Party time is back in Virginia – if you follow the rules
The Chronicle has a piece on new party rules for fraternities at the University of Virginia. All fraternities were suspended at the University last November following allegations of a gang rape at a fraternity house.
The University of Virginia has reinstated all of its fraternities, pending their acceptance of a new agreement requiring, among other things, that at least three members be “sober and lucid” at all parties. The college announced the measure in a news release on Tuesday.
The new agreement, which fraternities must sign by January 16, requires, among other things, that:
- At least three members be “sober and lucid” at each function.
- At least one of the sober brothers be stationed at each point of alcohol distribution, and one be at the stairs leading to the house’s bedrooms.
- The fraternity provide one additional sober brother per every 30 members of the chapter.
- At least three of the sober brothers be non-freshmen.
- All fraternities submit two risk-management plans to the college’s Inter-Fraternity Council.
The full agreement can be found here and it’s pretty comprehensive. It includes the following additional stipulations:
- Beer may be served, unopened in its original can.
- Wine may be served upon request, poured visibly at the bar by a sober brother.
- Pre-mixed drinks, punches, or any other common source of alcohol are prohibited.
- At Tier I events, hard liquor may not be served unless the fraternity hires a bartender employed by a third-party licensed by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Board in accordance with Virginia law.
It’s challenging stuff especially if “the brothers” are insufficiently lucid to prepare those risk assessments. From a UK perspective though the whole concept of fraternities and references to sober brothers do seem rather alien. It does also seem to avoid challenging the core issue here which is about whether this kind of exclusively male student organisation and residence is at all appropriate. No matter what rules and regulations are put in place to govern drinking patterns I find it hard to see how the fraternity house environment can be a positive contributor to campus life. It’s one of those things which, fortunately, the US has not managed to export to UK higher education.
