Tradition of fraternities hosting parties can leave sororities in the clear

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Tradition of fraternities hosting parties can leave sororities in the clear
By JENNA JOHNSON / Daily Nebraskan
April 18, 2005

Discussions about drinking within the greek system often are missing one thing: sororities.

Half of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s fraternities are on probation for alcohol-related infractions – but few, if any, sororities are.

Matt Ellis, a Delta Tau Delta alumnus, said many fraternity members would like to break this trend or see sororities at least share the blame for alcohol offenses. But Ellis said sorority members deny it’s even a problem.

“Yes, there are problems,” he said. “And no, they are not angels.”

It may sound like the fraternities are passing the blame, but they have a point, Ellis said.

“The sorority girls are obviously going to the frat parties – legal or illegal,” he said. “But when something goes wrong, the fraternity goes down.”

Finding sorority members or house presidents willing to talk about the topic is not easy – many said they could not comment because of house rules and several others did not return phone messages left over the weekend.

Ashley, a 21-year-old former UNL sorority member, agreed to talk but said she didn’t want her full name or former house name used because of the harsh consequences that come to sorority members for “making the house look bad.”

Ashley said fraternity members host parties because they want to party with sorority members – there is no pressure on them by the sororities, she said.

“The guys think it’s their job,” she said.

And because the parties are held at a fraternity member’s off-campus house and the men pay for the alcohol – because “girls don’t usually pay” – it only makes sense for those fraternity members involved to take the blame, she said.

If sorority members hosted such parties, they would be given the same type of consequences, she said.

But sorority members don’t host off-campus alcohol parties, Ashley said.

“I don’t really know why,” she said. “I know there’s just this big rule that no one really violates.”

Parties usually are broken up quickly, without the police asking for each participant’s name and greek house, so the only house’s name that becomes associated with the party is that of the homeowner, she said.

In recent years, fraternities have seen a decrease in the number of members, but the opposite is true for sororities, said Linda Schwartzkopf, director of UNL Greek Affairs.

James Griesen, vice chancellor for Student Affairs, said that while fraternities can’t seem to break the party-house stereotype, sororities never have had that image attached to their houses.

“(Partying) doesn’t seem to mar the reputations of the sororities,” he said. “But it does mar the fraternities.”

David Peace, UNL Police Department security operations supervisor, said he doesn’t think community service officers, who patrol campus at night, have ever had problems with sororities. Since CSOs are not allowed inside sororities, alcohol regulations are left up to house leadership.

“The majority of the problems are in the fraternities,” he said. “We just have more access there.”

Matthew Hecker, director of student judicial affairs, said he also rarely has problems with sororities – and if he does, the house leadership will contact him immediately and have a typed resolution to him within days.

Hecker said the greek tradition always has been that the men should entertain the women. And even though fraternity members know the risks of throwing alcohol-filled parties, they continue to because they don’t know any other way to entertain.

But sororities always have taught their members to not have the house tied to any alcohol event, he said. An abundance of alumnae support helps foster the idea that sororities should not be involved with alcohol, he said.

“Sororities are very good at distancing themselves from planned alcohol events,” Hecker said. “That’s where sororities have been very smart.”

And while it is almost taboo for sorority members to throw off-campus drinking parties, they continue to attend fraternity parties, Ellis said. And since fraternities want to hang out with sorority members, they continue to feel pressured to host high-risk parties.

“If the sorority girls were not going to these parties – that aren’t supposed to be happening – they wouldn’t be happening,” Ellis said.