Original Article: http://dartreview.com/archives/2003/06/08/shackling_the_greek_system_again.php
Sunday, June 8, 2003
Last March, The Dartmouth Review reported the ushering in of a new framework for social activity at the College. Matt Tokson predicted that a revised Alcohol Policy would result in dramatic changes in the nature of parties at Dartmouth, and in further pressure on the beleaguered Greek system. There was a strong student and faculty reaction against the story, and amid accusations of sensationalism and irresponsible journalism, Assistant Dean of Residential Life Cassie Barnhardt emailed CFSC presidents to inform them that the Review was, indeed, incorrect with regards to the Alcohol Policy.
Despite the hoopla, a revised Alcohol Policy quietly took effect on January 5, 2003, and represented a significant first step towards the goals the Review originally outlined.
Revisions
The most sweeping changes to the Alcohol Policy involve the registration of parties and the administration of registered events. The previous three-tiered registration system was dispensed with and replaced by a somewhat simplified, all-encompassing registration process. But the devil lies in the details. No longer do Greek social chairs have to act quickly to prevent their harmless Tier I events from crossing over to the dreaded Tier III, but instead they must go about complying with College micromanagement.
The new rules on registered parties are numerous. The fun begins long before the party starts. House officers must decide in advance what the expected attendance is for any given night. If the house plans on having a formal party, it must be registered since there will obviously be more than forty people in the physical plant. But if there are no special plans, and the officers simply expect the usual basement crowd, they must decide whether or not to register and be safe in case of a high turnout. An organization may only register two events in any given week. Once the decision is made, 'event hosts,' officers who have attended a special training session, must fill out an online form requesting permission to register an event. The hosts must then meet with a member of Student Activities staff in order to discuss safety, procedures, and a management plan for dealing with any facilities issues.
Finally, the night of the party arrives. Time to blow off some steam from a stressful week, or perhaps time to break up an otherwise monotonous class schedule. But with the prospect of fun comes overbearing responsibilities. First, event hosts must determine how much alcohol to purchase. Not to worry, the College has provided a handy guide for estimating how much to buy. It is easy to calculate the number of servings permitted at the event by multiplying the number of legal-aged drinkers expected by the number of hours the event will last. One drink per hour per guest, and no one gets drunk (God forbid). Once this is accomplished, the hosts decide what type of alcohol they will serve. One, and only one, of the following may be served at a registered event: keg beer, canned beer, wine, or mixed drinks. With the proper number of servings in hand, and having decided on one type of alcohol, the hosts then buy the appropriate quantity. Again, the College has made it easy by providing this list: 1 keg=120-160 servings of beer (depending on foam), 1 bottle of wine=5-6 servings of wine, etc.
Once the alcohol arrives, the hosts begin to set up for the actual party. But when will it start, and when will it end? Simple—according to the Social Event Management Procedures, 'social events can occur between the hours of 5 p.m. and 1 a.m. Monday through Thursday, between 12 Noon and 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and between 12 Noon and 1 a.m. on Sunday' (Take that, Come As You Are!).
The party starts, and guests begin to arrive. They are unsure whether or not alcohol will be present, because invitations, posters, and other event publicity may not include a reference to alcohol being served. As the crowd builds, pressure mounts to keep the party under control. Three designated hosts, and number of monitors refrain from drinking in order to deal with any problems that arise.Alcohol must be served from one designated area, and only College certified servers are permitted to dispense drinks. To become certified, students must attend a College workshop. Monitors at the door identify those of legal drinking age, and provide them with wristbands so they may be served. Servers may only provide one drink at a time and are not to serve guests who are visibly intoxicated. If kegs are present, they must be registered with the College and tagged as such. There is a maximum of five kegs per party, and on any given night, only twenty-four kegs (or the equivalent number of servings if a different type of alcohol is present) may be registered on the entire campus. When a party is registered, Safety and Security has the option of conducting a walk-through zero, one, or two times during the course of the event. When a walk-through occurs, a host must accompany the officers throughout the plant in order to ascertain that there are no violations.
The Revisions In Practice
Obviously, the College has put quite a bit of effort into creating a systematic plan for students to follow when they want to party. But nothing is perfect, and despite its comprehensive nature, the plan is flawed.
