In an attempt to ease the ongoing crackdown on Tufts' fraternity and off-campus parties, students and administrators are working on a plan to provide police details to weekend events. The proposal would reduce dissatisfaction with campus social life, as well as liability issues that were raised in court cases against two fraternity presidents at Tufts.
The Committee of Fraternities and Sororities (CFS) is meeting this Friday to work out the details on a proposal that would have the University pay police officers to monitor three fraternity parties on each of the three weekend nights.
The proposal, which could be implemented as early as the beginning of next semester, makes the detail officers responsible for ensuring that fraternities adhere to the required guidelines for parties. The officers would guarantee that mechanisms are in place for controlling parties, such as a guest list and identification bracelets differentiating who is legally allowed to drink, but would not be allowed to enter the house unless they have probable cause.
"The fraternities are seeing this as a flexible option," Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said. "If there's an officer at the event, chances are it's not going to get closed early." However, there may be some further barriers on the police department side of the deal.
Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) officers have traditionally opposed such assignments because they require working long shifts at late hours. Additionally, assigning one officer to ensure safety at these parties could possibly switch significant liability issues from the fraternities and the University to the detail officers.
Having the officers at the parties would decrease the likelihood that future charges will be brought against fraternity presidents, Reitman said. "There is some shared responsibility for the event. It also reduces the exposure of the fraternity presidents... It will be more possible for them to keep control through a shared oversight of the event," he said.
Under the proposal, fraternities will decide how to create a system for determining who will have parties when, in order to coordinate with the TUPD.
"All the checks being put in place will make parties possible, but it's going to be a little different than it has been," Inter-Greek Council Vice President Louis Reines said. "The nature of all this policy change essentially will lead to parties becoming smaller." Advanced planning and registering will also be necessary.
Reines said that although having officers monitor parties is not an ideal situation, it is a good way to compromise the University's concerns about liability with the students' desire for social outlets.
"I'd really like it if we could just have parties like they were last year and the year before that," he said. "But, with the MIT incident and issues of liability, this is a necessary consequence. If it's going to save social life on campus, I think people will be willing to compromise a little."
Tufts Community Union Senate Vice President Eric Greenberg, also a member of the CFS, hopes that the plan will help fraternities hold controlled parties so that police detail is no longer needed. However, he said that other steps need to be taken to provide students with non-alcoholic social outlets.
"We don't have a Division I basketball team or Division I football team that everyone goes to watch," he said. "The administration should create something here."
Reitman noted that he is assembling a committee to look at other ways to improve social life on campus, including increasing programming and extending hours of venues such as Hotung Caf?©. It has also been suggested that the University and the Senate partner with an outside business to sponsor a bus service to downtown Boston.
"I don't think people should be forced to find social life off campus, but it may be part of the solution," Reitman said.
