Cold hampers BYOB policy enforcement

Weather keeps GAC away Fraternities that adhered to the InterFraternity Council's new "Bring Your Own Beer" policy this weekend were disappointed when alumni monitors did not attend events Saturday -- presumably due to the inclement weather. And while sources said last night that at least one chapter violated the rules by purchasing alcohol for a large event, no violations were officially recorded. "Our party [Saturday] night was strictly BYOB," Sigma Alpha Epsilon President and College junior Joe Ayoob said last night. "We were a little disappointed that monitors didn't show up?[because] it's kind of hard to prove it when there aren't monitors." A second house holding a BYOB party Saturday reported problems after alcohol ran short. "We did everything by the book, because it's not worth getting in trouble," said Phi Gamma Delta pledge Randall Braunfeld, a College freshman. But the Fiji event Saturday was affected by both the cold weather and a shortage of drinks, according to pledges. "Around 1 o'clock, there [were] a lot of people," Braunfeld said. "But all the sudden, the beer ran out and people left." IFC officers said last month that the success of BYOB depended on the participation of those attending events as well as the chapters. Part of that participation, they said, included bringing enough beer. "A lot of people don't want to get [beer] themselves," said Fiji pledge Steve Gross, an Engineering freshman. Gross worked the door at Fiji Saturday and also saw no monitors that night. "People didn't bring enough beer, it's not our fault, it's not their fault, the system sucks," Braunfeld said. Fiji President Michael Pratt, a Wharton junior, would not comment last night on the event. IFC President David Treat said chapters are still working together to make BYOB happen with both the houses and their partygoers. Last month, the College junior said officers were expecting a transition period before BYOB would begin to run smoothly. "We had some good, long discussions about it," Treat said last night. "More and more houses are really buying into it and saying it will make everything easier?there's been a lot of good effort across the board." Despite negative wind chills and one unofficial report of a BYOB violation Saturday, Ayoob's chapter reported a successful BYOB event with a good turnout -- including Joe Murphy, owner of Murphy's Tavern. Ayoob said SAE's social chair and pledges invited Murphy to the party. "I was there for about an hour?it was nice," Murphy said. He added that about 200 students attended the event, although he would not comment on whether BYOB was enforced. Ayoob added that students attending his event did in fact cooperate with the new rules by bringing alcohol to the party. BYOB was first adopted by the IFC in 1991, in response to increasing liability insurance costs and insurance company mandates. On January 17, the IFC ratified a more clearly defined policy, developed in part with the Greek Alumni Council, and announced a dedication to enforcement of BYOB at the University. "We're all trying to make this system work, we're enforcing it," Ayoob said.

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