On Sunday night at approximately 10 p.m., Facebook and Twitter feeds were on fire. Bradley students updated their statuses and tweeted to the world about the recently announced Interfraternity Council moratorium. Throughout the week, students have been expressing their grievance of the policy with the hashtag #Bradleyprohibition and joining designated Facebook groups in disagreement with Jesse Koch and Nathan Thomas’ decision.
Many students have expressed they feel that the administration should have no authority to dictate what fraternities can and cannot do, and others fear the thought of Bradley becoming a dry campus.
It is great to express your feelings and have your voice heard, but many students have based their opinions off of what friends were saying without seeking the facts for themselves. As a result, the debates in and out of class, as well as social media posts, intensified.
While it may seem unfair to students and chapters who drink responsibly, it is important to hear both sides of the story.
Yes, the decision to enforce a moratorium may seem like a rash decision, or unfair and counterproductive because it may encourage minors to seek alcohol in other places.
But the other side of the story is that the university is not maliciously trying to ruin the fun. As stated in this week’s article titled “Administration halts fraternity social events,” the moratorium was put in place as a result of patterns of behavior such as underage drinking, risky drinking and having jungle juice, or other mixed drinks available at parties. The dangers that come along with these patterns are more than what meets the eye.
By providing alcohol to minors there are legal implications that fraternities might be responsible for. Risky drinking can lead to serious health threats including alcohol poisoning, and providing open alcohol at parties makes the drink vulnerable to tampering, which can also endanger the health of students.
All of these consequences are scary and if there are not preventative measures in place that means any student on campus is susceptible to these harms.
Director of Student Activities Tom Coy not only participated in greek life as an undergrad, but was the greek life advisor at his previous institution. Coy told the Scout that he understands the reasoning behind the moratorium and believes fraternity social events need to have a safer environment.
“The things I’ve heard [about Bradley fraternity parties] are more concerning than any other greek community I have experienced,” he said. “When it comes to providing liquor, especially in the form of jungle juice, it becomes scary from a university standpoint.”
For some, the moratorium may seem like an attack on greek life, but a new IFC risk management policy will be far more beneficial for the health and safety of students on campus.
Even though fraternity parties are currently on hold, which has made many students upset, we think it’s worth it. Will this new IFC policy change the way fraternity parties are hosted and who can drink at the house? It might.
But the heart of the issue concerns keeping students safe, and that’s the concern everyone can agree on.
