Members of the Greek community are being challenged this semester to get rid of their party image.
At a meeting on Wednesday night in the Granite State Room with Residential Life Director Scott Chesney and Greek Affairs Coordinator Steve Pappajohn, fraternity brothers were told to live up to what their literature and Web sites claim them to be, according to Chesney. Chesney said in a later interview that he told the brothers that changing the alcohol culture reputation was a choice they had to make.
The two initiatives Chesney and Pappajohn are focusing on are to eliminate the presence of Beirut tables and to put a stop on underage drinking at social events on Greek property. Pappajohn said that he hasn't seen any Beirut tables outside or in the chapters this semester.
"These are all choices that they have in front of them, and I have challenged them as well as Steve," Chesney said. "At some point, we really need to consider the viability of the system. If it's a system that academically stinks and represents an alcohol social culture that does not constitute the values of the University, at some point we have to decide whether or not we should continue to support them."
The collective grade point average of the fraternity houses is behind that of the average on campus, according to Chesney.
The president of Intrafraternity Council (IFC), Chris Hall, agreed that the Greek culture's image needs to take a different direction and thought the meeting made this clear to all of the brothers.
"I think it just made everyone realize what is at stake and that we really need to take the stance that this has to come up, or we are in jeopardy of losing the system as a whole," Hall said.
Chesney said that his understanding is that approximately 15 percent of the Greeks who live in the houses are of legal drinking age. This can make it difficult to enforce underage drinking laws, especially when they check the ages of guests but not themselves.
Chesney wants to be able to stand up at orientation and speak positively to parents about the Greek system being a great place for their children to get involved.
"I want to be able to confidently say yes, that would be a great opportunity for your son or daughter to pursue if they want to enrich their character," Chesney said. "I cannot say that right now with a clear conscience."
A new law passed in New Hampshire last spring, N.H. R.S.A. 644:18, Facilitating a Drug or Underage Alcohol House Party, made it so that "A person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if such person owns or has control of the occupied structure, dwelling, or curtilage, where a drug or underage alcohol house party is held...."
This law will affect the Greek community because Greek life is often associated as being the most visible subculture associated with these types of parties on campus, according to Pappajohn.
"We're taking an active stance through partnership with everyone's headquarters, local advisors, the peer leadership, and the University administration to address policy compliance around drinking games, underage consumption and visibility of alcohol," Pappajohn said.
Over the summer there were three leader meetings, where the IFC, Panhellenic Council, Pappajohn and administration members met and evaluated the Greek culture.
An extra effort was made by Greek Affairs this year to alert brothers living in the fraternity houses that no social events were allowed the first two weekends of the semester. The rules have been in effect for some time, but this was the first year that the posters were posted in the fraternity houses, according to Pappajohn. Some residence halls also alerted students in dorms through newsletters.
Brothers had mixed reactions to seeing the posters, according to Kevin Dunn, a Greek intern and the Social Events Chair for the IFC. Dunn said that some brothers who pledged last semester were not aware of the rules for the beginning of the semester.
"[It] definitely caused a lot of commotion in the Greek system...some people understood," Dunn said.
Dunn said that things went smoothly for the first two weekends and that the posters seemed to work.
The president of Panhellenic Council, Meredith Cutter, said that this year's first few weekends of the semester were different from past years.
"It's been very different from what I remember freshman year," Cutter said. "I really do hope that the changes we are trying to make filter down, and it becomes something known campus-wide that Greek life is something safe and fun to get involved with."
Both Dunn and Cutter suggested the idea of alternative, non-alcoholic social activities on the weekends. Cutter suggested trying to come up with other events like the kickball tournament at Fall Fest. Dunn mentioned that it has been suggested that residents of the Greek houses be 21 and older to eliminate underage drinking.
"Our predominant message is that we want the Greek system to succeed and we will put our efforts behind them as strongly as we can this year, but they have to want to succeed (for it to work)," Chesney said.
As the semester unfolds, the Greeks will continue to work through possible options to step up to the challenge.
"I want to believe that they will accept the challenge and change," Chesney said. "And I am beginning to see early signs that these aren't just empty words coming from us."
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