Sororities NOT upholding Alcoholess Mixing

[Kapsig1]

It is my recent experience that many of the sororities which have adopted/approved the Panhellenic resolution regarding alcohol NOT being present at social functions held with fraternities are in some cases giving nothing but lip service to these policies.

Instead, these groups are requesting that the fraternities help to circumvent the policies by NOT listing all the sorority members when registering these events (as required) with the university. This, apparently, is done in an effort to avoid "proof" that these chapters are indeed mixing exclusively with a given fraternity. The fraternities are told by the sorority social chairs, that if the fraternity lists the actual membership of the sorority without numerous random names (people who will not actually be invited) that the mixer can't happen.

I have personally challenged sorority advisors to go to the local photagrapher that takes pictures at all the mixers, and look at the numerous beer cans, drinks, etc that are not only present, but in the hands of their members. Each has told me that they'd "rather not,"

We as a fraternity do not have policies against alcohol at social functions, and are willing to respect those of these groups, but we are being disincented from doing so.

What gives? I don't expect many women to come forward and say, "we ignore the rules too." What about advisors and national officers out there? Don't ask me to rat them out. I have gone directly to chapter advisors with no results.

Brad

[Lil_G]

Hmmm I don't know if involving the media is such a good idea. I'm not sure what to say because the int'l sororities abide by the alcohol policies at my campus.
If it is like you say that all the sororities on campus are doing this then maybe there needs to be an intervention by university officials. A shape-up-or-ship-out mentality to all the members that are breaking the rules. If this fails then i geuss you know what to do. What are the other fraternities saying/doing about this?

[shadokat]

KapSig1--

Unfortunately, while all NPC groups have implemented some form of alcohol-free housing policies, many chapters ignore them for the reason that many fraternities still aren't alcohol free. The strictest alcohol free housing policy says that sororities may only mix with those groups who are also alcohol free. In this instance, you may not be able to mix with ANYONE on campus if none of the alcohol free fraternities exist on your campus. The middle policy says that sororities will not mix with fraternities in their fraternity house with alcohol present. They can certainly mix OUTSIDE the fraternity house. The most lenient policy supports those fraternities who are supposed to be alcohol free, but have no restrictions on their mixing activities.

My feeling on this is that sometimes, on a campus where you have the sororities that fall into the most lenient policy, they can mix freely with fraternities in their houses, as long as that fraternity isn't an alcohol free one. Therefore, other sororities, to stay competitive in recruitment, break the rules to "have fun", and look fun to those who will rush. It's unfortunate, but HQ's cannot be police in this situation. We have to trust the chapters to implement the policy. Chapters should be aware though that if they are not following the alcohol free housing policy and something happens, it is highly likely they will lose their insurance coverage for not following policy. This is enough to scare some into doing it...others just are in a different environment.

In my own sorority, the only change the alcohol free housing policy made was saying we couldn't have our mixers in the fraternity houses. This means that we can mix at restaurants and bars, clubs, halls and all of those other places.

I do know that fraternities that are supposed to be alcohol free housed are not following their own policies as well. It's a shame, because I believe that the men should be afforded the opportunity to live in an alcohol free environment, as NPC sororities do, but such is some of the fraternity mentality that exists.

Hope this makes a little sense.

Heather

[33girl]

First off NWIH would we have ever let an outside photographer into one of our mixers...what is the deal with that?

From what I have seen on a relatively outside level, it seems like this policy was very rushed and not explained well (if you go back and look at some of the threads on this same topic). Plus, I don't know what other sororities did, but for us I know the collegians had no input whatsoever on this topic. It was just decided by national HQ and that was the end of the story. At least with the fraternities that go dry, there was lots of discussion, but I think that was missing here. This is a major change for collegians and all the pros and cons need to be thought out, not just pushing the policy through for PR purposes.

I really don't understand why the groups with the facilities policy passed it that way...it just seems like setting yourself up for problems in rush and at smaller schools where there may not be any alcohol-free fraternities. The functions policy is fine.

[shadokat]

Unfortunately 33, many groups just made a policy and told their collegiate members to follow it. Delta Phi Epsilon formed a task force of 12 members, 6 undergraduates and 6 alumnae. We went to St. Louis for a weekend and hammered out our policy. I can say that all of our undergraduates voted in favor of the policy that we passed. All sisters were given the opportunity to join the Task Force at Convention by applying.

