IFC passes new BYOB policy

"Bring Your Own Beer" will finally become reality at the University, InterFraternity Council President and College junior David Treat announced last night. After five years of struggling with the alcohol and BYOB policies, the IFC ratified a new policy which will be "strictly enforced" starting this weekend, Treat said. The new policy brings to the University a concept that has appeared on paper for years, but in practice has never been implemented fully. It also serves as a statement to the Greek Alumni Council, which developed its own BYOB policy in 1993. "It's an attempt to show GAC that we're capable of leading ourselves," said Alpha Chi Rho President T.J. Zane, a College senior. According to a letter sent this week to chapter presidents from the IFC Executive Board, the new policy was drafted in December during negotiations with GAC officers. The letter stated that policy specifics would not be released until the meeting last night, where the policy was introduced and ratified in a closed meeting in less than 90 minutes. Under the new "Greek Alcohol Management Policy," fraternities are prohibited from purchasing alcohol for consumption during social events. Instead, students attending the events will contribute alcohol to a pool. Although the IFC adopted BYOB five years ago as an effort to transfer liability from the fraternities to individual partygoers, enforcement has been problematic. This time, according to IFC officers, the policy is for real. "In the middle of the fall, it was clear that the policy was inadequate?it had loopholes," said IFC Judicial Manager Josh Gottheimer, a College sophomore. "The IFC has recognized [BYOB] as a body, and we are going to cooperate together to enforce it." Still some members of the Greek system said not only do the loopholes still exist, but that BYOB is not the answer to decreased liability. Zane said BYOB has been talked about for years, but has not been the cause for the reduction in alcohol-related incidents on campus. "It's because houses have become smarter with risk management," he said. Zane added that enforcement will depend on GAC's commitment to keeping monitors on campus. The IFC first adopted BYOB as part of its alcohol policy in September 1990 and a self-monitoring policy was announced in February 1991. And although faced with criticism that the BYOB policy had loopholes, the IFC was confident that it was a sound policy. Five years later, the new policy will potentially affect more students than in previous years. "Fraternities are serious about following the rules of the University," said College senior Ryan Heil, Social Chair and Risk Management Officer for Delta Psi. "Students are going to find that if they walk into a party and they expect to be handed a beer they could find themselves sorely disappointed in the future." Officers said social life will be maintained despite the policy. "Our efforts were geared toward altering the social life on campus as little as possible while satisfying the requirements of the insurance company and GAC," Treat said.

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