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[ Thursday, Sept. 30, 2004 ]

Alcohol, liability plague greeks
Collegian in-depth

By Alison Herget email
Collegian Staff Writer

On a returning visit to his fraternity, Sigma Pi, Harry Eberly encountered a few surprises.

At 3 p.m. on a weekday, garbage cans remained turned over by the front stoop. A children's swimming pool sat on the side of the house, apparently used as a cooler at a party the night before. Empty beer cans and orange-juice bottles sat on the floor inside the house.

"It seemed more like a party house than a fraternity," said Eberly, a 1945 Penn State alumnus who was a member of Sigma Pi fraternity, 303 Fraternity Row. "That's not the same place I remember."

All fraternities have long grappled to peel off this "party-house" stereotype. However, the label is unfitting for the entire greek system because only a few fraternities routinely cause problems, Interfraternity Council (IFC) President Andy Hackett said.

"I would say that it is definitely a minority that gives a bad name to the majority," Hackett said.

Greek organizations across the nation are receiving more pressure from local and university officials who say fraternities need to clean up their acts and improve risk-management procedures.

Recently implemented programs such as the State College Police Department's Source Investigation Project (SIP) are aimed at reducing liquor-law violations, but fraternities are worried they may be unfairly targeted.

National fraternity organizations are introducing more specific risk-management guidelines in hopes of reducing mounting insurance costs. Some alumni, such as Eberly, have decided to stop making donations to their fraternities until members start concentrating less on partying and more on developing leadership and community service.

The cumulative pressure could drive some local fraternity chapters to develop a BYOB policy similar to those at other universities, Hackett said, although such a move would probably not come to Penn State while current students are here.

Risk management at social events is a phenomenon that fraternities have always adopted, but the idea has only recently picked up speed, said Jared Brown, assistant director of fraternity and sorority life.

"Fraternities are starting to say, 'If we're going to do this, we have to make sure we're doing it right and are fully aware of the consequences,' " he said.

Amid concerns about diminishing liability, some Penn State fraternity chapters may choose to adopt a BYOB policy, Hackett said. If introduced at Penn State, the policy would most likely be adopted on a chapter-by-chapter basis and would require partygoers to bring their own alcohol to social events.

Currently, chapter funds cannot be used to purchase alcohol and many people already choose to bring their own alcohol to parties, Hackett said. Sources contacted for this story declined to comment further about the source of money for alcohol at fraternity events.

Kerry Small, Penn State chapter adviser for Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE), 200 E. Beaver Ave., said many fraternities also follow third-party guidelines, where an outside caterer furnishes alcohol. Small said some chapters are also looking at policies that would require fraternities to be dry on weekdays. Some chapters may also opt to limit party size, he said.

Cornell University has had a BYOB policy in effect for its 39 on-campus fraternities for more than a year, said Brian Strahine, assistant dean of greek affairs at Cornell.

The old alcohol policy only allowed a single provider to furnish alcohol to fraternities. The university's IFC decided to adopt the new policy after the provider had trouble renewing its liquor license for alleged violations of New York liquor laws.

Strahine said the BYOB policy has worked well to curb alcohol-related incidents at fraternities.

"Our biggest challenge right now is getting chapters to comply with the rule," Strahine said.

Hackett added he was unsure if and when Penn State chapters might start adopting a BYOB policy.

While misuse of alcohol is often considered the source of many problems at fraternities, Hackett reiterated there are few chapters that consistently violate university and IFC policy.

Within these chapters, he said, there are usually select people that cause problems.

He said he could not comment on which chapters seem to have continuing troubles. Hackett said violations are often a result of members not being educated about rules and regulations -- a problem compounded by the fact that people are only at the university for a short time, which makes frequent re-education necessary.

Brown said he sees the size of Penn State's greek system as beneficial, even though it often makes education of all members difficult.

"We have a great system of uncapped potential," Brown said.

He said he feels that there are about 12 to 15 fraternities that focus too much on the social aspect of greek life and not enough on the leadership and service .

Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said he agrees that all fraternities should not be given a negative stereotype and encourages fraternity members to do more to publicize the positive side of greek life.

"We have a broad range of fraternities," he said. "Some are very responsible, and some have been at the center of some problems."

Mahon added that State College's alcohol problem is not limited to fraternities, although these are often the places that get the most blame when alcohol-related incidents occur.

The SIP is one effort aimed at combating alcohol-related violations. The 18-month pilot program was started in January by the department after it received a grant from the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB).

