New college fraternity - Nau Al Cohala
By Brian Ojanpa
Free Press Staff Writer
A report issued last week seemed to arrive at the conclusion that our nation's college kids are a bunch of sots.
The federally commissioned study by the Task Force on College Drinking buttressed its point with a blizzard of statistics: 1,400 students die each year in booze-related accidents, 41 percent binge drink (five or more drinks at one sitting) at least monthly, and drinking contributes to 70,000 cases of sexual assault annually.
The study did not reveal that 86 percent think Jose Cuervo should run for president, but you get the idea.
``The statistics are sobering,'' said U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige.
His bad pun aside, he has a point. I don't know if college kids drink any more now than they did in decades past, but this may be the first time their behavior and its consequences have been so painstakingly calibrated.
That's why it's unfortunate that one of the task force members took what amounted to an uninformed cheap shot at fraternities in general.
University of Rhode Island President Robert Carothers said the study sends a message to fraternities that they had better clean up their acts.
``Sometime during the past 20 or 30 years,'' he said, ``fraternities shifted their focus to having alcohol being the center of their culture - in fact in many cases, the reason for being.''
Now, I would guess a few ``Animal Houses'' still exist here and there. But the days of Belushi-like deadbeats serial chugging brews at the I Tappa Keg frat house have largely gone the way of 8-track tapes.
That's certainly the case at Minnesota State University, where the Greek system prides itself on being well ahead of the curve when it comes to liquor-free living environments.
Several years ago I trudged to the Phi Delta Theta house near downtown Mankato to chronicle some startling news: The fraternity had opted to go alcohol-free, meaning no booze would be allowed on the premises for any reason.
At the time, fraternity house members swearing off on-site drinking was about as mind-boggling as Michael Jackson just saying no to cosmetic surgery.
But the fraternity wasn't just wolfing, and soon it was joined by others who likewise followed the revamped charters of their national organizations.
MSU has eight fraternities. Of those, four have either their own houses or their own off-campus facilities. Of those four, three have made their premises alcohol-free.
The upshot? Not what you might expect. Rather than lose members, the fraternities (they bristle at being called ``frats'' because of the party image it evokes) have thrived.
In effect, saying no to booze meant saying yes to what fraternities are supposed to stand for - academic achievement, community betterment, the shaping of fine young men.
Corny? Perhaps. But corny is working.
``They're trying to walk the talk,'' says Jason Feiner, MSU's program coordinator for fraternities and sororities. He cites some figures: When Phi Delta Theta blazed the booze-free trail for MSU fraternities, it was limping along with seven members. Now it has 40, and Feiner says members' grades are better than those of any other fraternity on campus.
Phi Delta Theta's president, Siroos Abolahrari, thinks the reason for the turnaround is simply a case of young men responding favorably to a welcomed sales pitch: We're about matriculation and maturity, not Miller Lite and morning dry heaves.
Brian Ojanpa is a Free Press staff writer. Call him at 344-6316 or e-mail at:
bojanpa@mankato-freepress.com
Strong words but good point.
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