Ending a long Greek social tradition, sororities will no longer mix with fraternities at fraternity houses if alcohol is served.
Almost all of the University's 16 sororities' national chapters have passed policies prohibiting mixers at fraternity houses with alcohol. The University's chapters will have to comply with the new policy this fall, or else face harsh penalties from their national chapters.
The new rules follow a resolution made by the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) last year.
The resolution is known as Resolution 2000 because houses had until the fall of this year to comply with the rule. The NPC is an umbrella organization for 26 national sororities, including the 16 sororities at the University.
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Although the sororities at the University are unique because they are governed by the Inter-Sorority Council and not NPC, the sororities' national offices have forced them to comply with NPC's resolution regardless of the particular situation here.
If a sorority does not comply, it could lose its house and its charter.
ISC president Allison White said the exact policy is confusing because there are three groups of sororities with slightly different national policies. White would not name specific sororities.
Twelve of the 16 houses that now comprise the ISC are not allowed to attend mixers at fraternity houses where alcohol is being served.
Two houses are not allowed to mix with fraternities that are not completely alcohol free.
Two houses support the alcohol-free initiative but presently are still allowed to drink at mixers.
White said she anticipates that eventually all houses will have the same rule: no alcohol at fraternity house mixers.
At some point, the ISC's Sorority Presidents Council may look into adopting a blanket statement concerning drinking at mixers, she said, so all sororities follow the same policy and are not subject to different guidelines according to what each national chapter stipulates, she said.
"Fairness is an issue," she added.
For instance, Zeta Tau Alpha's national policy gives its house until 2001 to comply with the rule, but for most houses it has been in effect since July, which may create an unfair situation for other sororities that now need to go along with stricter national policies.
A few sororities voted at their house meetings on Sunday and Monday night whether they wanted to follow a house-wide ISC policy or their own national rules concerning alcohol, White said.
Right now, she added, the ISC is reviewing individual chapters' policies and sorting out various definitions of "co-sponsor" and other vague words in the NPC resolution.
White said ISC has been communicating with the Inter-Fraternity Council to educate fraternity members about the sororities' new rules.
IFC President Justin Saunders said he does not think the fraternity social scene will change drastically as a result of Resolution 2000.
"This does not mean fraternities can't have parties," Saunders said. "The nature of fraternity parties will be changing."
Since the social climate here is so unique, the new policy has been more controversial at the University than nationally, and has caused some upset in the sorority system, White said.
"There's some uncertainty in the air," she said, adding that some sororities may find the situation intimidating.
White said many sorority-sponsored events will move off-Grounds to restaurants, hotels or bars where a third party vendor will be serving alcohol.
Because of the expense of renting out space for parties, she said many sorority members are concerned about higher dues.
Houses may have fewer functions, but they will be better planned and more creative, and hopefully will continue to provide a viable social outlet for sorority members, she added. Another concern of moving parties off-Grounds is that there may be higher instances of drunk driving if people have longer distances to travel.
White said the ISC has also been communicating with the Office of the Dean of Students and that Asst. Dean of Students Aaron Laushway has given "lots of encouragement and support."
National sorority organizations have been pushing strongly to end alcohol at mixers for some time.
Resolution 2000 "is a result of a changing atmosphere in the Greek system at large," White said.
"It is a result of national sororities deciding not only to return to founding principles, but also to distance themselves from alcohol consumption," she said. Nationals want to change some of the prevailing negative stereotypes of the Greek system, she added.
While the new resolution probably will not affect sorority rush this spring, in the long run, sororities will begin to attract a different kind of woman, one who is looking for an experience which includes things other than alcohol, White said.
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