Tailgating Changes Imposed on Fraternaties and Sororities

[Herb]

Curious what ya'll think about this subject:

 

 

LSU fraternity tailgating looks much different now after Gruver's hazing death, new rules

• BY JACQUELINE DEROBERTIS | Special to the Advocate
•  SEP 22, 2018 - 6:41 PM

 

 

 

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The Parade Grounds are sparse since LSU fraternities are required to tailgate at their houses Saturday Sept. 22, 2018, in Baton Rouge, La. LSU fraternities in the post-Gruver era are required to register their tailgate parties for Saturday football games and are forced to hold them at their respective houses, rather than on the Parade Grounds.

 

Thirteen years ago, LSU rule changes intended to curb excessive drinking at tailgate parties led to a shift in the action from Greek chapter houses to the Parade Ground. Now, they've been ordered to take their pre-game parties back to fraternity row as LSU seeks to again address the same issues.

In the aftermath of freshman Maxwell Gruver’s hazing-related death in the fall of 2017, President F. King Alexander assembled a Task Force on Greek Life to address the culture on campus surrounding this episode. The controversial policy that limits Greek tailgates to chapter houses was one of the last recommendations that emerged from the President’s Greek Life Implementation Committee Report this past July.

LSU encountered a similar problem in 1997 when student and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity member Benjamin Wynne, 20, died after a night of heavy drinking. The university ushered in a wave of reforms, among them the creation in 2005 of Policy Statement-78, which regulates serving, possessing and consuming alcoholic beverages on campus.

Though the policy did not explicitly ban Greek organization tailgates from their chapter houses, it effectively forced them onto the Parade Ground because of the financial burden of complying with the regulations. This football season, the new risk management requirements again threaten the financial stability of Greek chapters intent on continuing a tailgating tradition, according to members of LSU Interfraternity Council, even when confined to their houses. 

Over the summer the Task Force on Greek Life suggested revisions that upended the 2005 policy. In addition to restricting Greeks to their chapter houses, the new policy requires Greek organizations to hire a third-party vendor to sell alcohol and a security detail to ensure compliance for all on and off-campus social events. Both must be paid for by the chapters.

Furthermore, the policy bans hard alcohol and restricts alcohol, as well as non-members, to common areas in chapter houses during these events. Open containers are also out, along with a limitless guest list: the new ratio dictates three non-members for every member allowed at social gatherings.

So-called “unhoused” and dry fraternities are the only Greek organizations allowed on the Parade Ground.

Dr. Kurt Keppler, Vice President for Student Affairs, said the goal of this amendment was to develop clear oversight of campus alcohol consumption.

“The focus of PS-78 was safety. If we’re going to have events with alcohol on campus, what can we do to make them as safe as possible?” said Keppler. “If we can’t make them safe, then we shouldn’t have alcohol on campus.”

Keppler and Associate Vice President & Dean of Students Dr. Mari Fuentes-Martin see these regulations as providing two layers of protection, along with the presence of fire marshals and members of the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control on site throughout game day.

“Our expectations is this would then avoid — or significantly limit — the over-intoxication situation,” said Fuentes-Martin.

Keppler added that a big reason why the Task Force decided to crack down on tailgate regulations was the overcrowding “free-for-all” on the Parade Ground, former home to Greek Life game day festivities.

He said Parade Ground tailgates last year were "so crowded, hot and compact that we were very frightened that it was unsafe. There was no control. It got to the point where it became scary.”

The change in rules has had a marked impact.

For the Louisiana Tech game on Saturday, the Parade Ground was nearly deserted. Ropes acting as barriers lined the perimeter of the grass, and every few feet signs informed passersby that they could not proceed without a wristband. Uniformed security guards stationed in chairs behind the ropes served as a reminder that the policy would be strictly enforced.

A lonely tent at the far side of the field housed the campus-hired caterer to serve all the groups tailgating in the designated area. But there was little traffic. Personnel manning the tent leaned against the tables and chatted idly to one another.

To hear Interfraternity Council President and Phi Kappa Psi member Christopher Dupré describe it, Greek Life tailgating will never be the same.

“Normally it’s packed with families and organizations and everyone’s having a good time,” said Dupré.

Hendrik Mason, 22, is a member of Theta Chi, one of the unhoused fraternities allowed on the Parade Ground.

“There were a lot more people before,” said Mason. “But now look at it – it’s dead. This time last year at 1:30 this place would be crawling with students, but now nobody wants to come here because of all the restrictions.”

Another Theta Chi member, Stephen Enderle, 24, is concerned largely about safety issues compromised in this new arrangement due to the extensive spread of students across a large campus. Centralizing students on the Parade Ground was safer, he said.

