by Maria Khan
Staff Writer
In an effort to reduce rising insurance fees and attract quality members, two national fraternities have taken steps to ban alcohol from all chapter homes.
The Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Nu fraternities have proposed policies that, if passed, will go into effect by the year 2000.
While Phi Delta Theta does not have a University of Houston chapter, Sigma Nu's Houston chapter has raised some questions about the policy.
Reasons cited for the policy are the costs of rising liability insurance rates and the decreasing number of men who join fraternities, wrote Sigma Nu executive director M.E. Littlefield in a memo. Other concerns include the poor academic performance associated with alcohol abuse, poor image and public relations problems and the decline of alumni support to collegiate chapters.
An article in USA Today on March 20 cited a 1995 Harvard study that found 86 percent of fraternity members and 80 percent of sorority members living in chapter houses are likely to engage in binge drinking vs. 45 percent of men and 36 percent of women who are not Greek.
"It's a noble effort and I acknowledge the problem. Ninety percent of problems stem from alcohol in the house," said Travis Bruns, Sigma Nu chapter commander.
However, he added, in an urban environment like Houston, the policy is not so effective.
"For this campus, I am not a supporter of substance-free housing," said Doug Miller, activities advisor at UH. "For legal reasons, it's great, for safety, it's not. I see students driving out 10 or 15 miles to Richmond and taking risks (with drinking and driving)."
Bruns said the UH chapter does not object to the policy, but wonders how it would suit this campus.
"If it can work here, we want to know how. Right now it's not apparent," he said. "It may be safer to drink at a place where you can stay all night. I don't know many bars that will put you up for the night if you get trashed."
In a memo to all chapter members, Littlefield said 36 chapters are presently alcohol free and that some have taken the "cold turkey" route. He added chapters can phase out alcohol by taking steps on a year-by-year basis.
In the first year, every other social function is supposed to be "dry." Also, the chapter should seek to have more functions at outside, licensed vendors instead of the chapter house.
In the second year, all alcohol should be eliminated from social functions and public areas of the house. This allows residents to privately consume alcohol in their own rooms.
By 2000, all alcohol should be eliminated from the chapter property.
"We'll be practical with it. I think it will help more than it will hurt. We're not going to stand up and rebel against it," Bruns said.
Miller predicted that the two fraternities leading the way in alcohol-free housing will create a snowball effect and said he expects other fraternities to follow suit.
The policy may have some effect on rush as no one is quite sure how potential pledges will react to an alcohol-free house.
"We won't get party animals, but maybe we don't necessarily want them," Bruns said. "A quality guy is not going to let alcohol at the house be the centerpiece of his decision."