<p>"Under the new policy, which fraternity leaders have called “groundbreaking,” the IFC will select a third-party, private security agency from which fraternities hosting parties will hire social monitors who will verify that guests are on a mandated guest list and require photo identification for entry." Good idea for White House state dinners, too.</p>
<p>Penn</a> State Live - Penn State fraternities adopt new policy to combat alcohol issues</p>
<p>Penn State is joining other schools like Purdue on stuff like this. Purdue already has a group called Caliber which consists of people who are part of the Greek community. They go around to different houses and make sure functions are registered and are following IFC regulation along with an ID checkpoint. That’s the only difference though since PSU is using a third-party agency to do it. At least Penn. doesn’t have Excise…</p>
<p>seems like a reason to never vote on those surveys again. If you vote your school as a partier, then the school is going to enact measures to try to bring that level of partying down. Atleast, that’s what i see out of this.</p>
<p>more proof why the drinking age needs to come down to 18</p>
<p>Sounds like there are some major issues going on with Greek life at Penn State.
[Policy</a> can adjust greek culture - The Daily Collegian Online](<a href=“http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/12/04/policy_can_adjust_greek_cultur.aspx]Policy”>http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/12/04/policy_can_adjust_greek_cultur.aspx)
[Delta</a> Delta Delta disbanded - The Daily Collegian Online](<a href=“http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/12/04/delta_delta_delta_disbanded.aspx]Delta”>http://www.collegian.psu.edu/archive/2009/12/04/delta_delta_delta_disbanded.aspx)</p>
<p>I don’t know about reducing the age to 18 (although it was when I was a kid), but I do see the value of doing some sort of graduated license thru education and other earned measures. This said… one of the rules is to set a defined 300 page guest list for these events. I can see keeping track of kids (and having a suspect list when things go wrong), but it sure will encourage kids to try and sneak into parties at such a huge school.</p>
<p>This is a very good idea. The surprise is not that universities are starting to do this. Rather, the surprise is that it took so long.</p>
<p>Bringing in an outside agency to monitor parties serves as a check and balance against excess. In reality, if the people who are monitoring the parties are from other fraternities, they are prone to look the other way if the rules are being broken. An outside agency isn’t going to know the fraternity members personally; the outside agency therefore is not subject to this pressure.</p>
<p>Having a guest list is just common sense. Also, at many fraternity events at many universities, women can just walk into fraternity parties while men need to know someone. A guest list policy puts the kibosh on this sexist nonsense.</p>
<p>It seems likely to me that policies such as the one adopted by Penn State will spread. If the policy produces benefits at Penn State, other universities will want to achieve the same benefits. Also, if a critical mass of universities adopt these common-sense policies, parents are going to encourage or require students to attend universities having these policies. Why would a parent pay for a student to attend a university with out-of-control partying when safer alternatives are available? This effect would encourage all universities to adopt these common-sense policies.</p>
<p>I think this will just increase the number of completely unregulated parties.</p>
<p>I mean, it won’t prevent students from seeking out a place to party. Rather, it will encourage students not to party through organized methods but in other, shadier methods.</p>
<p>Sad to hear that Tri-Delts lost their charter at Penn State, really is unfortunate. </p>
<p>The whole thing with having two professional bouncers at parties with crowds over 300 people will hurt more popular, larger houses. It doesn’t harm houses that usually have more of a closer-knit/closed party. I’m surprised that the IFC members that are part of larger houses didn’t vote against it, but who would know what happened except for them. This may increase every houses social budget each semester or year depending on how they do it so it affects the finances of people in fraternities some what. I doubt that IFC would pay for these professional bouncers out of their own expense because usually events they run are from the Greek community themselves. </p>
<p>As Technomancer said, this stuff does increase the number of unregulated parties which I know is true since I saw this happening at Purdue since I was part of a house there. Personally, you can still party but not register your event. You may get a “slap on the wrist” but it wouldn’t do too much imho. You have to remember that members of the IFC are also members of the Greek community. This also helps the image of the entire Greek community at Penn State. </p>
<p>Take3, I hope you know that many houses would still follow the “sexist nonsense” by making sure the list has that “ratio”. No matter what houses want to have a ratio of some sort no matter if it’s 2:1 or 3:1. Usually people who attend “list functions” are close friends with brothers who tell them of the function. Every house has a “list” but if your a close friend or know a brother that is working the door then you don’t exactly have to be on the “list”. This also depends on the house itself since many houses differ on the way they want to run their functions, but the parties I’ve been to at various houses they don’t really care.</p>
<p>@Jimgotkp: I’m well aware of how things work at the Big Ten schools. However, the problem is still much less if someone has to register in advance instead of being able to walk right in.</p>
<p>Also, given that the guest list is limited to 300 people, a house can’t maintain those kinds of lopsided ratios unless the number of male friends invited is limited, probably more so than most people would like.</p>
<p>In any case, diminishing control of social life by the Greek system sidesteps the problem.</p>
<p>PSU had an underage young man die this semester who was 2ce the legal limit and fell down some stairs and was not found for at least a day. He was drinking at the frats</p>
<p>This boys death appeared to be the straw that broke the camels back.</p>
