Under BYOB, IFC sets limits on alcohol use

Students will be allowed to bring a maximum of 12 cans of beer to fraternity parties and will have to show proof of age to professional bouncers when new "bring your own bottle" rules are implemented Thursday. Partiers will also be forced to turn in alcohol they bring to the chapter in exchange for claim tickets. Kegs and other large containers will be banned. Under the new policy, passed at last Thursday's IFC meeting, guests who are 21 and older will receive a bracelet or some other marker after proving they are of legal drinking age. The chapter will ticket guests' alcohol as the guests bring it and will dispense it when guests turn their tickets in. According to the new IFC policy, guests not wearing the bracelets or holding the appropriate marker will not be permitted to collect alcohol. Partygoers can bring alcohol other than beer, but the amount brought by each guest may not exceed the alcohol content of a 12-pack of beer. All chapters will begin holding parties without monitors as long as they do not violate the BYOB policy. If they violate the policy, they will still be able to hold date parties, mixers and brother events without monitors, and can hold other parties with outside student monitors. It is not clear whether fraternities will still charge admission to parties. The new alcohol policy will be enforced by the recently-created Greek Peer Judicial Board, which handles all infractions of IFC, Panhellenic and Black InterGreek Council rules which do not violate University policy. The IFC's alcohol policy change comes after national fraternity officials came to campus nearly two weeks ago to warn fraternity presidents about liability problems which most houses faced in buying alcohol with chapter funds. The national officials said yesterday that they are pleased with the IFC's decision to implement a BYOB policy and that since all fraternities must follow the BYOB plan, they will all be "on a level plane." John Perkins, the director of risk management and housing for the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, said it will ease the burden on nationals because campus houses will police the BYOB policy. "Once it's passed on the campus level, it relieves our role as the enforcer because groups on campus are watching each other," Perkins said. "We can get on with what we like to do -- the education side." The alcohol policy which the IFC overturned Thursday placed no restrictions on the chapters' alcohol purchase. The policy did not meet requirements set forth by the Fraternity Insurance Purchasing Group, which insures 16 of 26 IFC fraternities. Four additional fraternities hold policies which contain similar strictures. According to the insurance companies' policy, if an accident occurs during a party at one of these 20 fraternities and the chapter purchased alcohol, the accident will not be covered by insurance and the fraternity itself will be liable for any claims. Fraternity members said yesterday that they think the new policy and its provisions for enforcement will work. Delta Upsilon fraternity President Brian Riley said that he thinks that the new policy will benefit fraternities in the long run because "now there are more advantages to being Greek." He said members of host chapters will be more able to relax because they will not have to worry as much about the guests. Riley, a Wharton senior, also said that he is confident that the policy will be enforced and that the IFC's monitoring policy will be successful. SAE President Mike Feinberg said that the new policy is a positive step even though its implications are not clear. "Based on what the exec board told us [after researching BYOB policies], it can work," Feinberg, a College senior, said. "And if we put forth the effort, there's no reason why it can't work at Penn." Students -- especially freshmen -- said that while they think the policy is necessary, it is inconvenient. Some students said that they hope the IFC's changed alcohol policy will move social life away from fraternities. Wharton freshman Ethan Falkove said that he probably will not go back to fraternities for a while because of the new alcohol policy. " There's no point in going to fraternity parties if you're not going to drink," Falkove said. "I don't have a fake I.D. and I don't look 21." But College freshman Jason Polevoy said that while he understands why the IFC is changing its policy, he doesn't think many people take the changes seriously. "[People] talk about the changes more as a joke," Polevoy said. "A lot of people think it's ridiculous." Anne Package, a residential advisor in the Quadrangle's Community House, said she is worried that the policy change may cause more problems on her floor. But she said she does not expect students on her floor to miss old-style fraternity parties. "More students started from the beginning saying 'I hate fraternity parties' and they ask what else there is," College senior Package said. "I'm forced to say 'Not a whole lot.' " Social Planning and Events Committee Chairperson Varsha Rao said last week that she "almost feels pressure" for SPEC to fill the vacuum that the new party policy has created. "I know definitely that this [new policy] accentuates the need for SPEC," the Wharton and College senior said. "A facet of student social life is fading quickly." "I think that this is evidence that when we started SPEC we knew that trends in social life were changing," she said. Undergraduate Assembly Chairperson Duchess Harris also said that SPEC's importance will grow as a result of the changes. "[SPEC] should be utilized so that [the administration] can provide social programming for students who will not have the advantage and privilege to participate in fraternity social life," Harris, a College senior, said. "[The new policy is] going to leave a lot of students who would like to attend fraternity parties out because the parties will be smaller and more exclusive."

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