Sigma Nu to dry up its act by 2000

Phi Delta Theta fraternity isn't making the move alone -- neighbor fraternity Sigma Nu will also become an alcohol-free house beginning in January of 2000.

Early last week, the national organization of Sigma Nu fraternity, 340 N. Burrowes Rd., notified each chapter that it is mandating all chapters to ban alcohol from their houses, said chapter president Dave Stead. Phi Delta Theta fraternity, 240 N. Burrowes Rd., also received a similar mandate from its national organization last week.

Members of the national organization have sent little information to chapters aside from the date when the goal should be completed, Stead said. The measure was passed earlier this year, but chapters were not notified of the regulation until last week.

"Unfortunately, they really haven't told us much yet," he said, adding that no one has outlined steps for the completion of the task.

Plans for achieving this goal will be in place by Fall 1997, said Brad Beacham, associate executive director of Sigma Nu national fraternity. By that time, he said, the national organization hopes to have created individualized plans for each chapter to follow.

"We're talking about a major cultural shift here," he said. Some chapters will be able to make the transition quickly, while others will need to achieve it more gradually, he said. Three-dozen chapters have already taken steps to become alcohol-free.

Because no plan is in place for the University's chapter, local members have refrained from forming a final opinion on the regulation.

"As of right now, we really haven't taken an official stance," Stead said. Chapter officers plan to speak with fraternity alumni in order to get their feedback before they take a position.

1995-96 chapter president Daniel Roberts said the national organization first made contact with the University during October 1995. At that time, officials were considering the policy and were soliciting chapter members' opinions about the policy.

"I was realistic with them," said Roberts, who no longer holds office but is still a member of the fraternity. If chapters across the nation became alcohol-free at the same time, the move would be easier, he said he told officials. Making the change alone would put a fraternity at a disadvantage when recruiting.

The recruitment process will need significant reorganization, Roberts said. Planning in conjunction with members of Phi Delta Theta fraternity will be helpful, he said, as both chapters begin to take steps toward becoming alcohol-free.

"We'll have to be more creative," he said.

Only after Fall Rush will fraternity members be able to assess student reaction to the regulation, Stead said. At that time, the number of new members will indicate to what extent students support the measure.

Improving the image of the fraternity is one of the national organization's top goals, Beacham said. The alcohol-free policy is intended to improve both scholarship and house conditions, he said.

"Fraternities have taken the abuse and brunt of the party scene over the past 25 years," he said. "We expect that within the next 10 years most fraternity homes will be free of alcohol."