Under the program, officers are given overtime pay to investigate alcohol-related incidents. Investigations primarily target the source of alcohol, as opposed to putting more time and effort into giving citations for underage drinking, State College Police Sgt. Dana Leonard said.
GRAPHIC: Sara Parris/Collegian
GRAPHIC: Sara Parris/Collegian
SOURCE: State College Police Dept.

SIP has not caused chapters to change their ways about safety, just double-check risk-management procedures and question their association with high-risk behaviors, Hackett said.

"Fraternities are starting to ask, 'Are we comfortable with where we stand on risk?' " Hackett said.

Of all the cases investigated through SIP, fraternities have received less than half of the violations, Leonard said.

Hackett said it is a good idea to implement a program to combat underage drinking and is necessary in a town with such a young population.

However, since the program's start in January, some fraternity members have felt they were being unfairly targeted, Hackett said.

"When [the police] describe what they are looking for, they don't say the word 'fraternity,' " Hackett said. "But it seems like fraternity parties are essentially what they are describing."

He feels the nature of fraternity events may draw police to the functions.

"The police think that because of the size of our functions that they are inherently more dangerous," Hackett said. "But that's not necessarily always the case."

Some national fraternity organizations are continuing to take action to ensure local chapters comply with rules from higher-ups and local officials.

It is an idea that has only gained momentum recently as more fraternities understand the specifics about risk management, said Tim Samp, associate risk manager for the SAE fraternity national organization.

"In the 1980s, fraternities were more lax with their policies," he said. "Now fraternities are learning to take more responsibility for their actions."

A primary concern for the national organization is to make sure fraternities and those who attend their social events are safe, he said.

"But fraternities also realize that there's money to be lost when something goes wrong," he added.

Samp said SAE recently rewrote its risk-management policy, a set of rules by which all chapters must abide.

The code was rewritten and reorganized to eliminate vague terms and create a more aesthetically pleasing online resource for fraternity members that wish to review risk-management policies. SAE's policy makes suggestions for responsible social planning. Tips include electing a risk manager to oversee safety procedures and involving alumni in planning and controlling social events. Other suggestions include hiring professional security staff to supervise functions.

While the national organizations have their own policies, he added it is imperative local chapters stick to IFC and university rules and regulations.

"For insurance reasons, it is more important that they follow university policies," Samp said.

Criminal and reckless behavior occurring at some fraternities also leads to high insurance costs, adding to calls to make fraternity activities safer to defray rising premiums.

About 60 percent of claims received by Kirklin & Co., an Omaha, Neb.- company that insures about 50 national fraternity organizations, are alcohol-related, said Rich Jungman, client services and claims manager.

Insuring a single fraternity member through Kirklin & Co. costs anywhere from about $150 to $300 a year, Jungman said.

Prices depend on a fraternity's history of high-risk behaviors, he said. Its number and type of past insurance claims also determines current insurance prices, he said. He said insurance companies consider fraternities in a high-risk category because of the behavior typically associated with them.

"Only very few risks are considered a higher liability risk than a fraternity and one of those is a toxic waste hauling company," Jungman added.

He attributes the cost of fraternity insurance to activities such as binge drinking, assaults and other accidents.

Insurance companies set a base price for coverage, then local chapters often give bonuses to members to offset the costs, he said. Some houses reduce chapter dues by giving bonuses for good grades and participation in alcohol-education classes.

Tom Kravulski, president of Alpha Gamma Rho, 322 Fraternity Row, said the fraternity is introducing incentives for this semester's pledge class. The program will give money to those who receive the best test grade on a given week, he said.

Alumni play a crucial role in keeping local fraternity chapters alive and well. And some, like Eberly, said they are frustrated that current members seem more consumed with partying rather than developing leadership roles and focusing on academics.

Eberly said he wants to see fraternities spend less money on parties and more on enhancing social programs like those that existed in the post-World War II era.

"I joined a fraternity because there was the opportunity for a lot of interaction with people and the chance to take on leadership roles," he said. "That was the best course I took at Penn State."

Eberly said his time at Sigma Pi taught him core values, which were especially valuable when he took a job in New York as an engineer.

The only way to clean up the current situation is to start over with new leaders who care more about fraternity life than throwing drinking parties, he said.

"Instead of starting new chapters, what we need to do is get good people with core values to re-charter our fraternities," he said.

Brown, the assistant greek life director, said wiping leadership slates clean might not be necessary. The solution may lie in educating those already in charge.

"We need to start embracing our role as leaders," Brown said. "If we can start gaining more respect outside the social realm, we'd blow every other greek system in the country out of the water."

GRAPHIC: Sara Parris/Collegian
GRAPHIC: Sara Parris/Collegian
SOURCE: Kirkland and Company


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