If the party climate at Duke seems a little different this year, it is because the forecast calls for a dry season. This year, three campus fraternities-Delta Sigma Phi, Sigma Nu, and Phi Delta Theta-have adopted national alcohol-free measures. Theta Chi will follow suit in 2003.
The measures are part of the national Greek system's attempt to revamp its bacchanalian image-and reduce insurance liability. Over the past several years, 11 national fraternities independently enacted dry policies that would remove alcohol's presence from fraternity sections.
The dry policies run the gamut in stringency from permitting alcohol to be distributed by vendors at out-of-section parties to forbidding all alcohol consumption in the fraternity's dorm.
"Basically there are two different angles," said Interfraternity Council President Chris Dieterich, a senior. "The first one, the Sigma Nu angle is one of moderate dryness, maybe you call it 'moist.' And then there is Phi Delta Theta and Delta Sig, which is very dry, a 'desert' maybe."
So far, many of Greek leaders have maintained a positive outlook.
"I don't think it is going to affect us that much," said Phi Delt president Johan Hernandez, a junior. "The switch away from alcohol will make us a stronger brotherhood and will allow us to come up with alternatives."
Theta Chi president John Wiemann agreed.
"People who are not in a frat or the greek system think frats are all about drinking, but that's not all Theta Chi is about," the junior said.
However, even if fraternity members abide by the new rules, they may find difficulty regulating other students' conduct in their section.
In an instance this weekend, a student was vomiting in the Sigma Nu section and was taken to the Emergency Department for treatment.
"My understanding is that he was drinking on East Campus and got sick at our section," said Sigma Nu President Mark Davis, a senior. "Then we took care of him and made sure he would be safe."
The efficacy of dry policies on campus is still hotly debated among fraternity leaders. Many argue that such policies could have an adverse impact.
"One concern present is that when people started cracking down on alcohol in general, it went behind the doors, with front-loading and people getting really drunk because they had to hide it," said Wiemann. "I don't think there isn't anyone who couldn't hide alcohol if he wanted to... just look at East Campus."
Administrators acknowledged that the shift from alcohol consumption to a dry policy would not be simple.
"It is very difficult for a group that has been on campus, drinking alcohol, to turn dry," said Todd Adams, assistant dean for student development. However, he pointed out that there are advantages to having a dry policy in effect. "Alcohol-free housing is a great alternative. Houses tend to be cleaner, there's less damage and less noise."
The dry policies come at a time when alcohol has been implicated in many tragedies across campuses nationwide, including the death of a Duke student last year. Many national chapters have adopted dry policies in an effort to limit their liability. In most circumstances, any violation of national policy voids the organization's insurance and uninsured members of a fraternity could be individually sued.
These issues were topics of discussion at the Interfraternity Council retreat last Friday. The IFC retreat, which was spearheaded by Dieterich, was attended by the IFC board as well as by most of the fraternity presidents.
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