Alcohol policy to face first test at 2 frat parties

Both ZBT and DKE say they intend to enforce Penn's new rules. Two fraternities will put the new alcohol policy to the test this weekend, kicking off the first officially registered InterFraternity Council parties of the year. The Zeta Beta Tau fraternity will hold a party tonight at its fraternity house at 235 S. 39th Street from 10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., while the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity will mix with the Delta Delta Delta sorority tomorrow night from 10 p.m. to midnight. Both ZBT President Jonathan Marcus, a College senior, and DKE President Kevin Heck, also a College senior, said their fraternities intend to uphold the University's alcohol policy 100 percent at their parties. The new policy prohibits the presence of hard liquor at registered undergraduate events and the distribution and consumption of alcohol -- which is allowed only on a BYOB basis -- after 1 a.m. Marcus said ZBT has held three general house meetings since the start of classes -- the number typically held over a period of one month -- where the brothers carefully reviewed the alcohol regulations. "There was a general concern for what the actual rules were," Marcus said. "Instead of just distributing literature, we went through a checklist and stressed the importance of complying with the rules." And according to Heck, guests 21 and older at his party will be limited to a six-pack of beer or a four-pack of wine coolers per person. Heck said he does not foresee any problems, noting that "[all Greek houses] are very responsible for taking care of their brothers and sisters." Both fraternities said they will follow another stipulation of the new policy which enforces a monitoring system at all undergraduate registered events. Stephanie Ives, the University's new alcohol coordinator, said the monitors -- trained graduate and professional students and faculty members -- will collaborate with student organizers to enforce the policy's regulations. "The students pushed for this system," Ives said. "They wanted to have a system with monitors acting with them." The University's approximately 50 monitors -- who each underwent three hours of training with Training for Intervention Procedures, a national alcohol education program -- will work alongside trained bartenders and the event's mandatory sober host. "The IFC has fully embraced the policy," Ives said. "I have faith in what the IFC has said and respect their decision to uphold their decision." The IFC created a Greek Alcohol Management Policy in 1995 which mandated the need for alcohol monitors. The only difference between GAMP and the new policy, with regard to monitors, is that GAMP required the use of monitors who were volunteer alumni from the fraternity. That policy was not always enforced. And now, the trained monitors will report to Ives rather than the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. The University's alcohol policy was revised last April by a task force headed by Provost Robert Barchi and composed of 21 students, faculty and administrators, following a string of alcohol-related incidents on campus, including the death of 1994 College graduate Michael Tobin outside the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house after a night of heavy drinking.

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