Hard liquor is a favorite for college students on a night out. Next semester, hard liquors like vodka, rum and whiskey will no longer be allowed at frat parties and mixers. Starting Sep. 1, 2019 alcohol beverages above 15 % alcohol by volume will be banned at fraternity house events.
The interfraternity council implemented this program for all fraternities that are part of the NIC, North American Interfraternity Conference. This program instills rules for fraternities at a national level
President of the IFC and a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon, Fawzee Animashaun said, “We are the IFC, technically every IFC is supposed to be under NIC, so whatever policies NIC passes we have to follow more or less.”
The purpose of this rule is to make events at fraternity houses safer. Recently, there was a death due to binge drinking at Penn. State at a fraternity home. According to a Harvard study, 4 out of 5 greek life members are binge drinkers and about 2 out of 5 college students are binge drinkers.
An English Education major and member of Sigma Tau Gamma, Mike Vogel said, “The point of the regulation is to cut down on alcohol poisoning, injuries related to drinking and all problems that are related to binge drinking
Beer and wine are still allowed at parties and mixers. Vogel said this will make events more manageable. He has informed his chapter on how to enforce the new policy.
“My biggest question is how do they implement it to make sure no one isn’t bringing in alcohol above 15 %,” Taylor Hesseltine a broadcast journalism major and member of Alpha Epsilon Phi. said Each fraternity has to come up with their own rules to enforce this policy.
“We won’t allow people to carry around backpacks in our house so they can’t really conceal anything,” Vogel said. “we want to make sure that everything is on the floor.”
Sigma Tau Gamma will have someone monitoring the party. Brothers on sober duty will check to make sure no one is doing any suspicious.
“I totally see where they are coming from, trying to prevent drinking-related incidents, to be realistic most of it does happen when drinking hard liquor,” Hesseltine said.
This policy applies only to fraternities because sororities are not allowed to have parties.
“It’s a fraternity policy,” Animashaun said, “It’s not going to be implemented for sororities right now. It’s not going to be implemented on campus.”
Although rules have been put in place there is no set policy for discipline.
“There are not punishments in place, it will be on a situation basis,” Animashaun said.
Some rules are still being worked out. There is controversy over people 21 or older who live in the fraternity house not being able to have liquor in their own personal room.
“It’s still being figured out if it’s your own personal room, can you have alcohol there?” said Animashaun.
Animashaun wants people to know that this new policy is coming and it will be implemented next semester.
“If [people] are going to fraternity homes they should respect this policy,” said Animashaun.
