Rewards policy for frats has limited success

One fraternity's troubles are sometimes another's good fortune.

At least that's the goal of the InterFraternity Council's Risk Reduction Award, which rewards rule-abiding brotherhoods with money collected from other fraternities' fines.

Now, at least some have questioned whether the program is achieving its intended goals.

The student-led initiative was implemented in 2003 to reward fraternities for having more and safer parties.

It was designed to combat the recent decrease in the number of registered parties. During 2000-01 there were 89. Last year there were 63.

"I don't know that it's having as much of an effect as we were hoping," Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Scott Reikofski said. "It's all very small steps. I think this is just one more step in trying to address the issue and encourage responsible hosting."

However, Director of Alcohol Policy Initiatives Stephanie Ives said that the program is successful in that it has rewarded fraternities for complying with University policy.

"The intended effect was not that all of a sudden we'd see a 500 percent increase in registered events," Ives said. "The intended effect was to address the criticism that registered events were cost-prohibitive."

In the spring of 2003, $2,800 was distributed between eight fraternities, and in 2004, $2,500 was distributed between seven fraternities.

Records for more recent awards were not available.

The money distributed comes from fines collected by the IFC's Judicial Inquiry Board for a range of violations that occur at unregistered events, such as kegs and hard liquor.

The IFC has no set formula to determine who receives the award or how much money is granted. But according to the original Risk Reduction Award proposal, eligible fraternities must be in "good standing" with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, surpass their average number of registered parties and follow University guidelines during parties.

Though none of the recipients was found guilty of alcohol violations, only seven of the 15 fraternities rewarded in 2003 and 2004 exceeded their average number of registered parties.

For example, Zeta Psi, which received $250 in 2003, was rewarded though it averaged 10 events from 2000 to 2001, but only four events during the next two years.

The fraternities that exceeded their average received more money than those that did not exceed their average.

The money received can be used for any purpose, except to subsidize alcohol purchases.

Despite the award's flexibility, several fraternity presidents are apathetic toward it.

"I'm just worried about throwing a good party, not whether I'm getting an award at the end of the year," Sigma Nu President Leo Spaeder said. Sigma Nu, which received $900 in 2004, has received the award for the past two years, but the Wharton senior said it had little effect on the fraternity.

"It's a good thing to have, but it doesn't provide any immediate incentives," Pi Kappa Phi President Zach Coopersmith said. "The awards should cover the additional costs that houses incur by hosting those additional registered parties."

Awards in 2003 and 2004 ranged from $250 to $900, which does not usually cover the cost of throwing one registered party, Coopersmith said.

Pi Kappa Phi spends $700 to $1,000 for its registered events, but some fraternities spend more than $2,000.

Although the IFC had originally intended the award to be given out every semester, it is now only awarded once per year.

"It's [just] promising the chance of winning money five months from now," Coopersmith said.

Several fraternity presidents think that the award is poorly publicized.

"I'm not sure I'm completely familiar with it," Sigma Alpha Epsilon President Mike Karam said. "It might be talked about once a semester."

Coopersmith agreed that the award is not well-advertised within the Greek leadership.

"Even if it was and everybody knew about it, [the details of the award] are still really vague," Coopersmith said.

The IFC is already planning to make changes within the next year, and some have proposed that eligibility be determined on a case-by-case basis, Ives said.

"We realize that there is room for improvement," IFC Judicial Inquiry Board Manager David Kuhn said. "This is something we are looking at very seriously."

The Risk Reduction Award The monetary reward given to fraternities that follow IFC rules is meant to encourage party registration - There were 89 registered IFC events during the 2000-01 school year, but only 63 last year - In the spring of 2003, $2,800 was distributed between 8 frats; in 2004, $2,500 was distributed between 7. The rewards range from $250 to $900 - Only 7 of those 15 frats exceeded their average number of registered parties, originally a requirement for the award

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.