Enderle said his chapter is making the most of the new situation by cooking jambalaya, drinking water and sharing each other’s company. But, he said, the new policies strain family and alumni ties to the chapters.

“My dad’s never seen college, and he had this one aspect in his mind of what LSU was, and now it’s completely changed and warped,” explained Enderle.

Further down Dalrymple along fraternity row, sorority members could be spotted walking between the chapter houses. The front yards were vacant; the party had moved inside in most cases. Security guards, many transfixed by cellphones under shaded porches, moved aside to admit guests. Occasionally signs of life stirred in the backyards where people cooked, laughed and drank.

While some grumbled about traditions being lost, others welcomed the rule changes.

Subbah Mir, president of the International Student Association, said the more organized and controlled tailgating under the new rules reflects more positively on LSU and makes for a better experience for new students and outside visitors.

"If things go smoothly, it would also give a better picture of our campus, especially for visiting teams,” she said.

Malaika Edwards, a PhD student in Leadership and Human Resource Development and Treasurer of the ISA, added that she feels safer and more secure.

“I like the fact that it is controlled,” said Edwards, who is from Jamaica. “Some of the activities that took place last year won’t happen again because it’s more organized and structured.”

In light of the start of National Hazing Prevention Week on September 24, the pressure to keep students safe has increased.

According to hazing expert and Dillard University President Dr. Walter Kimbrough, policies like the ones implemented by LSU have been in risk management conversations for decades. He added that despite the push for awareness, hazing deaths and alcohol infractions continue nationally.

“Nothing has changed,” said Kimbrough. “It’s hard for people to accept, but those kinds of violations and problems are still happening today.”

Dupré agrees that there are problems, but worries that over-regulation will create even more issues in the community.

“Trying to solve the underage drinking issue is like trying to solve world hunger,” said Dupré. “If you over-regulate this and you make it so strict, I fear the unintended consequences.”

Kimbrough sees no other path than continuing to push changes through the system.

“The national spotlight is on LSU,” Kimbrough said. “I think they’re doing all of the right things. But you’re talking about changing hazing culture at a southern institution with a strong football culture. They’re talking about a monumental task.”

[Nutriaitch]

i haven’t been on campus yet this season. 

but as a fraternity member (not at LSU), i can tell you that changing the location of activities will have very little/no impact on the activities themselves. 

i do not know the details behind the kid’s death. 

but im reasonably confident in saying that “hazing” was a convenient excuse.  i know of cases of alcohol poisoning (did not result in death) from parties that did not involve any fraternity at all. So the word hazing was never once mentioned. 

but because this one involved a group with a name, we blame them and make it the organizations “fault”. 

[Hatchertiger]

Trust me this change is partly a move by the university to minimize the number of videos of drunk LSU students on the parade ground from landing on the internet.   College kids are going to drink.  Very happy there weren't smart phones when I was at LSU when the legal drinking age was 18.

Nootch here is a link to a story about the LSU student who died:

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/courts/article_0578c7b4-8479-11e8-aec9-8b21f43a8e32.html

 

 

 

[Just Me]

At this time, I do not have any opinion about the new rules, except for one thing. The parade grounds, itself.

The Greeks absolutely abuse the parade grounds and the privilege of tailgating at LSU. Yes, it is a privilege. They leave the place trashed after tailgates. I have (in past years) driven past the PG on a Sunday morning after a Saturday of tailgating, and I am saddened that there is so little regard LSU to leave it in that condition. Yes, there are other tailgaters that are trashy, but the PG is particularly bad, and it isn't just trash flowing out of trashcans, it is trash was never put there in the first place.

 

/rant

[Hatchertiger]

Yeah like this is going to happen.  That's like putting a target on their chest.  I predict they will set up just off of campus somewhere or be very incognito somewhere on campus. Register the location? Not gonna happen.

After banning fraternities and other student organizations from tailgating in houses and on the Parade Grounds, LSU administrators announced late Friday that the pre-game partying would be allowed elsewhere on campus.

Frat houses and the Parade Grounds are still off limits, but the Greek organizations can set up tailgates elsewhere on the campus – provided they register the locations with the university and those party spots are approved by the Student Affairs and Accountability office, according to correspondence the LSU administration sent to the student groups.

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/education/article_ee460858-c8e4-11e8-b7f6-174e7372176a.html

[Just Me]

Registering tailgates for frats is the first step in registering all tailgates as other schools have done. Then charging for spots that the school lays out without regard to history of tailgates that have been in the same spot/configuration for years. We are seeing incremental changes with parking that have choked out a lot of tailgates, so what is to stop for regulating the tailgates themselves?

There has got to be some middle ground with the greeks. Somehow.