EDITORIAL: Frats' 'no alcohol policy' won't work

Alcohol-free chapters are just another attempt at dealing with college drinking. While fraternities pride themselves in the community service they perform and the leadership opportunities they provide, part of the attraction of joining a frat is the social experience -- often involving alcohol. At Penn, administrators have tried to institute a Bring Your Own Beer policy for fraternities but have not been effective in enforcing the policy. The use of wristbands to identify 21-year-old students is also ineffective in preventing underage drinking. The chance that Sigma Nu and Phi Delt chapter houses will completely abide by the new policy is unlikely. If administrators at Penn are having difficulty in controlling underage drinking, it will be just as difficult for a national organization to monitor all of its houses. Regardless, these houses will probably experience a decrease in membership. The appeal of living in a house that is alcohol-free compared to one that has alcohol is not as great as some may think. All this new policy will do is lower insurance rates as these houses try to stay open with a smaller brotherhood. The houses are now in the difficult position of either choosing to disobey a national policy in order to sustain their social scene, or abiding by the rules and losing potential members as a result. Whichever decision a house makes will affect the future of the chapter. This alcohol-free policy is simply another empty gesture as the nation tries to change the Animal House fraternity image and bring underage drinking under control. We need better methods than this one.