Mat Herron
U. of Kentucky Kernel
LEXINGTON, Ky. (U-WIRE) - Beginning next fall, University of Kentucky fraternities and sororities will no longer be allowed to have alcohol in their houses.
The UK Board of Trustees approved the new policy April 7 after months of discussions with student leaders regarding the board's resolution in October to re-examine its alcohol policy.
"The decision is timely," said Dean of Students David Stockham. "The process started back in the fall, and the intent was to curb the kinds of things that are hurtful to students. For me, the bottom line is students' safety."
Interfraternity Council officials had been hoping for a much longer time-span to adopt the policy but said they will work with it.
"We had been hoping for the year 2000, which seems to be a trend across the nation, but that's not what we got," said Marc Clegg, vice president for external relations for the IFC. "It's a very sudden change and we have to cope with it."
Some leaders say a dry Greek system was already a done deal, even before the UK board decision and a January Greek symposium on alcohol abuse.
Former IFC President Tony Hayden said he met with Stockham and other student life administrators in October to discuss going dry.
"From my view of it, they had already decided we were going dry," said Hayden, a political science senior and a member of Sigma Nu.
He said he foresees the new policy heaping a lot of pressure on fraternity presidents to straighten out their chapters, but also commended UK for being proactive.
"It will be interesting to see how people will react," he said.
This year, Greek systems were already moving in the dry direction because of high liability insurance, repeated violations of risk-management policies and a need to override the fraternity culture on campus, leaders say.
Phi Gamma Delta announced a new policy at the beginning of October to make all of its U.S. and Canadian fraternities dry by the year 2000.
"(UK's move) is a big help to us, because it contributes to changing the culture that needs to be changed," said Bill Martin, executive director of Phi Gamma Delta International, who spoke at the symposium.
Fraternity and campus leaders at UK and universities around the nation have cited the deaths of Benjamin Wynne at Louisiana State University and Scott Kreuger at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology last fall as two important reasons why Greek systems should adopt alcohol-free housing.
However, some argue that too much attention has been focused on the two incidents.
"There's an overemphasis," Epstein said. "These are not the first deaths. I don't think it's misplaced. It's deserved attention on a problem.
"Administrators are in a rough spot, too," he added. "They're concerned about their image - they don't want to lose their endowments, their next class."
One of the board's initiatives is to pump more money into alcohol education programs, Stockham said. Students who have run-ins with the school or the law because of alcohol abuse must take "Choices," a weekend class begun three years ago.
"The intent is to provide people with solid, factual information," Stockham said. "It's not a moralistic lecture."
The Student Government Association has also contacted several national chapters and asked them to come to talk about alcohol-free housing.
"It's such a shame that we have to wait until something like MIT and LSU happens," said SGA President Melanie Cruz. "I don't think that this is going to stop students from drinking, but possibly teach students how to drink responsibly."
Stockham agreed: "The university does not attempt to control the surrounding community, but we do think it is important to make decisions on a campus environment that reinforces students' success."