Perhaps the biggest problem lies in the new requirements for registration. Gone are classifications for Tier I (unregistered events with less than forty people) and Tier III (registered parties with greater attendance), but the forty person cut-off between has become the threshold for registration. It is almost impossible to predict guest turnout on a non-party night, and house officers are forced to estimate attendance or face the threat of College discipline. With numerous houses on probation at any given time, it is even harder to estimate crowd size. The limit of two registered events per week poses further problems. Weekly fraternity and sorority meetings, where alcohol is often present, usually demand the attendance of all members, and in most houses, membership exceeds forty. Thus, most meetings are beyond the limit for a non-registered event; Safety and Security must be given access, or meetings must become dry events. If meetings are registered, Friday and Saturday are still right around the corner, and the organization may only register one more event for the week. On the other night of the weekend, the house must either close its doors, refuse some guests, or risk College discipline.
The registration process itself can be frustrating. Hosts must fill out the online form three days prior to the event, and then meet with a member of the administration. The conversation during these meetings touches on a wide variety of inane topics, including lighting and possible means of exit. The Student Activities staff is only available on Monday and Thursday afternoons. Effectively, hosts must plan their social schedules and predict guest attendance many days in advance. This can be a hassle, and occasionally an organization may find itself unable to register an event simply due to personal scheduling conflicts of hosts.
On weekends such as Homecoming, Winter Carnival, and Green Key, the twenty-four campus keg limit can interfere with the plans of certain organizations. When many events are registered on a single night, and organizations ranging from Amarna to Gamma Delt are imbibing, the College may reduce the five keg per party maximum to four, or even three. This limitation can easily put a damper on any single party.
Greek Life Adapts
What happens when Dartmouth tries to impose dramatic changes on Greek life, one of its oldest independent institutions?Inevitably, the institution resists. Thus, while we can speculate over the hoops that houses have to jump through to fully comply with the new Alcohol Policy, the reality is that compliance is selective. As most students know, there have been few substantial changes wrought on the Greek social scene. Houses register some parties, and risk sanction by holding unregistered events as well. Basement crowds swell past forty, and rarely is an effort made to remove additional guests from the premises. Unregistered kegs are common, and underage drinking is prevalent, as it has been in the past. All this can be inferred by keeping up to date on the Alcohol Policy infractions and corresponding sanctions published by the Organizational Adjudication Committee.
So Greek life thrives, much as it has in the past. But it would be na‘ve to assume that the threat of College discipline has not altered Greek behavior. With reams of regulations dictating the acceptable way to party, organizations looking to limit risk are cutting back. Holding a registered event, despite the purest of intentions, often results in sanction when things go awry. Four years ago, there were multiple parties every weekend, and occasional ones during the week. Today, there is rarely a weekend with more than one Greek affair, and on some weekends, there are none. Weekday parties are for the most part a thing of the past.
As organizations determine the extent to which they will comply with the revised Alcohol Policy, they effectively determine the amount of risk they will bear. There is always a chance the College will discover an infraction and impose a harsh punishment on the organization, regardless of the severity, preventability, or prevalence of the violation.Naturally, many houses employing this strategy have received College discipline. The scope of these violations is disturbing. In the past year, only three fraternities have avoided social probation: Alpha Chi Alpha, Sigma Nu, and Sigma Phi Epsilon. This merely highlights the increasing trend of College discipline being applied to Greek organizations.
What sort of regulatory system imposes sanctions on the vast majority of organizations that fall under its jurisdiction? Have fraternities suddenly become unmanageable, or has the College given them a set of impossible tasks?
There is a fundamental disconnect between the College administration and the Greek system. Even those Greek officers who make every effort to comply with College demands see such action not as appropriate, but as the pacification of a powerful and hostile institution. The College has increasingly resorted to social engineering at Dartmouth, and it would be foolish to think the objectives delineated in the Student Life Initiative will be abandoned any time soon. The revisions to the Alcohol Policy and the recent rash of sanctions levied on Greek organizations are further progress towards, and further evidence of, this dubious goal.
Editor's Note: After this story went to press, Dean of the College James Larimore announced two minor changes to the new alchohol policy. Organizations will now be permitted to hold up to three registered events per week, with the option of requesting event exceptions. Further, Dean Larimore hopes new changes to the policy will prevent organizations from viewing alcohol as the 'primary focus' of publicity associated with the event.