is not that the students go to the library to study. The alternative is that the students will drink in much smaller groups with no sober supervision, were the possibility of assault (sexual or otherwise) drastically increases. Furthermore after the gettogether they are usually left to walk home intoxicated which could lead to them running into trouble or even worse leads to them driving home which not only puts themselves in danger but others as well.

I understand that a sober monitor cannot provide absolute safety to an individual, but if that individuals BAC gets too high unexpectedly with a sober monitor present the situation is still better than the alternative of them being alone, or with other intoxicated individuals. In the earlier scenario a sober monitor would immediately stop the individual from consuming more alcohol, they would make sure that the individual was in a safe environment and ultimately be with them until they were sober enough to go home, and in the unlikely situation that they needed medical attention they would insure that the proper medical attention was provided. In the case of my Fraternity, we always make sure that one of our sober monitors is a certified EMT or equivalent training.

I think that if the University agreed not to prosecute individuals or greek organizations for minor alcohol related violations, then the greek organizations would be fine to let university officials monitor the events. If the University agreed to this, it would lead to a safer environment without costing the University anything. They loose nothing, and gain safety for students.

>>Again, underaged drinking is ILLEGAL. You really cannot expect university officials/safety officers to look the other way, can you?

>>>We understand that it is illegal, but that does not change that the university, law enforcement, and the students ultimately seek safety, not alignment with laws. Illegal immigration is clearly illegal and yet most Universities in this country look the other way and in some cases provide support to illegal immigrants to get an education. Marijuanna possession and distribution is illegal, and yet several cities/counties have legalized it under certain conditions.

We are not looking to get the University to endorse underage drinking anymore than California endorses the posession and distribution of Marijuana. We simply want the University to under certain conditions(sober drivers, sober monitors, limitations on quantity and type of alcohol, etc.) not prosecute certain misdemeanor alcohol violations for the better good of the entire student body as well as University.

Do you think that this is a viable option?

>>No.

If so, what is the best way to go about making this change happen?

>> Unless you can get the drinking age changed (which each state abides by in order to get federal funding for highways), I don't see a way.

>>>I understand the state drinking age laws and the tie to federal funding of highways, nonetheless Georgia made exceptions allowing parents to give their underage kids alcohol, and there are countless other amendments in other states making exceptions to the general law. Why is it so outrageous that a municipal law be passed that would increase safety at the expense of not prosecuting misdemeanor alcohol violations if certain conditions are met.

I know on some other campuses, campus police walk through fraternity parties and do not prosecute alcohol related violations, the police are there to make sure things are under control and nobody gets hurt. I would like to see a similar system in place on our campus.

>> Not to be snarky, but I don't see that happening. Sorry, I think you're stuck with the rules.