New alcohol policy designed to reduce liability for frats

Highland Park High School '92 Highland Park, Ill. As students flocked to fraternity parties last September, they noticed something was distinctly different. Party-goers had to be on guest lists, wear ID bracelets and bring their own beer after the Greek Alumni Council and the undergraduate Greek system collectively passed their own alcohol policy. In addition, fraternities were required to check for age identification from all students as they entered the house, register their parties with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs and provide non-salty snacks and beverage alternatives to alcohol. The alcohol policy, originally drafted by GAC, is designed to reduce the liability of fraternity houses by enforcing the Greek system's long-time BYOB policy. In the past, the BYOB policy went relatively unenforced. While it was once suggested that the University supply monitors for fraternity parties, GAC decided to perform its own monitoring. "[The University] didn't feel that there was time to put in place adequate monitoring training," said GAC Chairperson Andrea Dobin, an Alpha Chi Omega alumna. "They don't have the personnel on hand to do that." The alcohol policy calls for a group of two undergraduate Greeks and one alumnus to monitor the parties. The group is supposed to travel from party to party checking that all guidelines are being followed. GAC's original policy proposal drew fire from the undergraduate Greek population last spring, which resulted in all Interfraternity Council houses displaying signs on their houses that read, "Don't pay the bucks, the social life sucks!" The signs were aimed at prospective students touring the University. The policy also angered non-Greek party-goers, as the restrictions placed on parties were some of the stiffest in the Ivy League. The eight Ivy League schools go about regulating parties in different ways. Some have open kegs, while others, like the University, forbid kegs on campus. At Brown University, the administration actually helps fraternity chapters apply for a state liquor license. Dartmouth College experimented briefly with a BYOB policy last school year, but abandoned the idea because it was "hard to control," said Deborah Reinders, Dartmouth's assistant dean of residential life. "Men and women were smuggling in alcohol under their shirts," she said. "BYOB wasn't working." As a result, Dartmouth now allows fraternity parties to dispense beer out of kegs. At the University, the new policy seemed destined for failure after its first week. But since then, the policy has continued to be enforced and seems to be working better. During that first week, at least 10 fraternities were written up for violations of the new policy. In fact, every fraternity that held a party during the first weekend of the policy's enactment was in violation of the policy to some degree. But Dobin said the violations varied from "the smallest" to "the biggest" possible infractions as outlined in the new policy. "Having an unregistered party is by far the biggest infraction -- that and having a keg," she said. "Finding one [underage] individual with one cup of beer who is asked to put it down would be one of the smallest violations."