The word "fraternity" brings to mind the alcohol-fueled debauchery of the classic college film Animal House, but fraternities across the nation, Tufts included, are attempting to change that image.
According to the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), an organization that oversees communication between over 60 national fraternities, "the 20th century fraternity is no more."
The organization has passed a new set of standards this year that "will propel fraternities to be who we say we are" and includes guidelines on communicating to members information on alcohol consumption, sexual assault, hazing, and values and ethics.
The NIC has no official governing or judicial power over its member fraternities to enforce its standards, however.
Independent studies consistently show that members of fraternities and sororities experience higher incidences of alcohol abuse than non-members and are more likely to be binge drinkers.
Some colleges have gone so far as to ban fraternities from campus, including Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Middlebury, and Colby, all members of the New England Small College Athletic Conference.
Some of these colleges still have "underground" fraternities, which reside off-campus.
Many national fraternities have taken definitive action and enacted alcohol-free housing policies.
"This [alcohol-free housing] has happened with 11 different men's national frats, of which we happen to have a chapter of Theta Chi," Tufts Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Todd Sullivan said. "There are many other frats that do not have chapters here that have also made decisions like this."
Sullivan said the new regulations have to do with the safety of Greek members and guests as well as liability insurance. "Studies have shown that alcohol-free frat houses have far fewer incidents largely because alcohol is often a factor in many incidents that happen," he said.
But Dave Westol, executive director of the National Theta Chi Organization, refuted the claim that liability had played a factor in the decision. "The primary reason was to get back to our values, to what we believe in, and to what we say we believe in," he said.
The change was "all about recruitment," Westol said. "It's [to attract] the guys who say 'yeah I can party, I can have a good time, but I am joining the frat for other reasons than simply having a social place.'"
Westol said that such prospective members "are less inclined to take the risks, to do dumb things, and more inclined to be a little more responsible."
The change in policy only bans the use of alcohol in fraternity housing. "We repeat and repeat and repeat that we are not an alcohol-free frat," Westol said. "Our chapters can have as many parties as they want. They just have to be held according to our policy, not in the house or on our property."
The policy was decided at Theta Chi's 1998 convention, which was composed of delegates from every active chapter as well as alumni delegates.
Jim Maxwell, president of Tufts Theta Chi chapter, pointed out that the policy "was voted to go into effect five years later, which was conveniently after all of the undergraduates that voted in favor would have graduated."
The policy change has affected parties held at Tufts' Theta Chi, but Maxwell said "it's still the same group of guys. We still like going out and having fun. The policy has just changed what we can and cannot do within our chapter."
Maxwell also spoke to the policy's positive side. "As a result, we have been able to make improvements to our house that we would not have done if we were still having large parties inside," he said.
Westol said Theta Chi has reaped the benefits of banning alcohol on fraternity property at the national level.
"For Theta Chi and for other groups the challenge now is to find other social events they can have that don't focus around alcohol," Sullivan said. "It's a continuing challenge."
Theta Chi is planning a "battle of the bands" in the coming weeks. Delta Tau Delta (DTD), which is alcohol-free this semester due to violations of Tufts' rush policy, "already had a couple of alcohol-free social events. They're really working hard to do that," Sullivan said.
Sullivan has also emphasized creating a positive Greek influence in the community since being hired last year.
"The Greeks have done a very good job over the last year of buying into the focus on increased community service and leadership opportunities, and there have been fewer risk-management violations," Sullivan said.
But many students are dubious that the change in official policies will have an effect on the realities of alcohol abuse on campus social life. "As long as there's a critical mass of hard-drinking frats, I think we'll be OK," sophomore Frank Curren said.
"The only draw of a frat for me is the free beer," said one student, who wished to remain anonymous. "You won't catch me in one of those dank basements without some booze in me," he said.
"There is a national movement amongst fraternity and sorority headquarters staff and campus advisors to return to values-based activities and living in congruence with our guiding principles," said Megan Johnson, Dartmouth's assistant director of Coed, Fraternity, Sorority, Undergraduate and Senior Society Administration.
"We are seeing increased numbers of community service hours and money donated," she said.
"This is extremely promising as we are often faced with the not so positive images of Greek life," Johnson said, calling to mind the popular dorm room poster of John Belushi downing a bottle of hard alcohol with the word "COLLEGE" emblazoned across his chest. Dartmouth is infamous for its fraternal exploits, rumored to have inspired the film Animal House, from which the image comes.
At colleges where fraternities have been banned, Greeks say that not much has changed. Michael Harrison, an alumnus of Amherst's Theta Delta Chi - known as "123" at Tufts - said "the only difference was the off-campus aspect of it, because we are recognized by the national organization and are in every other respect a 'normal' fraternity."
"It's basically a benign relationship where the college pretends we don't exist as long as we don't do anything stupid," Harrison said.
At Harvard, fraternity life is "off the radar screen at this point," according to Judith Kidd, associate dean of Harvard College and director of Student Activities.
"It is my observation that [Greek activity] seems to be increasing," Kidd said. Harvard's Committee on College is convening a group to discuss policy changes regarding Greek life.
But Kidd does not see reinstatement of university-recognized fraternities as a possibility. "I frankly think that any school that does not have a Greek system would not consider starting one, and I know we're not seriously considering that here," she said.
The NIC study found that "negativity about Greek Organizations grows with time among undergraduates, particularly among [non-members]. As would be expected, Greeks are more positive about their organizations than are [non-members], but even upper-class Greek students become more negative."
But fraternities may be improving their behavior with or without official stimulus. A study published in March in the Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education compared Greek behavior between 2000 and 1994 and reported, "Overall, the fraternity and sorority members who responded to the 2000 survey appear to be a much more responsible group in terms of their alcohol use and experienced fewer alcohol-related consequences [than the 1994 respondents]."
"While there is much work needed to reduce heavy alcohol consumption among fraternity and sorority members, there has been some important progress made in that very direction," the study concluded.
Despite these changes, Sullivan said "the founding principles and ideals of the organizations are resolute. They are the same from when these groups were founded 50 or 100 years ago."<$>
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@conthead:Students unsure whether frat changes will affect on-campus drinking
