"i was drinking at XYZ tonight..."

[jess_pom]

My favorite example of this happened this past spring semester. At the beginning of the semester, a student, already drinking, went to a fraternity house, got into a fight with some of the brothers (outside of the house) and pulled a gun and fired off a few rounds. Fun, right.

Well, over the next few days when the story was printed in the newspaper, the headline was "Shots fired at Fraternity House".

The fraternity was having a party, but it was a list party. The guy showed up and wanted to come in, but the brothers wouldn't let him, so he got mad.

The part that really ticked off a lot of greeks at my campus was that this kid was a FOOTBALL player (not that there is anything wrong with that) and there was NO mention of this fact in any of the reports!!!!!!! It said that he was a Clarion student, blah blah, but it didn't say that he was an athlete (do I smell a cover up?). Instead, it was all the fraternity's fault, when they never did anything wrong.

And another thing, it was in the parking lot of the fraternity, which is shared by 2 other fraternities but the one fraternity is in a lot of trouble because of it. Ugh!

[Bierjunge]

First: Hi everybody, this is my first contact to fraternities/sororities in the USA, I want to get more information of you. I'm in a fraternity in Cologne/Germany. For my reply it's important to know that we wear - hm - in an online dictionary I found the word "sash" for the German word "Schaerpe", I don't know if this is correct. It's a small stripe with a combination of three different coulours for all the different fraternities in Germany that we wear round the right shoulder over chest and back to our hip. I hope you can imagine how that looks like, if not: have a look at www.cartellverband.de, by clicking on a picture there you'll see... I call this thing "sash" in my messages until someone tells me the correct vocabulary...

Now, here's my reply: We've just had the opposite case: some random guys with "sashes" on visited our house. They had really no idea about fraternities! We suppose they heard that - and this is traditional - whenever you visit another house they let you in and give you beer for free. They wanted to use us to get drunk in a very cheap way, we don't know where they got the sashes...

[Mystic Cat32]

In our handbook, "Themes for Brotherhood", it says that we're allowed to have official fraternity events that serve alcohol as long as everyone drinking is of age. It is the individual chapter's responsibility to conduct an ID check. The handbook says that we are obligated to prevent drunk brothers from driving and must accomadate them overnight if necessary. It doesn't say anything in the handbook about not being allowed to drink in letters. In fact, at the last National Assembly in Dallas there were many brothers who did in fact drink with their letters. Individual chapters may oppose this but there is nothing against it nationally. In my chapter we do not drink with our pins but are allowed to drink in letters if you're of age. Other GLOs around campus can often be spotted wearing their letters at the bars near campus. It varies between schools and I think that it all depends on chapter case by case basis.

[swissmiss04]

SAI's are not allowed to drink in letters. Period. While at first I thought it was restrictive, I soon learned the purpose of this rule. Whenever I see a person out drinking (and three sheets to the wind) wearing their letters I honestly lose a little respect for their organization. Drinking in moderation at the legal age is ok, letters or not, but just to safeguard I never do. My letters are not just on my shirt, they're also in my heart.

[theta sig agd]

I wouldnt drink in my letters either now! I cant really explain why, just that I love my fraternity too much to make it look bad. But I think the media has alot to do with the reason why. I wonder if the fraternities that did nothing wrong but are in trouble could sue for slander?

And to the German, yes sashes or a sash is the correct word . I do have to say that is different! I would like to learn more about the greek system in Germany!

[SuperSister]

Originally posted by Mystic Cat32
The handbook says that we are obligated to prevent drunk brothers from driving and must accomadate them overnight if necessary.

I just wanted to say that the Phi Mu Alpha at my school is a GREAT group of guys, and in response to this I have never seen them let ANYONE (let alone a brother) drive drunk and they accomadate other persons intoxicated besides brothers (they know everyone who would come to the house anyhow, it's not like a 'party', more like a gathering). Obviously one would look out for their own brothers, but these guys look out for everyone.

[Kevin]

I wonder if the fraternities that did nothing wrong but are in trouble could sue for slander?

Nah, we can get pissed off that's about it. Slander is a little more difficult to prove, especially when it's true.

[FuzzieAlum]

I don't know about other chapters, but what we were told as AXDs was that active, undergrad members may not drink in their letters but alumnae can (presuming of course that they are of age to drink legally). I've seen alums in their Quills have a glass of wine, for example.

