The Greek Leadership Council, the Panhellenic Council and the Interfraternity Council plan to host more non-alcoholic social events at Greek houses when the GLC first-year student policy is in effect than last year’s councils did, GLC summer chair Elizabeth Wilkins ’16 said.
Ideas for these events include pre-sports game tailgates and discussions on sexual assault, summer IFC president Chase Gilmore ’16 said.
Last fall marked the first year of the policy, which banned freshmen from Greek houses when members served alcohol. Going into the policy’s second year, summer Greek leadership has expressed their desire to welcome freshmen into Greek houses more often than last fall.
Events would allow first year students to interact with affiliated students in alcohol-free settings. The events would also increase awareness for efforts to eliminate sexual violence and allow students to show support for community members, such as athletic teams, Gilmore said.
With individual Greek houses and the GLC cosponsoring these events, Wilkins said the council seeks to introduce incoming students to the Greek community in a more positive way.
“There is a misconception that this policy means we don’t want freshmen in our houses at all, we want to keep them away, keep the Greek system as a big secret, and that’s not the goal at all,” she said.
Wilkins said that the College will grant a budget to sponsor these events and that Greek houses are still in the process of finalizing event details.
Echoing the goal of dispelling the misconception that freshmen are not welcome at Greek houses in the beginning of fall term, summer Panhell president Charlotte Kamai ’16 said that Panhell plans to hold social events for first-year students.
Inviting freshmen to sorority houses is a vital part of these events, Kamai said, since most female first-year students never get to socialize in sorority houses before they rush.
“What we are trying to continue for fall is showing the ’18s that Greek life goes beyond the basement,” she said. “We are definitely focusing on community and philanthropy.”
Gilmore said that the policy helped show that Greek life involved more than just drinking.
Implementing this policy helps first-year students realize that alcohol is not necessary in having a good time, Kamai said.
The record-low number of high-blood-alcohol-concentration incidents this past fall coincided with the implementation of the GLC policy, said Caitlin Barthelmes, alcohol and other drug education program coordinator. This fall only saw seven cases compared to 36 in 2010. This data, however, does not conclude that the policy caused the decrease in incidents, she said.
“What we are looking at is whether or not there could be a correlation between two events happening,” Barthelmes said. “And what I can say is that GLC made a big, dramatic change that supported the health and safety of students on this campus.”
Wilkins said the GLC is aware that a single policy cannot dictate how first-year students drink and thus data might not accurately reflect the policy’s impact. To better understand the impact of the policy on freshman drinking habits, the GLC will reach out to members of the Class of 2017 for feedback, she said.
“It was very hard getting feedback from freshmen that is constructive,” Wilkins said.
Wilkins said this policy is an established part of the GLC constitution and is not on a trial basis. She added that the GLC has not discussed renewing the policy nor changing its duration.
