Cheers, Boos as Fraternity Rush Week Goes Dry
The college fraternity, one of the last bastions of Bacchanalian revelry, may never be the same.
Across the country, college campuses are opting for “dry rush,” meaning no alcohol can be served during the period of open parties designed to attract new members.
But where dry rush goes, controversy follows. Last week it was UCLA’s turn after the school’s Interfraternity Council voted Sept. 4 for the policy, 12 to 8, with 20 of the 30 campus fraternities casting ballots.
Renting a Bus
Some dissenters hadn’t changed their minds about it weeks later. At the Alpha Tau Omega house, for instance, a yellow school bus was rented last Thursday evening so that students could be driven off campus in search of booze (the dry policy applied only to serving alcohol in the houses in the open with potential members present). Plastered on the side of the bus was a handmade sign that read, “If dry rush is heavan (sic), then we’re going to hell!”
“It was the house’s idea to do this,” explained fraternity president Karl Wolff, 21. “We voted against a completely dry rush. Most all other campuses that are doing it went into it gradually. If we had had more time we could have put a lot more effort into the (rush) party. But (when the vote was taken) people were on vacation, and there wasn’t enough time to plan anything.”
‘It’s an Addition’
While admitting that dry rush is “a positive step for the Greek system,” Wolff added: “Alcohol isn’t necessary (at a fraternity party), but it’s an addition. We like to see pledges in all types of atmospheres, athletics, scholastics, and social events.”
Not content to comply with the campus council’s ruling nor wishing to face disciplinary action, Phi Kappa Sigma moved its party from the fraternity house to a crowded private apartment a few blocks away where beer was being served. (Rush chairman Michael Barron, 21, said alcohol was being served because it was a non-rush party not held in the fraternity house.)
Farther down fraternity row, at Theta Delta Chi, a few couples were on the dance floor and others were playing cards or talking. Cups of Coke or Sprite were the only drinks in evidence. “I personally don’t mind there not being any alcohol,” said Marlon Marquez, a 17-year-old freshman and rushee. “The fact that there’s no alcohol allows guys to be themselves.”
At the Beta Theta Pi house the door was open, but the party was elsewhere; the fraternity had decided to bus people to a small convention hall downtown for a “low-key dancing party,” as president Scott Varner put it. “We made the decision (to have the party off-campus) to try and break the monotony of rush, if you will.” He added that the fraternity did not provide alcohol, but it was available at the hall and some did drink. “There was a little bit of drinking, but it was controlled,” he said. “The central theme wasn’t alcohol; it was a dancing party.”
Liability a Factor
The night before, Varner had been extolling the virtues of going dry. While a big screen TV behind him played “Animal House,” he explained that not only did he vote for dry rush as a member of the Intrafraternity Council but that he had called the rush activities “more wholesome” without alcohol. Liability was a factor in his decision; last April at a non-rush-week Beta party, then-freshman football player Mike Beech tumbled 12 feet off a balcony, nearly losing his life. He required 14 hours of surgery and although has made a remarkable recovery, his plans to play football again are on hold.
While there was no evidence that drinking contributed to the fall, the incident was “part of motivation about voting for dry rush,” Varner said. “Why increase the chances for liability?”
Farther on down the row, Zeta Psi was having no trouble attracting people with its loud balcony Hawaiian luau party. “Alcohol or not, they’ll come by,” said fraternity president Suresh Krishnamurthy, a 19-year-old junior who was sure that music and plenty of girls could still draw a crowd. “Alcohol is not the emphasis here,” he added. “It’s on good, solid entertainment, and good food. We do a lot of serious rushing.”
One pledge, 18-year-old Donald Fried, said: “I didn’t know it was dry until I got here, and it didn’t make a difference.”
And at Lambda Chi Alpha, which had originally voted against dry rush, president Tom Neiger, 22, now seemed convinced of its merits. “Things are so much better this way,” he said. “We’re meeting guys who are serious about rushing, and we don’t have as much of the riffraff that we had in the past.”
Liability, riffraff, complaints from the community and a nation-wide trend toward drinking less have all had an effect on campuses going dry. USC has been dry for three years, and this year’s rush chairman, 21-year-old Todd Nelson, said, “The drop-out rate (for the fraternities) is much less.” As to the liability factor, he said, “If you have alcohol at rush, people might get hurt, and the frats end up being liable.”
Fewer Complaints
Since dry rush was implemented, Nelson said, complaints from the community about noise have gone down, and the image of the Greek system is improving. (At UCLA and some other campuses, sororities have always had a ban on alcohol in the house.)
Other local campuses that have had dry rush for at least a year include Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Fullerton. Cal State Northridge also was dry for the first time this fall; frats there report greater numbers of pledges and fewer party crashers, and all say it’s been easier to scout potential fraternity brothers without either party being in a drunken haze.
The National Interfraternity Conference, a federation of 59 men’s fraternities, adopted a resolution two years ago to promote only lawful and moderate use of alcohol at parties, especially during rush week. So far an estimated 100 campuses have gone dry, with several others considering it.
At UCLA the issue of dry rush had come up initially last spring quarter, where the Interfraternity Council, the governing body for campus fraternities, talked about variations on an all-dry rush. While the first night of rush has been dry for the past five years, it’s the rest of the week that had administration and alumni concerned.
Noisiest Week
Rush week is typically the noisiest week for the frat houses, which are on the west side of the Westwood campus. That area is dense with students (5,000 to 6,000 of the school’s 30,000 undergraduates are part of the Greek system), and their neighbors are professionals who live in high-rent apartments and homes. The frats have been the bane of the neighborhood for years.
According to Chris Fishburn, a UCLA assistant dean and director of fraternity and sorority relations, fraternity problems “in the last five years (have risen) markedly, in terms of social irresponsibility and health and safety standards. Within the chapters the fraternities are involved with philanthropic organizations, but they have a growing problem with the community. I get 15 to 20 calls a day from people in the community who are kept awake half the night. Some of this comes with youth, not caring a whole lot about the perception of your organization.”
At UCLA, dry rush was brought up initially by the campus administration and backed by fraternity alumni, said Jordan Kitaen, 19, IFC vice president and member of Sigma Chi and a supporter of dry rush. Since the UCLA administration sponsors rush week, which is open to all UCLA students, the university is potentially liable for damages that occur during rush.
Although the final vote for dry rush was not unanimous, Kitaen said, “No one was against the concept. The presidents know all the facts and figures and are responsible for their houses. The arguments against it were in going to it this quickly. They said, give us a few months, give us one more semi-dry rush, then we’ll go dry the following quarter.”
While fraternity members admit that rowdy parties are a part of Greek life, they’re tired of the “Animal House” stereotype that has plagued them for years.
Greeks as well as health officials point out that drinking and drug use are no worse in the fraternities than in dormitories. And at UCLA, fraternity members are proud of their numerous philanthropic achievements, including work on blood drives, the UCLA Mardi Gras, Special Olympics and Alcohol Awareness Week; all of which, they say, tend to be overlooked.