That leads me to believe the primary reason for us not drinking in our letters is to avoid looking bad - lots of people would see a legal undergrad drinking responsibly in letters and assume she was underage. And of course we don't all drink responsibly, so at least it isn't being associated with our chapter. (Although people will probably know what chapter you're in out of letters too.)

But a 50-year old having a glass of wine doesn't look bad. The assumption, which may not always be true, is that alums have the wisdom to decide whether or not having that drink would reflect poorly on Alpha Xi Delta.

[Lil' Hannah]

I've heard from other sisters that at some schools wearing a lavalier to bars or parties is actually promoted. The girls use it as PR. I don't really agree with it, but it's just what I've been told.

[LeslieAGD]

Being that I rarely take my lavalier off, I do wear it to the bar and to parties. I don't really consider this "wearing letters" to go out.

[thetakates]

In response to the Drinking in Letters question, I feel that when members choose to drink in letters then they are taking their sacred ritual and stompiung all over it. I know that most sororities do not allow this and I also know that Sigma Nu Fraternity doesnt. This is part of the reason I always liked the Sigma Nu's at my school. I thought that they were one of the only fraternities that takes their sacred vows to heart. I am sure that there ar eother fraternities that dont drink in letters, but I am not sure of them because from what I have observed Sigma Nu is the only one at my school. I could be wrong though. I guess I just wanted to pass that on to the Sigma Nu's that are on here because they will always hold a special place in my heart because most of my freshman year was spent hanging out with those guys.

In response to the drinking at XYZ's response, have you noticed that it is usually freshman that say these things? I am guilty I will admit of drikning at Fraternitys but that was before I was Greek and I thougght I was "cool" because I got plastered and had random hook-ups all the time. But now I do still go over to Fraternity houses and hang out with my guy friends and my sisters. But the difference is I am not one of the annoying girls that hangs out there anymore and wont go away I am usually invited over there or just looking to get out of the dorms for awhile. By the way I dont think I was an annoying presence at the Sigma Nu's because I did make them dinner and I was usually invited over there if there wasnt any other special reason.

Ok, I think there was a point in there somewhere, just not sure what it was...lol....

[ROWDYsister]

'In response to the drinking at XYZ's response, have you noticed that it is usually freshman that say these things?"

Leave it to most freshmen to do dumb stuff...trial by fire. I would know, I just finished my freshman year, and my sisters and I did stuff I can't really imagine us doing anymore when we're seniors. We are careful, though, to leave all letters at home when there's even a slight possibility we're going to be drinking (it's a huge possibility all the time). I know girls in other sororities have actually gotten in trouble for wearing lavaliers out (the only letters you'd be wearing out, b/c no one wears jerseys or anything at night), while other girls proudly strut around with their letters hanging around their necks. I know it's true that most people (esp. fellow Greeks) already know which house you're in, (esp, if you're like, "Oh, my sisters! Blah blah blah") but that's not the point. You're not leaving your letters in the safety of your home b/c you're playing some sort of identity game, but because you have more respect for your letters than to risk making your house look stupid if something happens. (And don't even mention the non-Greeks who look at you in letters...when you wear your letters you're just under more scrutiny b/c they're waiting for you to do something "Greek.")

[OnePlus69Is70]

Letters or not, we've gotten off the point. The only way to stop people from claiming that sort of thing is to stop letting random people into your parties. Can someone explain to me this urge some Greeks seem to have, to invite their 500 best friends over every weekend? We don't allow alcohol in our house's common areas for exactly that reason- no one can claim they stopped at OD for a drink before they wandered off and committed a felony. Our chapter of PKA was closed after a rape occured at the house. The rapist wasn't a brother, wasn't a friend or acquaintence of any of the brothers, and it was the brothers who kicked the sh*t out of him and turned him over to the police, but it was PKA who paid, with their house and charter. Every time you serve a stranger a drink in your house, you take a risk, and that risk is just becomming way too big to be worth it.

[Kevin]

Agreed!

If you don't make a guest list BEFORE the event and have proper supervision of guests you have no control over the party. Yet you are responsible if anything bad happens. Fair? Nope. Sometimes the law is not fair though.

I'm pretty sure it's in your risk reduction policy.. follow it and things will be sooo much more secure.

It's easy to say these things coming from a member of a new chapter that has always followed the letter of the law when it came to risk reduction. I can hardly imagine what it would be like changing the status queue. For those of you that can do this though it's probably worth the effort.

LHT
Kevin