<p>It will greatly change the party/frat atmosphere especially during pledging. </p>
<p>PSU has been making smaller changes all along but nothing of this magnitude.</p>
<p>I applaud them.</p>
<p>I don’t applaud them. This encourages other, worse ‘things’. </p>
<p>As the attempt at prohibition long ago showed, when big power tries to squander and control social life, the social life simply becomes more underground and dangerous.</p>
<p>A student may have regrettably died at such a party, but statistically, more would be harmed or die at underground, unregulated parties, which will inevitably spring up as a result of these measures.</p>
<p>Take3, first of all do you know how houses “register” people onto their lists? From what I am aware with my own house and other houses I’ve been to all you do is tell your friends that are brothers who will be going. Many houses make their lists and print them out last minute so they can have the peoples names of who weren’t on the list till last minute. It ain’t that hard putting in someone’s name into a Word file and printing it out. Second of all, I haven’t mentioned it but having a party with three hundred is very rare. I know it’s sad to say but the only times this will happen is if it’s a special occasion or during a popular time to drink such as Halloween. That is why houses save A LOT of money in their social budgets for times like this when they know they would be spending a lot of money. The guest list might be long but it ain’t hard to add additional people. </p>
<p>Getting a 2:1 ratio for a party of 300 isn’t that hard. All you need is 200 women and 100 males. That would mean every male would have to invite 2 female friends. How many brothers would a house that would be hosting this type of party have? Let’s say that its around 75 people since that is what the average is for many houses. Having two female friends of every brother to come isn’t that hard since a lot of people would want to come to this huge party. Second of all, people who are friends of brothers wouldn’t have a hard time bringing two female friends also lets say. All you need are 25 additional friends of brothers along with the 50 female friends they bring to make it 300. It’s not really a lopsided ratio when you think about it. That’s why when you go to a party, you hear stuff like “bring two female friends then you can get in easier” cause that’s what they need. </p>
<p>Bigcrit is actually true in terms of fraternities having more “underground, unregulated parties” though. When Purdue’s IFC can up with very strict regulation recently all the houses stopped registering their functions since the regulations they needed to follow were that bad. Literally twenty-thirty houses started to stop registering their functions which would seem a bit suspicious huh? That is why they sent out a letter to every house President and talked about it during their President’s Council meeting.</p>
<p>'Also, at many fraternity events at many universities, women can just walk into fraternity parties while men need to know someone. A guest list policy puts the kibosh on this sexist nonsense."</p>
<p>Go to any exclusive nightclub and women first is always the policy. So you should get used to it in college. I mean, do you want to be at a sausage fest?</p>
<p>@bigcrit: I disagree, for two reasons.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Unless the controls on fraternity parties are meaningful, those parties may as well be “underground” and “unregulated”.</p></li>
<li><p>Fraternity parties are realistically less likely to get busted than parties in random apartments. If an apartment party gets out of hand, it’s more likely to get shut down by law enforcement. So it’s more important to have meaningful monitoring of fraternity parties than of apartment parties.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>@Jimgotkp: It’s not realistic to completely hide a party with, say, 100-300 people. If nothing else, people have to enter and leave the building. And I guarantee that some of the people who are leaving will stick out like a sore thumb. So the university can, or should, know if unregistered parties are being thrown.</p>
<p>So the university can sanction fraternities hosting unregistered parties if they choose.</p>
<p>Or they can choose not to. But that would prove that the regulations are only a fa</p>
<p>@nyuwishabee: That’s a false analogy.</p>
<p>I’m not that into clubbing. Even so, I can’t think of a time that once inside a nightlife establishment, the ratio was 2:1 or more lopsided.</p>
<p>If it’s just that men have to wait longer, that’s not analogous to not getting in at all.</p>
<p>These rules are ridiculous. Do you know how long it’s going to take to actually follow that guest list rule? They should go based on who you know or how you look or whatever gimmick you give at the door, the way it’s always been. My freshman year at PSU was glorious. You could just walk from house to house and pick up Natty Light from each location. There was always a huge party going on with tons of people. This is the reason why many people choose PSU, and if the scene diminishes anymore I can’t see people willing to pay a ton of money to go there. I’m happy I transferred to NYU so I don’t have to be apart of this anti-partying thing PSU has been on and watch my beloved Greek scene fall to shambles. Shame on you, Penn State.</p>
<p>In addition to improving their images the fraternities are also trying to protect themselves. Two of the five on campus fraternities have been suspended; the Beta house is sitting vacant and the Phi Delts are fighting the university’s attempt to reclaim the property (and tear down the house). Fiji and ATO have both been charged in relation to the death of a student earlier this year. </p>
<p>The basic problem is a lack of personal responsibility. It is only in recent years, with increased vandalism and other damage to personal property, along with more and more students ending up in the emergency room with alcohol poisoning or other injuries (or dead) that this has become an issue. Shame on you, irresponsible students.</p>
<p>With 108,000 applications last year PSU is not gonna miss a few students who choose to go elsewhere if the party scene settles down a little. In fact, if that is where the students’ priorities lie, PSU would be happy to see them enrolled elsewhere.</p>
<p>@nyuwishabee: Someone is dead because of the way the scene was.</p>