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Moratorium makes a difference in student drinking violations

Students across campus reacted loudly to the announcement of the Interfraternity Council (IFC) moratorium on social events Feb. 10.  But since the enforcement of new alcohol policies, no major incidents have caused noise for IFC.

“The changes were made for the better,” said Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Jesse Koch. “It was a situation that needed to be fixed. The [IFC] did a fantastic job of changing the policy.”

The moratorium was put into place after several incidents with underage drinking, high risk drinking and communal sources of alcohol at chapter house parties. The administration halted parties for two weeks, until the IFC launched a new policy.

“There is chapter cooperation to follow the policies and implement them,” Koch said. “Kudos to the chapter houses to keep the policies going.”

IFC President Alex Kapustka said the policies have been well-received with the fraternities thus far.

“The policies are going great,” he said. “There haven’t been any violations, which is rare. And there haven’t been any trials this semester – that’s unheard of.”

As part of the new policies, chapter houses cannot provide alcohol to party guests, and a guest list must be included in order to register a party.  Guests 21 and older can bring their own alcohol and wear a designated wrist band after showing a valid ID.

“Some feedback I’ve heard from chapter and IFC leaders is that it’s easier to manage the risks at a party,” Koch said. “The chapters also now save a lot of money [because money was spent on alcohol in the past].”

Koch said IFC representatives now walk through parties to make sure policies are enforced. He said the representatives look for chapters that supply alcohol to guests or to minors.

“Everyone in IFC is responsible enough to do the walk-throughs,” said Kapustka. “It’s been going really well. Everyone is being receptive.”

Since the policies were announced, Koch said there haven’t been any major incidents with the chapter houses.

“There was one minor misunderstanding of the policy and enforcement, but we are working out the tweaks,” he said.

Koch said he anticipates the same policies going into the fall semester.

“It’s a matter of consistent enforcement,” he said. “I want to keep it going for the next few semesters so it’ll become part of the [chapter house] culture.”

Kapustka said the chapter houses and the Bradley University Police Department have been in communication to make sure no problems arise.

“There haven’t been major issues that needed attention, so everything has been going smoothly,” he said. “The policies have been successful. It’s great that everyone can adapt.”

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