Sigma Kappa actually had their delegates vote on the issue at their convention, and they remain in the most lenient tier. Just goes to show what happens in different circumstances. It's unfortunate that some groups did not include their collegiate members in making policy.

[33girl]

Originally posted by shadokat
Unfortunately 33, many groups just made a policy and told their collegiate members to follow it. It's unfortunate that some groups did not include their collegiate members in making policy.

So much for female empowerment Sorry, but things like this make me cranky.

[G8Ralphaxi]

Originally posted by 33girl


So much for female empowerment Sorry, but things like this make me cranky.

Yes, there's definitely a problem when policies are mandated by Nationals in a draconian fashion without any input from the collegiate members. My own chapter experienced several shocks when, without warning, several aspects of our social freedom were suddenly suspended or drastically altered. Keep in mind that we were NEVER a risk management problem and they never even alleged that we were. They were just so darn over cautious. And many of the restrictions were the brainchild of our Regional Advisor and were much stricter than anything Nationals was advocating.

Their restrictions ended up having the opposite effect, because even our Exec Board felt betrayed and actually worked to circumvent a lot of the rules. When I was social chair, I was instructed to plan socials with fraternities and we would sponsor a bar tab by writing a check to the bar for "food", "entertainment" or a "security deposit" that we would never ask to be returned. Obviously a MAJOR violation of all kinds of rules.

In the end, I think that the National Organizations need to not only realize that they need to include collegians in the process if they expect them to comply with new rules, but also that part of the reason (a big part!) that many people go greek is that IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!

No offense against canned food drives, flag football tournaments, and embroidered T-shirts, but my favorite sorority memories center around fun things I did with my sisters. Not that it's limited to "going out" or "drinking" but when you tell college students that they can't do certain activities just because they're greek, then you get resentment, and even though any alcohol related activities are such a minor part of greek life, when they are taken away or sharply restricted, it is a big deal.

Being greek is supposed to promote leadership and help you mature as a person and a loyal friend. So many of these policies seem to undermine that development of maturity. We are all adults but when we are told that "you can't do that because we don't trust you to handle yourself properly" it sends a very condescending message.

From my own experience, being greek taught me how to treat alchohol responsibly. I was NEVER forced to drink. On the contrary it was just available when we went out or to socials and date functions. It was never a big deal and no one cared if someone didn't want to drink. My sisters watched out for me, especially as a new member, and would make sure we didn't drink too much and always had safe rides home.

This is a much better situation than the GDI freshman girls who I saw at fraternity parties or clubs. They were usually alone or with only 1 friend or just a few. Rarely the close relationship or caring "watchful eye" that I had from my sisters. These girls would get sooooo drunk and have trouble making decisions. The guys could really take advantage if they wanted to. Plus, just imagine how many classes missed and toilets hugged from the hangovers. For sure, the best way to learn about alchohol is not by yourself!

...OK, I've said enough and my soapbox is in danger of collapsing...

G8Ralphaxi

[SoProud2BeAnAlphaXi]

Just to clarify: Alpha Xi Delta's AF policy was adopted by overwhelming resolution of the voting membership (the majority of which are collegiate chapter presidents) after a lengthy discussion at the 1999 National Convention which (again) was dominated by collegiate women. It was not a "top-down" policy, and I was and am very proud of the stand we took and how we got there. It wasn't a risk management issue for us, so much as a statement of support for those men's fraternities that had elected to eliminate alcohol from their chapter facilities (which is why we have the form of policy we do -- facilities, not functions).

[shadokat]

While I can respect the decision of Alpha Xi Delta to have such a strong policy on alcohol free housing, I question the fact that under a facilities policy, they limit the groups which the sorority can mix with and have events with, alcoholic or not. The policy basically is that anyone in this "facilities" tier will not co-sponsor functions with any fraternity whose facilities aren't alcohol free. Now, that leaves the three groups in that area with about 11 fraternities to have activities with. Currently, only the following fraternities have alcohol free housing policies in place:

Alpha Kappa Lambda, Delta Sigma Phi, Delta Upsilon, FarmHouse, Kappa Delta Phi, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Kappa Sigma, Phi Kappa Theta, Sigma Nu and Theta Chi.

So that everyone is aware of where their groups stand, the following is the NPC sororities and their policy tier.

