PAGE 2 — THE DECREE — APRIL 1994
Fraternities deciding party’s over
By SUNNI DeNICOLA
His head pounded as the fa
miliar smell of sour beer and stale
cigarettes seeped into his con
sciousness. Slowly the morning
light brought the remnants of last
night’s revelry into clear view.!
He was oh the floor in the middle
of what had been the newly re
furbished living room. Now it was
trashed, he felt sick.
This is the kind of experience
that more college' fraternities are
trying to avoid by going sub-
stance-free. Alcohol and parties i
often create potential liabilities
such as property damage, personal
injury, and assault. In serious
cases, ch^ters are suspended and
lawsuits are brought against both
the chapter and Uie national fra
ternity.
Now some fraternities are
changing their party-animal im
age by banning alcohol, drugs,
and cigarettes from the house and
from fraternity gatherings.
In early April, Alpha Tau
Omega (ATO) at Monmouth Col
lege, a small, liberal arts college
in Illinois, voted to become sub
stance-free, joining others such
as the ATO chapter at Indiana
University-Bloomington, Sigma
Chi at University of Maine, and
Lambda Chi Alpha chapters at
Northeastern State in Oklahoma,
Louisiana Tech, and Valparaiso
University in Indiana.
“The most important reason
we did this was for liability con
cerns,” says Kris Kline, President
of ATO at Monmouth. “With ev
eryone being so litigation-happy
we don’t want to put ourselves in
a position where we inadvertently
serve (alcohol to) a minor, or have
someone fall off our porch, hurt
themselves and sue the chapter. I
We risk losing the whole fr^er-
nity just for the sake of having a
party in our house. That’s not
worth it.”
Like most other substance-free
fraternities, ATO had a serious
wake-up call before making this
decision. When Kline joined
ATO, he concedes it had a bit of
the “Animal House” reputation.
He said they began having diffi
culties such as an outstanding debt
to the national fraternity and some
fire code violations due partly to
damage from hearty partying.
These problems led the na
tional ATO organization to step
in last year and remove most of
the membership. In the end, three
members remained. They quickly
pledged 11 members, the largest
class of any fraternity that year.
Soon they will move back into
their newly renovated house,
frmded with donations from ATO
alumni. Like some other groups,
a restored house was another fac
tor in going substance-free.
“We’re tired of cleaning up our
house after parties... the sticky
floors, cigarette butts stuck on I
your wall, people breaking stuff,
and showing total disrespect for
your living environment,” says
Kline. “So we are trying to elimi
nate that factor by taking away
the alcohol. People who aren’t
drunk usually don’t destroy
things.”
Kline says members want a
place where they aren’t ashamed
to bring their girlfriends or fam
ily members.
“If you can’t bring those
people into your fraternity, then
there’s something wrong; you are
hiding something that you seem
to value too highly,” he said.
The success of their brother
chapter at Indiana University en
couraged fraternity members in
the decision.
At Indiana University, ATO
was dissolved in 1992 as a result
of alcohol-related problems, cul
minating in the hospitalization of
two members for near-fatal alco
hol consumption. Their prized fra
ternity house was leased to an
other fraternity.
This motivated ATO alumni
to re-establish the chapter as sub-
stance-free, an idea they wanted
to test for some time. Because a
university sanction prohibited any
of the original members from
participating in the new chapter,
they had to start over completely.
In less than one year, they re
cruited 40 members and have the
distinction of being the first sub
stance-free organization at any
Big Ten institution. Next fall they
move back into their house.
“We believe a growing num
ber of college men want to live in
a substance-free enviroranent and
simply need to be provided that
opportunity in a Eternity set
ting,” says Wynn Smiley, direc
tor of communication for ATO
headquarters.
“A lot of people, many times
fw good reason, look at the frater
nity scene as totally revolving
around alcohol — party central. I
think that scares away some
people who would otherwise be
interested,” he said. “Offering a
substance-free envuronment al
lows those true benefits of a fra
ternity to rise to the top. They
still like to have a good time, but
the social aspect, the alcohol as
pect, is not all-consuming.”
Indiana’s administration, like
most, is very supportive of the
substance-free pledge. Richard
McKaig, dean of students, says it
is an effective “recruiting ploy”
in that it offers something differ
ent. ATO competes with 30 other
fraternity chapters on campus for
membership. He says it is a grow
ing trend nationwide for students
to request smoke-free housing and
adopt healthier lifestyles.
Still, McKaig acknowledges,
“many students wonder if it’s go
ing to work or even if they’ll live
up to the ideal they’ve stated. My
experience with the young men
involved is that they truly have a
commitment to that philosophy
and I think they definitely will be
living up to it.”
While not pressuring chapters
to go substance-free, the national
fraternities, where risk manage
ment is a top concern, also en
dorse the concept.
“ATO is going to be promot
ing substance-free at a greater
level based on what we know al
ready from watching Indiana’s
success,” says Smiley. “But we
don’t want to twist any arms. We
believe it will work only when
the men understand what is go
ing on in the chapter and they
want to be a part of the kind of
environment.”
Sigma Chi at the University of
Maine is another substance-free
success story. In 1991, the ch^
ter was nearly banned after host
ing a drunken bash where the
house was damaged, and later, a
woman alleged she was raped.
The chapter was already on pro
bation for previous alcohol viola
tions.
When the national Sigma Chi
announced it wanted the ch^ter
to go substance-free, all but one
member quit. When Tyler
Batteese (now graduated) and an
advisor began rebuilding the
chapter, few thought they would
succeed. Now Sigma Chi has 32
members, exceeding the average
membership of the 13 other canf-
pus fraternities. Even the frate&
nity house, that once brunt of
drunken melees, is being revital
ized. The chapter is investing
$250,000 in a total renovation.
Lambda Chi Alpha’s thr^e
chapters have similar stories. The
latest is at Valparaiso where tlTe
suspended chapter is being reor
ganized as substance-free. .
The chapter at Northeasteni
State in Oklahoma, founded as
substance-free in 1988, has been
successful, even during a rough
period when some members de
cided they no longer wanted to
be substance-free and left.
At Louisiana Tech, the ch^
ter decided to become substance-
free iri' 1992 when it began hav^
ing problems.
“They decided to get back to
their founding principles of high
academic stand^ds, gentlemanly
conduct, leadership development,
and lifelong friendships,” says
Walter Jenkins, director olf
communications and conferences
for Lambda Chi Alpha headquatr
ters. ‘TSTone of these things need
alcohol to h^pen.”
APOCALYPSE
NOW
April 23
9:30pm
April / ' 'j'
SATURDAY NIGHT
CINEMA
Each Saturday Night In Doe s
Top 10 reasons to enroll
in Summer School
at Wesleyan
10. Graduating in four year$iV5/^uld greatly please
dad and his checkbook.
9. Only a two-and-a-half hour drive to Atlantic or
Wrightsvllle Beach.
8. Beats living at home with parents.
7. Better-than, a summer.Job at the local
McGrea'^r si
6. College romances are steamier In the sum
mer.
5. Research has shown a direct, positive corre
lation between high humidity and improved
test scores.
4. Ice cream socials at the Vice President’s
houses.
3. After heavy summer rain, can go swimming in
pond in front of administration building.
2. Air conditioners droning in the classrooms
makes falling asleep in middle of lecture much
easier.
1. Moore’s Cafeteria in Battleboro serves chit
lins on Fridays.