In May 2013, the Greek Leadership Council passed a policy banning freshmen from attending Greek events serving alcohol during the first six weeks of the fall, with the goal of protecting the safety of first-year students and mitigating risk for Greek houses.
Though a few organizations violated the policy last year, the rule again applies this fall, as proponents cite decrease in alcohol-related incidents as a successful element.
The policy helps both first-year students and Greek organizations, Safety and Security director Harry Kinne said.
“Overall I think the six-week policy had a very positive calming effect and was very beneficial, I think, to all parties involved,” Kinne said.
At the end of the six-week period, he said, there was not a huge increase in incidents, and he did not feel there was a significant rise in incidents with first-year students having alcohol in residence halls
Members of the Class of 2017 said that the policy did not have a large impact on reducing underage drinking but did change the first-year student’s social scene, reflecting almost a year later.
Grace Carney ’17 said she was originally disappointed about the policy, since she had heard a lot about Greek social life before coming to the College. In the fall, however, she realized that freshmen bonded with one another more because freshman-oriented activities were the only social options, she said.
While the policy promoted class bonding, Carney called first-year student drinking during that period “inherently more dangerous” because drinking in dormitories often involves hard alcohol, while fraternities generally only offer beer.
“I think it made the social scene a little more unsafe,” she said.
The first six weeks were a good time to meet other freshmen, Chris Burkholder ’17 said. While he said he did not think it necessarily reduced first-year students drinking, since students had dormitory parties, Burkholder said the policy effectively protected fraternities.
“It did show the College that it’s not necessarily the fraternities’ fault,” he said.
During the first six weeks of last fall, freshmen conceived of more creative ways to spend weekend nights and bond as a class, Mary Sieredzinski ’17 said. Not being able to participate in Greek life, which a large percentage of campus is involved with, did feel exclusionary for freshmen, she said.
The policy did not seem to stop people from drinking but to just stop freshmen from drinking in fraternities, she said.
While she said she understands the policy’s intentions, Sieredzinski suggested a shorter period, especially since freshmen cannot go to fraternities during Homecoming under the current policy. As a varsity athlete, she said it was more difficult to bond with upperclassman teammates without going to Greek houses.
Kenzie Clark ’17 said while many of her classmate disliked the policy, she did not mind it too much, also citing class bonding as a benefit. With the policy in place, students have an opportunity to adjust to college before Greek life, she said. She also said that, since she did not decide to go to fraternities until spring term, the policy helped her have more things to do and adjust to college life.
“Coming to college is a big adjustment and dealing with that kind of social scene is tough for incoming students,” she said.
The policy promoted a good program for bonding with floors, Will Burger ’17 said. But during the first few weeks, he said that he felt like he might be missing out, without knowing what he was missing out on.
In terms of first-year student safety, Burger said he was not sure the policy was effective.
“I thought it was great for building relationships, but in terms of maybe excessive drinking, I don’t think it was as effective as it may have planned to be,” he said.
For the Class of 2018, Carney advised waiting out the six weeks of the policy. The period passes quickly, she said, and waiting is preferable to breaking the rules and possibly suffering the consequences. First-year students who violate the policy will be prohibited from participating in rush process until the end of sophomore year. And organiziations have to pay a fine established by the subcouncil they belong to if they violate the policy.
Burkholder recommended taking the policy with a positive attitude and embracing the opportunity to get to know the freshman class as well as possible, since once students start attending Greek parties, he said, it is not as easy to get to know each other.
“It’s definitely a fun way to get to know your classmates,” he said.
Sieredzinski recommended using the first six weeks to check out the College and various parts of campus.
“I would say just make the most of it,” she said. “The rule is the rule, you can’t do anything about it. So in the meantime, get to know your class better and just get closer to your grade and try to do some other fun things.”
During the first few weeks, Clark went to Boston one weekend with five friends and stayed at a friend’s house, as well as doing activities with the Dartmouth Outing Club such as hiking and climbing.
As members of the Class of 2018 settle in at the College, Burger recommended keeping an open mind. Being at college feels very different from home life, he said, but staying relaxed and realizing there are plenty of other people around you undergoing the same situation helps ease the transition.
