Greeks vote on stricter party rules for safety

By Katie Cattell, For The Miami Student

In accordance with recent issues, both the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and the Panhellenic Association are voting to make some changes to their social policies. These changes, if passed, are intended to hold the Greek community more accountable for their actions while still allowing them to have a good time.

Colleen Blevins, associate director of the Cliff Alexander Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and Leadership, explained the motivation behind the new policy.

"We want [to create] this social policy that puts those safety measures in place and allows the events that are already happening to continue to happen, but with the extra safety," said Blevins.

The new policy will require chapters to register social events at their chapter and annex houses ahead of time and arrange to have a third party vendor serve alcohol and a third party security team present to check IDs and look out for underage drinking.

These changes will theoretically prevent underage drinking as well as reckless mixing of alcohol by individuals.

In recent years, multiple fraternities and sororities have been put on social probation or have been removed from campus entirely after violating the student code of conduct.

Beta Theta Pi fraternity closed its Alpha chapter last year after being found guilty of hazing and alcohol abuse. Alpha Xi Delta is the only sorority currently listed on the Cliff Alexander website as being off-campus for the time being, after its chapter was found to have violated student code of conduct in regards to the misuse of alcohol.

Currently, Sigma Phi Epsilon is under summary suspension pending its hearing with the Office of Student Ethics and Conflict Resolution (OESCR). Until a decision has been reached, its charges cannot be disclosed.

However, Zach Scheid, president of the Inter Fraternity Council (IFC) said he doesn't believe that problems in Greek life have increased.

"I think there hasn't necessarily been change in their policy from the university standpoint, I think it's an increase in reporting," Scheid said. "We've started to understand that the social culture has changed nationally and we need to change with it. And I think that the increased reporting and the increased scrutiny have stemmed from what many may view as a crackdown, but is in fact is just us adjusting to the social changes."

Some members of the community are skeptical of the proposed changes. Among them is sophomore Rosie Leuby.

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"People are going to drink regardless of their age and I think that they just need to focus on making sure it's safe rather than trying to restrict it," Leuby said. "We are a Greek community and we have to look out for one another."

In February, Acacia lost its status as a university recognized organization after it failed to retain enough members by its national's standards. The same thing happened to sorority Alpha Gamma Delta in January.

Panhellenic voted on and approved these changes Tuesday and IFC voted on Thursday. If passed by both boards, the new policy will be put into effect over the summer.