It's official.
The Interfraternity Council approved last week the proposed alcohol restrictions that have been the buzz around campus for about a month. IFC members hope the measures, which were passed Oct. 23 and took effect immediately, make the penalties for open distribution of alcohol so strict that they will effectively eliminate the practice from the fraternity social scene.
Trinity senior and IFC president Tom Sowers said the measures have not changed from those that were previously announced; the organization did, however, add provisions to define the role of the IFC Judicial Board in ruling on each case.
The provisions decree that the Undergraduate Judicial Board need not find a fraternity or fraternity member guilty of a violation in order for the IFC judicial board to do so. Each board will independently determine a party's guilt and, therefore, the decision of one is not contingent upon that of the other.
According to the recently released IFC alcohol policy report, some cases of IFC distribution offenses would not be prosecuted by the University. "Upon receipt of a complaint charging a violation of the IFC alcohol policy by fraternities or their members, the Investigative Committee of the IFC Judicial Board will begin an investigation," stated the report, which was approved last Thursday.
The provisions also make clear that IFC sanctions can be added to University sanctions following a hearing and a determination of guilt by the IFC board.
The policy statement also defines more explicitly the roster of events subject to the regulations recently passed by IFC-which the organization's members expect will be enforced and regulated by the individual fraternities and their members. The offenses, it states, apply only to "events that are of the open, registered, BYOB type. If any offense occurs during a closed on-campus event, which includes but is not limited to mixers, brother-barbeques, tailgate parties, rituals, etc., then the University only shall determine the appropriate penalty."
The ultimate goal, several fraternity members said, is to make the penalties strict enough such that the cost of distribution will exceed its benefits.
A fraternity's first violation will result in the loss of its spring pledge class-a punishment that could lead to its loss of housing privileges if its membership numbers fail to fill the University-required minimum of 80-percent section occupancy. A second violation of the ban would result in the loss of IFC recognition and, in the process, University recognition as well.
At the same time, the measures also define penalties for individual infractions in order to eliminate possible loopholes in the policy. For instance, the first time an individual fraternity brother receives a citation, the IFC judicial board would require him to perform up to 100 hours of community service. The second time an individual brother violates the open distribution ban-even if it is not the same brother-the entire fraternity will lose spring rush privileges.
Sowers said IFC members also approved the inclusion of a clause "that defines the spirit of the policy in such a way that should eliminate distribution at open parties."
The clause indicates that "IFC recognizes that alcohol is a part of life, and its proper use has a place in college life." To that end, it continues, "[the] policy is intended to allow students who choose to drink the opportunity to use alcohol in social settings in congenial, moderate and responsible ways."
IFC members have offered a number of reasons for passing the new measures, including the rationale that the restrictions may help fraternity members exert more control over their brothers' behavior.
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