Frat council votes to alter party rules

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Lauren Boyer - For The CDT

After "multiple incidents," including the death of a freshman rush this semester, Penn State's Interfraternity Council is cracking its whip with a new social policy.

Set to debut next semester, the new rules approved Nov. 10 by the IFC require fraternities, at their own expense, to hire two private bouncers to stand guard at parties and verify the photo identifications of partygoers, said IFC spokesman Zachary Meli.

Fraternities will have to register their events and guest lists, which can name as many as 300 people, by 11:59 p.m. the Wednesday before the social function.

A chapter president or a designated fraternity member will be allowed to add guests to the list during the party.

The policy also would ban most Wednesday social functions, along with “away bars,” which allow fraternities to distribute alcohol at different locations within a fraternity house.

Violations of these rules can result in fines and social probation, Meli said.

The IFC started crafting the policy six weeks ago, consulting current fraternity presidents, an IFC alumni interest group and State College Borough officials.

“This is really something unique to Penn State,” Meli said. “I haven’t seen any social policies similar to this one. We may be the first, I’m not positive, to introduce bouncers to monitor who enters our house and control the crowds inside.”

If a fraternity receives no social violations after nine months, it can apply for exemption from the bouncer requirement, Meli added.

“The cost for the bouncers is going to be an issue for some fraternities,” said T.J. Dolan, president of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity.

Though he wouldn’t estimate the potential costs of the bouncers, Meli said the IFC has five weeks to choose the security company that the fraternities must use. Dolan said one company’s estimate, given to IFC members, priced bouncers at $18 per hour.

Dan Florencio, president of Zeta Psi Fraternity, said hiring bouncers makes sense from a liability perspective.

“Less people will try to sneak into parties. It will be safer in the end,” Florencio said. “If someone gets out of hand, I personally can’t use force to escort them out, so it’s good to have a third party that’s licensed to handle those types of things.”

Florencio, who attended the Nov. 10 meeting, abstained from voting.

“I kind of thought the decision seemed like it was made already,” he said.

Stopping fraternities from starting the weekend festivities on Wednesday will lessen the emphasis on the Penn State drinking culture, Meli said.

“We shouldn’t be promoting that you drink from Wednesday through Saturday,” he added.

The elimination of away bars will eliminate liability for the host fraternity, which can be held liable for alcohol- related incidents even if another fraternity provides the alcohol.

Meli said a “large majority” of IFC presidents agree with the new policy.

“This is part of changing the culture at Penn State,” Dolan added. “It’s inevitable, and there will be bumps in the road.”