Facilities policy - meaning will co-sponsor event in fraternity facility only if the fraternity facility is alcohol free: Alpha Xi Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma and Pi Beta Phi

Functions policy - meaning will co-sponsor event in fraternity facility only if the function is alcohol free: AXO, ADPi, AEPhi, AGD, AOII, Alpha Phi, ASA, XO, Tri Delta, DG, D Phi E, DZ, Gamma Phi Beta, Theta, KD, Phi Mu, Tri Sigma, Theta Phi Alpha and ZTA.

Support policy - meaning will support co-sponsorship of alcohol free functions in fraternty facilities: AST, Phi Sig, SDT, SK.

Hope this helps explain where these policies stand. I also have listings of all of the college panhellenics who have passed a policy, as well as those campuses who have passed a policy for their entire campus. If anyone's interested in knowing that, feel free to email me, and I can provide you with that list.

[LexiKD]

I understand the frustration Kapsig1 is feeling. It was my last semster when our campus began the NPC reslution and it was hard. It is difficult to change things after they had been great up to that point and we committ and then want the old days back.

I do laugh when many chapter women try to say that their chapter doesn't have such tight regulations but is it just me or do we all have the same or similiar insurance so don't we all have similiar rules and regulations?

At ECU it was hard when we started because we have many socials a week and now fraternities had to fundraise to rent a third party vendor...I think they have been doing a good job so far, but not 100% sure.

[SSS1365]

My sorority has strict policies regarding alcohol, and I believe all the other NPC sororities on campus do too. Since we have a dorm dedicated to sorority housing, our dorm is technically supposed to be alcohol-free. It so isn't though.

I agree with what someone said about some sororities not being as strict, so the others will break the rules just be competitive in recruitment.

It really bothers me that some chapters on my campus get caught and punished for relatively minor offenses, yet I see others violating the rules ALL THE TIME, and they never get caught.

[ZTAMich]

Originally posted by SSS1365

It really bothers me that some chapters on my campus get caught and punished for relatively minor offenses, yet I see others violating the rules ALL THE TIME, and they never get caught.

I totally sympathize with your fustration. It seems like my chapter is trying so hard not to get in any trouble yet the orgs on campus who don't care at all don't get in trouble EVER. UGH!! Visiting fraternities at the school on the other side of town (lehigh) has become a huge drama for us, since we're not supposed to do it anymore. It would be such a help if the other orgs who aren't following similar alcohol policies would be smart and not put us in an awkward position...like that'll ever happen.

[SigmaChiCard]

Sorority relations here really bore me because...not just alcohol, they can't do hardly anything. A friend of mine kissed a guy not her boyfriend while in public because she was a lil tipsy and she got into so much trouble for it. Rules Rules Rules.

Pretentious Society has murdered old fashion fun.

I mean, it makes us look good, but at the cost of having fun. Not that I, or anyone I needs the brew to have fun...Believe me, I don't...but the availibility of choice makes the whole damn thing so much more care-free. We went to a dry campus because of two fraternities put on probation every year since I've been here, but they get more shit than they deserve, they often get in trouble for not flushing when they're finished.

So all these rules imposed on us makes having a good time, 'getting loose' with girls at sorority functions virtually impossible...

[The1calledTKE]

Drinking policies are crazy. The sororties that could not drink at our social functions just went with us else were and just "hung out" so they could drink. There are ways around everything.

[shadokat]

In response to SSS and ZTA posts, the only way the policies are going to work is if you talk amongst your panhellenic about the policies everyone has. You guys are totally right, it's not fair that some people choose to ignore their policy and are getting off scot free. For any of these policies to truly work, panhellenics will have to abide by their policies and make sure everyone is on an even playing field. I'm not saying to rat out other orgs, but if we're all greek together, then working together to accomplish the implementation of policy will be good for all sororities.

In response to SigmaChiCard, a girl got in trouble for kissing a guy in public while tipsy? DAMN! Now if that were the case at my school and chapter, we'd all be in trouble. Those folks need to ease up a bit But with regards to the alcohol free initiative, NPC sororities are SUPPORTING NIC fraternities who have chosen to go alcohol free. We didn't put these policies into place to restrict anyone from drinking. We did it so that those fraternities who chose this route would have the support of NPC and its member groups. Imagine if you will being the only dry fraternity on your campus, and having to compete to get sororities to mix with you because you can't do it in your house. It would pretty much suck for them...by NPC groups passing a policy, we hope to alleviate some of that suckage, for lack of a better term. And since NPC houses have always been alcohol free, at least those owned and run by sororities, it's not a change in their sorority house life...just where they mix. Of course, it affects those who aren't of age to drink, but what can you do?