A staggering six fraternity and sorority houses are on probation or recently have ended their sentences at the beginning of Fall term, as The Dartmouth reported on Thursday ("Probation hits Six Greek houses," Oct. 4). As Homecoming approaches with two to three more houses under investigation, it is appropriate to look at this abnormal situation.
The common denominator among the majority of these incidents is that they stem from violations involving Dartmouth's position toward kegs, as spelled out by the newly revised SEMP program. While it has been argued that kegs are a better and safer option for drinking, the larger issue is that there is a problem with both the policy itself and students' understanding of it. Although it is assumed that Dartmouth students are aware of the rules and are able to control on-campus drinking, the number of houses on probation suggestions this is a false ideal.
The first issue involves the current SEMP policy toward kegs. As it stands, Dartmouth prefers for fraternities and sororities to serve canned beer on a usual night. There are a number of problems with this policy. First, it creates much more garbage and waste than a keg does, directly contradicting the ideals of Dartmouth's sustainability push. Second, and more importantly, when beer is dispensed from a single keg -- a single source -- fraternity and sorority members are responsible for distributing it, and can exercise some powers of regulation. When loose cans -- multiple sources -- are floating around a basement, it is much harder for brothers and sisters to monitor who is receiving alcohol. This directly countermands many of the SEMP policy's goals: making the consumption of alcohol safer.
The more pressing issue, however, is the disconnect between the students and the administration on this subject. While the changes in the SEMP policy were designed in part to make it more-user friendly, this intent has failed, as seen by the high number of violations.
In addition to taking steps to make the SEMP policy easier to follow, Dartmouth must ensure that students are well educated about these alcohol procedures. The committee that decides SEMP policy also needs to realistically and aggressively address the prevalent use of kegs on campus. Though continued education on the abuse of alcohol is important, administrators in charge of SEMP policy are often misinformed about campus alcohol use. A clearer and updated policy on kegs will reduce the number of violations and provide more social options, which in turn will reduce the number of students at each social location and allow greater regulation. Perhaps in the future we will have safer and more welcoming social environments, an amenable situation for administrators and students alike.
