Earlier this month, presidents and representatives ofSMU’s Interfraternity Council agreed to the terms of theirrevised risk management policy, which most importantly coverspolicies involving popular fraternity bus parties. Due to FamilyWeekend and fall break, Friday will be the first night of busparties under the new policy.
“The whole point of getting the proposal finished is tohedge risk, keep the chapters safe and keep the student body fromdrinking and driving,” IFC President Blake Towsley said.
IFC will now mandate the use of bus transportation to all eventshosted solely by a fraternity or co-hosted with anotherorganization. Event security will now be required at the buses,which can be SMU police or another “third party”bonded, unarmed security firm. Security will now be provided withwristbands and will give them to only the individuals invited to anevent, which will allow them access to the bus. Event security willalso ensure that only those individuals with wristbands will beadmitted into the event once off the buses. Admittance will bedenied to any guest or chapter member who fails to procure awristband and ride the bus. It will not be possible for any memberof an IFC fraternity chapter to distribute wristbands prior to whenbus transportation begins. Members found doing so will be subjectto severe sanctions from IFC’s judicial board.
Individuals found leaving the buses after receiving a wristbandwill forfeit all right to attend the function, and once thewristbands are gone, no more guests or chapter members will beadmitted.
Towsley has been working with the IFC and school officials toget the policy completed. He also stressed the importance of thepolicy after a recent party where only 46 out of approximately 350people on the guest list rode the bus to the event.
IFC was forced to revise their policy after Panhellenicsororities agreed to require that guests to sorority-sponsoredparties be on a guest list and ride a bus to the events lastsemester.
IFC has adopted similar rules regarding guest lists, citing thatthose in attendance are to be logged in case of emergency orprosecution regarding any negligence. This amendment follows moreclosely to national fraternity rules, which institute the use ofguest lists to account for the number of people attending.
IFC risk management chairman Carl Anderson said that as ofThursday night, eight of the 10 chapter presidents had signed theproposal, and the last two are scheduled to sign it Friday morning.The two presidents yet to sign have agreed to the conditions of theproposal but were not in attendance at Thursday night’smeeting.
While the policy will, in the long run, help cover IFC andUniversity liability concerns to hopefully keep students safe, somestudents feel that the policy is “miserable”.
“There are so many things that are different, and are notgood, in my mind,” senior Ricky Kemph said. He believes manystudents agree that the policy would dampen social life oncampus.
“Not only could the policy create tension between thehouses saying that parties are for this or that house only, the busparties are so big for rush. … How are members supposed tomeet first-years who aren’t on the list and could be hugeadditions to a certain house? It also could keep non-greek studentsfrom enjoying many greek events,” he said.
Kemph also expressed his thoughts on the fact that manyupperclassmen who live near an event location can no longer walk tothe events, and instead will have to drive to campus and home,possibly after drinking. This issue also challenged IFC.
“I know that people should have a designated driver, butsome people don’t. This could bring an influx of drunkdrivers to campus, who after riding the bus to parties that aremostly at bars, will have to drive back to their place ofdwelling,” Kemph said.
But whether students are in favor of the policy or not, theywill have to abide by it from now on. Still, Kemph remembers thedays when there were no policies, mostly because there wasseemingly no need.
“When I came to SMU, there weren’t anywristbands,” Kemph said. “You went to all the parties,and met the guys or girls in the house. If you were underage, youwere carded and didn’t drink. I don’t know if there wasa specific incident, but I do know that there were no rules, wejust had a good time.”