Literally.
When you get past all of the other stuff, the bottom line in this article is what a lot of us have been pointing out for a long time...
Subject: Liability drying out fraternities
The Washington Times
www.washtimes.com
November 20, 2002
Liability drying out fraternities
Jon Ward
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Fraternity leaders at the University of Maryland College Park
say they banned drinking in their houses several years ago and have
taken other steps to avoid lawsuits like the one filed Monday by the
family of Daniel Reardon, a pledge who died of alcohol poisoning last
winter because of purported hazing.
The Reardon family filed the $15 million suit against the Phi
Sigma Kappa house and two members for purportedly pressuring underage
students to drink excessive amounts of alcohol, then waiting two
hours before getting medical assistance for their son.
Mr. Reardon, 19, died Feb. 14, a week after he lapsed into an
alcohol-induced coma in the fraternity house after drinking large
amounts of malt liquor and Jim Beam whiskey at the behest of pledge
instructor Brian John McLaughlin, according to the lawsuit.
University administrators notified Phi Sigma Kappa's national
headquarters yesterday that they no longer recognize the fraternity
and "any group of students or organization affiliated" with it and
won't for at least five years.
Fraternity leaders can ask for a review after that time, but
"reinstatement is not assured," said John Zacker, the university's
director of student discipline.
The lawsuit comes eight days after another student, Brandon
James Malstrom, 20, was stabbed to death outside a party in the Old
Town section of College Park, a residential neighborhood that's home
to many of the school's fraternity and sorority houses.
Mr. Malstrom's death has sparked discussion over the safety of
the neighborhood and the need for a College Park police force.
Residents, students and officials are scheduled to discuss such
issues tonight at City Hall and tomorrow night at the Ritchie
Coliseum. The meetings begin at 7 p.m.
But Mr. Reardon's death was the second in a year caused by
alcohol or drug overdoses. In September, junior Alexander Klochkoff
was found dead of a drug overdose on the porch of the Sigma Alpha
Epsilon house. Mr. Klochkoff's death, university spokesman George
Cathcart said, was the first substance-related death of a student
since basketball star Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose in 1986.
Roughly 1,400 college students ages 18 to 24 die each year from
such alcohol-related injuries as car crashes, according to a recent
report by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
Fraternities in College Park are becoming increasingly cautious,
as members must reconsider their safety, and their national
headquarters must consider the threat of lawsuits stemming from
alcohol abuse and hazing.
Five of the university's 23 registered fraternities have
switched to alcohol-free housing in the past five years, Mr. Cathcart
said.
But the reasons for banning alcohol go beyond liability, said
David L. Westol, executive director of 73-year-old Theta Chi
fraternity.
Mr. Westol said that in 1995 Theta Chi leaders banned hazing
because of continuing problems with irresponsible drinking. In 1998,
he said, they set a five-year goal to remove alcohol in all 42
chapters.
"We were recruiting guys who saw the frat as nothing more than a
place to hang out and party," Mr. Westol said. "We're a little less
inclined to see the house as party central and more inclined to see
its members more involved in campus, being leaders and productive
members of their community."
About 65 percent of the houses have implemented the policy or
are in the process of doing so. Theta Chi's chapter in College Park
implemented the alcohol ban in the spring of 2001, member Jimmy
Atkinson said. He also said kegs at the fall and spring barbecues
have been replaced by sodas.
"I'm 22 and I cannot drink in my own house," he said. "It's kind
of a hassle, but there's always the bars."
Indeed, "risk management" is now a top priority for fraternities
nationwide.
"It only takes a brief look across college campuses today to
understand that risk management is more important now than ever
before," states the Theta Chi Web site.
The fraternity holds many of its parties at rented clubs and restaurants.
"It's a tough transition to go to a dry house," Mr. Atkinson
said. "But insurance is going to force everybody to go dry."
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