Several Greek houses select service, sobriety
■ While a few fraternities
have signed on to go dry, some
refuse to hop on the wagon
By Kara Cogswell
Oregon Daily Emerald
When national fraternity leaders
began committing to Select 2000 in
1996, they promised it would bring
the Greek system back to the ideals it
was founded on — community serv
ice, leadership, friendship and aca
demic achievement.
But now, five years after Select
2000 began, some say it does not seem
to have caught on the way fraternity
leaders believed it would. And three
years after the program came to the
University, some students within the
Greek system still have their doubts
about its effectiveness.
To join Select 2000, fraternity and
sorority members sign a contract sig
nifying their commitment to Greek
ideals. But what the program has be
come best known for—and why it is
often debated — is its push to end
drinking in Greek houses. All houses
that join Select 2000 are required to
keep chapter property substance-free.
Founders of the program believed
substance-free housing would com
bat recurrent problems within the
Greek system, such as binge drinking,
sexual harassment, and low academic
achievement, said Sean Thomas, an
intern with the North American Inter
fraternity Council.
Many thought the program would
catch on quickly. In a 1997 New York
Times article, national fraternity lead
ers said substance-free housing
would soon become the “norm” at fra
ternities across America.
But today, only nine universities na
tionwide have substance-free, or “dry,”
housing in all fraternities and sororities.
And at the University, nine sorori
ties and five of the 15 fraternities have
pledged to be dry as part of their com
mitment to Select 2000.
Select 2000 came to the University
in November 1997. As an incentive to
join, the University offered participat
ing chapters a one-time bonus of
$3,000 to be used for house improve
ment, former University Greek Advis
er Michael McRee said. In addition,
any new chapters that come to the Uni
versity are required to join Select 2000.
Members of these “dry” houses
may not have any alcohol on chapter
property — even if they’re 21 years
old. Alcohol is permitted at functions
—gatherings between fraternities and
sororities — but only if the event is
held off-campus and alcohol is served
by a third-party vendor. This reduces
the chapter’s liability by holding the
third party responsible for checking
identification of students before serv
ing them alcohol, McRee said.
While sororities have always been
dry, Select 2000 has had a significant
impact on all members of the Greek
system, former Delta Gamma presi
dent Jennifer Laudin said. Since the
program began, she said, fraternities
have become cleaner and safer. And
although she and her friends some
times reminisce about the “glory
days” before Select 2000, she said it is
just not fair to older students to be
held liable for underage members
who choose to drink.
“I definitely think it’s where the
Greek system needs to move,” she
said.
Members of the Panhellenic Coun
cil, which represents sororities, voted
on behalf of their houses to join Select
2000. But among fraternities, where
membership in the program is deter
mined by a majority vote of individ
ual house members, there has been
more dissent. At the University, 10
fraternities with houses have decided
not to join Select 2000.
Often, McRee said, the reason
members do not want to join is that
they see the prohibition on drinking
within the house as a violation of their
rights. But, he said, it is the responsi
bility of fraternities to follow the law,
and with a majority of the students
living in fraternities underage, en
forcement of the drinking age within
the house is difficult.
“Fraternities, have proven in the
past that they have not been able to
self-regulate,” he said. “The root of all
problems in fraternities and sororities
are the differences between what they
say they do, and what they actually
do.”
Keyon Maljai, president of Delta
Sigma Phi fraternity, said he believes
Select 2000 is a positive aspect of the
Greek system. The absence of alcohol
within his house has allowed mem
bers to focus more on academics and
forming strong friendships, he said.
“The wet housing would be fun for
a while,” he said. “But I don’t think I
would get anything out of it. ”
Higher grades are one benefit of his
house’s decision to go dry, Delta Up
silon president Philip Benton said.
Last year, the house members’ cumu
lative grade point average was around
a 2.5 or 2.6, he said. This year, the
house average is about 2.9 — an in
crease he said is partly because of the
more study-friendly atmosphere dry
housing provides.
He added that the Select 2000 pro
gram is not about dividing the Greek
system along “wet” and “(fry” lines.
“Select 2000 should be seen as cer
tain houses making a proactive stance
toward improving their house and the
Greek system as a whole,” he said.
But not all members agree.
Sw..„ .
Adam Amato Emerald
Members of the Sigma Chi fraternity get their daily dose of basketball, one of the many
alternatives to drinking encouraged since the chapter began participating in the Select
2000 program in May of last year.
Chad Parker, president of Lambda
Chi Alpha fraternity, said members of
the community often view wet hous
es in a more negative light than dry
houses.
Although his house is actively in
volved with community service proj
ects, people often discount their
achievements simply because they al
low drinking within the house, he said.
He said he opposes going dry on the
principle that it is an infringement of
student rights, and added that the in
centive money offered was a poor
substitute for the loss of freedom.
“Is money worth giving up any
kind of right?” he asked. “Throwing
petty money at us isn’t going to im
press me, and it isn’t going to impress
my house.”
Logan Archambault, a member of
Beta Theta Pi fraternity and a former
IFC representative, said he didn’t see
any reason to join Select 2000 because
his house already practices the princi
ples of brotherhood and service out
lined in the program.
“The removal of alcohol was the
only thing we don’t already do,” he
said, adding that the decision to
drink should be one made by stu
dents on an individual basis, not by
the chapter.
Too much emphasis has been
placed on the alcohol-related aspects
of the program, Theta Chi president
Jeremy Hull said, and not enough
consideration has been given to the
program’s other goals. Since his
house joined Select 2000, he has no
ticed flaws in the program — such as
the lack of a transition period for a
> house to go dry, and the absence of an
adequate designated driver system
for members who drink at an off-cam
pus site before attending functions.
But, he added, the switch to sub
stance-free housing has been a posi
tive change for his house, and it is
one he believes all fraternities should
make. He warned chapters that have
not gone dry that they will be held li
*able if underage members drink. Cit
ing alcohol-related accidents at
Greek houses on other campuses as
an example of this, he said it is only a
matter of time before a similar inci
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