Jamie Keller and Jeremy Lansing, a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity who will be affected by the University?s proposed ?dry-house? policy.
Like most of the men in Beta Theta Pi, sophomore Taylor Lewis said he doesn’t drink at every party at the fraternity. Members are required to maintain at least a 2.5 GPA and studying is a priority, he said. Still, he considers the social aspect of fraternity life just as important as the academic side, and he doesn’t see anything wrong with that.
“For us, the social scene is huge … It works hand-in-hand with the academics,” he said. “It’s just people having a good time.”
Lewis, who is in charge of risk management for the house, said parties at his house are restricted to people members know, and drinking at the fraternity is under control.
“100 percent of the guys in my house know when to go to bed,” he said.
But not everyone at the University agrees that drinking in greek houses is harmless fun.
The University’s nine sororities and five of the 15 fraternities already have alcohol-free housing, and for the past year administrators, greek advisers and some alumni and students have been discussing how to end drinking in all University chapters.
At a meeting attended by fraternity and sorority presidents, members of the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council last week, it was announced that all greek houses must have alcohol-free housing by this fall in order to remain affiliated with the University. University spokeswoman Pauline Austin said University President Dave Frohnmayer is expected to approve the policy, but right now he is still considering it. A final decision is expected in May.
Associated Vice President for Student Affairs Anne Leavitt said the announcement at the meeting of greek student leaders was unexpected, and caught many who attended by surprise. Administrators and Greek Life advisers had planned to talk with members of greek houses about the alcohol-free housing initiative this month before it was announced officially, she said.
Leavitt said many people involved with the greek community favor alcohol-free housing for all campus fraternities because the current greek system social policy can be confusing to students and hard to enforce. Depending on the chapter, sororities have varying policies as to how many of their members can attend a party at a “wet” house before it becomes an illegal social function.
Fraternities with alcohol-free housing can also be put at a disadvantage in recruitment.
“When some houses are dry and some are not, it’s very hard on the greek system,” she said.
If Frohnmayer approves the alcohol-free housing proposal, he will write a letter to the national fraternity organizations advising them that chapters that do not have alcohol-free housing will not be recognized by the University. Chapters that do not comply will not be able to participate in Greek Life events and services, including recruitment.
Nationally, alcohol-free housing is being endorsed by many fraternities, said Jon Williamson, executive vice president of the North-American Interfraternity Conference. About one in five fraternities across the country now have alcohol-free housing, he said.
“What we’re looking for is a way to improve the campus community,” he said. “And what the NIC believes is that alcohol-free housing coupled with education is the way to do it.”
He said the NIC is also looking at the results of a report released this month by the federally appointed Task Force on College Drinking, which found that drinking rates were highest among students living in fraternities and sororities.
Close to home, recent tragedies have called attention to fraternity drinking. In spring 2001, an Oregon State University freshman died after falling from a houseboat during his fraternity’s trip to Lake Shasta. And in March, another student died after falling from an OSU fraternity fire escape.
Eugene Police Department patrol officer Pete Aguilar, who is assigned to the campus team, said he has “absolutely” seen alcohol-related situations at the University where a similar tragedy could have occurred.
In a typical week, EPD receives at least one call from a fraternity, but that varies, he said. During Dead Week and Finals Week there are fewer calls, but at other times police may respond to a single house several times in a night or a weekend. They respond to reports such as noise violation, criminal mischief or other complaints and often find alcohol violations when they arrive, he said.
Aguilar said he believes a dry greek system would cut down on campus drinking, because non-greek students attend parties at fraternities and the greek system tends to set an example for the rest of the University community. But he added that he doesn’t want to single out greek students just because their social structure makes it easier to blame them.
“If you go to some other house where college students are drinking, you don’t have an organization to point to,” he said.
Drinking wasn’t always common in fraternity houses, said Dan Rodriguez, a former president of the Sigma Nu national organization.
Before about 1970, all fraternities had alcohol-free housing, he said.
There was alcohol at social functions outside of the house, but students rarely drank to the extent they do today, he said. After the Vietnam War, colleges began loosening those regulations.
“You just didn’t get drunk — it was frowned upon,” he said. “And nowadays it seems to be acceptable.”
Fraternity members have mixed feelings about a dry greek system.
Kappa Sigma president Jordan Fezler said members of his fraternity were shocked and upset after hearing the announcement last week that they would soon have to go dry.
“A lot of people care because it’s a right they had, and it’s been taken away,” he said.
Blake Clare, a member of Theta Chi, one of the five University fraternities that is already dry, said alcohol-free housing for all fraternities would make recruitment more fair. A significant number of the men who rushed his fraternity last year have since disaffiliated because they decided they didn’t want to live in a dry house, he said.
Still, he thinks that the policy would eventually have a negative affect on the greek system because now fewer men, especially those who are 21 and older, will want to live in a fraternity house.
“I think the UO is really hurting the greek system,” he said.
Keyon Maljai, president of Delta Sigma Phi, another fraternity that currently has alcohol-free housing, had the opposite reaction. While recruiting men who share their values may take a little longer, he said alcohol-free housing would benefit the greek system.
“Fraternities will be able to recruit more guys who are interested in the core values fraternities were founded on, instead of just people who like to drink all the time,” he said.
For members of Beta Theta Pi, if it comes down to going dry or giving up University recognition, they’ll choose to drop University affiliation, Lewis said. Their national fraternity office has already indicated that it won’t force them to comply with the University policy to remain part of the fraternity, he said, and they aren’t willing to give up their lifestyle, he said.
“It’s not like you can change people,” he said. “People will not stay in the house if we go dry.”
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