Purdue News

January 20, 2000 Greeks try to erase stigma, re-emphasize leadership, academics Thomas B. Robinson The trustees at Dartmouth University – the school whose Greek organizations inspired the movie Animal House – are about to consider allowing only seniors and juniors to live in fraternity and sorority houses. A committee of students, alumni and trustees also recommended that Dartmouth tighten controls on alcohol at Greek parties. While Dartmouth considers these measures, though, a quiet revolution is under way on college campuses nationwide that may make such steps unnecessary. Fraternities, one by one, are redefining themselves. More and more are banning alcohol from their houses. They are emphasizing brotherhood, community service, leadership and academics – basically the goals and purposes on which they were founded. Already at Purdue, five fraternity chapters are "substance free." Four more will join them this year. In the next five years, we expect half of our fraternities to have banned alcohol in their houses. And even those that still permit alcohol at house parties are adhering to new guidelines that are even stricter than those set by the university. All Purdue sororities already prohibit alcohol in their houses. Beginning in the fall, most Purdue sororities will not co-sponsor parties with alcohol at fraternity houses. Some of the reasons for this change are altruistic. Some are just common sense. Several dynamics are at work: • Membership is down. At Purdue this fall more than 4,750 of our 30,835 undergraduates belonged to fraternities or sororities, making the membership one of the largest on any campus in the country, but down 17 percent from the 5,750 members a decade ago. The 59 Greek chapters with houses at West Lafayette are at about 80 percent occupancy overall. You could count on one hand the number of men's houses that are full. If the nation's fraternities and sororities are to survive, they must ask some hard questions and redefine their mission to make themselves attractive to new members. • Drinking-related deaths and injury on college campuses nationwide have been well publicized. Although there haven't been any deaths directly related to alcohol at Purdue, the tragedies have been so widespread nationally that students have come to understand that they can strike any campus. Insurance companies also have noticed in their bottom lines and have raised rates for houses that are not good risks. • Market forces also are at work. Universities have revamped their residence halls, emphasizing customer satisfaction, and campus housing is now seen as an attractive alternative to Greek housing. Landlords and developers who provide off-campus housing also are offering a wider variety of options. Fortunately, the officers who lead the national Greek organizations are responding aggressively to these dynamics, and the new bans on alcohol and hazing for all their local chapters are part of that response. The Greek national officers also are working collaboratively with universities, a welcome change in relationships that previously had been strained. How will banning alcohol help? Alcohol-free houses will attract a different sort of person to fraternities. Instead of pledges looking just for parties, they will be interested in friendship, community service, leadership and academics. And because they aren't spending as much on alcohol, Greek organizations can instead spend the money on needed repairs and improvements to their houses to improve the quality of their living conditions. One might ask why universities don't just ban alcohol at Greek events. Although Greek houses at Purdue are not university property, their status in Indiana as a student organization under supervision of the university makes them tax exempt. That tax exemption gives the university leverage over the conduct of the group as a whole, but not over individuals. The university no longer can exercise in loco parentis, disciplining with the same authority as a parent, when dealing with the conduct of students who are legally adults. In addition, students are much more likely to follow rules they help set and/or agree to themselves rather than those imposed by the university. But the reasoning goes beyond that. Any time the university bans a popular activity, you can expect students will merely move it off campus. In this case, parties would be moved to apartments, bars and hotels. We'd see more drinking and driving, loud parties in the community and sophisticated "alarm" systems in the fraternities. Student drinking in a completely uncontrolled environment also is more prone to lead to vandalism and even major disturbances. So, rather than prohibiting all alcohol, the Purdue Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association as well as many of the areas with the Office of the Vice President for Student Services have worked together to educate and counsel students so they will make mature choices. Purdue has more than a dozen programs in place to this end, many of them very innovative such as a court-referral counseling program and an interactive video computer program, Alcohol 101. The Greek organizations have gone even further. Led by Alpha Tau Omega, more than a dozen chapters sponsored an alcohol-free party at the Purdue Armory for the weekend of the Purdue vs. Notre Dame football game last fall. It was a terrific success. In 1998, they tightened their own regulations campuswide in an attempt to closely monitor and control legal consumption of alcohol at their parties. I am personally very proud of our Greek leadership, students who have stood up to their peers and led them in a positive direction. While the Greeks clean out their own nests, parents also can play a role. When your son or daughter shows an interest in pledging, ask the chapter or the Office of the Dean of Students for a report on the academic and disciplinary standings of that chapter. Ask for a summary of the community service the chapter performs. Some are involved in extraordinarily worthwhile projects –such as the United Way, Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross, or aid to struggling peoples in underdeveloped countries such as Haiti. Or, visit the Greek Web sites. At Purdue, you can go to www.purdue.edu/greek. Our Greek chapters need help from our alumni, too. Many alumni are rewarding chapters that show responsibility by contributing toward computers, computer networks and scholarships. A few alumni, though, have the wrong concept. Some who belonged in the late '60s, '70s and '80s – who rode the wave of freedom let loose by the repeal of in loco parentis – sometimes see nothing wrong with alcohol-centered behavior today. These alumni need to understand that today's students are different. They have watched the party pendulum swing too far and have seen the consequences of alcohol abuse and hazing. And they understand that with freedom comes responsibility. They realize that fraternities and sororities must change. These courageous student leaders need our support. Thomas B. Robinson is the vice president for student services at Purdue University To the Purdue News and Photos Page