[20958] in APO-L
[APO-L] Tuesday News--Men of Princ.,Balanced Man, etc. (fwd)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Randy Finder)
Tue May 16 11:36:16 2000
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Message-Id: <Pine.PMDF.3.95.1000516102953.539132834A-100000@DRYCAS.CLUB.CC.CMU.EDU>
Date: Tue, 16 May 2000 10:33:19 -0400
Reply-To: Randy Finder <naraht@DRYCAS.CLUB.CC.CMU.EDU>
From: Randy Finder <naraht@DRYCAS.CLUB.CC.CMU.EDU>
To: APO-L@LISTSERV.IUPUI.EDU
This is from a Hazing mailing list that I'm on. Its about the social
greeks, but a significant part of the article is how the social greeks and
their problems is relative to what Alpha Phi Omega is doing!
Randy
LEVEL 1 - 2 OF 605 STORIES
Copyright 2000 The Press Enterprise Co.
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE (RIVERSIDE, CA.)
May 15, 2000, Monday
SECTION: LOCAL; Pg. B01
LENGTH: 932 words
HEADLINE: 'Men of Principle' in quiet frat revolt: A fraternity at UCR is
among
those considering an end to binges and a shift to civic responsibility.
BYLINE: Matthew Tresaugue; The Press-Enterprise
BODY:
RIVERSIDE
They weren't principled men.
Fraternity brothers drank heavily, skipped class and harassed
each other in the name of tradition, Mike Lasher's parents warned
him. But he joined a UCR fraternity anyway. Three years later, he
is president of Beta Theta Pi. Fraternity life for Lasher has been
tame, but he understands that the image of a rowdy culture --
deserved or not -- persists on and off campus.
Members of Beta Theta Pi's UCR chapter will consider in August
whether they want to be "Men of Principle," a program created in
1998 by their national organization to encourage brotherhood,
academic achievement and charitable works rather than beer-tinged
"Animal House" hijinks.
"We have nowhere to go but up," Lasher said.
The transformation comes as fraternity pledge classes are
shrinking nationwide, while more and more students are turning to
coeducational service clubs for a social outlet.
Fraternity membership has dropped as much as 30 percent from the
all-time high of 400,000 undergraduates in 1990, according to the
Chronicle of Higher Education. Over the past decade, fraternities
have made headlines for binge drinking and hazing, causing some
universities -- Dartmouth, for example -- to ban fraternities or
force them to include women.
UCR's first fraternity was established 25 years ago. That is
recent, considering the 150-year history of fraternities on U. S.
campuses. Only four of the university's 10 chapters have their
Greek letters on a house, and Kappa Alpha Order is the only one
that owns a home. The others rent.
The Student Life and Leadership Center, which advises UCR's
fraternities and sororities, has only anecdotal information on
fraternity membership over the years. The sizes of pledge classes
have been steady, but they have not grown at the same rate as the
student body, which has increased by roughly 50 percent over the
past decade, said Melissa Jaunal, assistant director of the student
life center.
UCR's fraternities have struggled to keep pace with service
groups, which accept anyone who is interested in activities like
feeding the poor and training Special Olympians. The philanthropic
and coed Alpha Phi Omega boasts 150 members -- roughly three times
more than any fraternity on campus. And the club accepted 45
chapter's biggest class in its eight-year history.
Alpha Phi Omega offers lip sync contests instead of beer bashes
on Friday nights, and members are required to do at least 12 hours
of community service each quarter. Its Web site tells members "to
give yourselves a big pat on the back" for buying 210 boxes of Girl
Scout cookies.
The club's membership has grown because "students know we are
committed to service," chapter president Mike Vu said.
Greek leaders are taking notice, and taking steps to attract new
members by improving the reputations of fraternities. Several
national organizations have started scholarship and leadership
programs similar to Beta Theta Pi's Men of Principle, using names
such as the "Balanced Man Project." Some national fraternities will
have banned alcohol at chapter houses by the time students return
to campus in the fall.
"We had lost sight of what fraternities are about," said Vincent
Del Pizzo, UCR's assistant vice chancellor of student services and
a former national board member for Beta Theta
"They are about fellowship, leadership and academics," he said.
"It is glorious and right-sounding on paper. But it had been lost
to drinking and partying."
Some fraternities, however, have been reluctant to "go back to
the roots of Greek life," as Del Pizzo put it. Only 17 of 143 Beta
Theta Pi chapters and colonies have agreed to be included in the
new program, which requires them to establish academic goals and "a
responsible alcohol management policy."
"We don't expect this to be an overnight transformation," said
Martin Cobb, co-director of the national Men of Principle campaign.
"It takes time to change a culture."
At its national organization's request, the Riverside Phi Delta
Theta house went dry last September and began to hold ice-cream
socials and bowling contests to meet women.
Chapter president Patrick Lauterio said that although alcohol is
no longer the "focal point" of the fraternity, "we still drink once
in a while." Once a month, Lauterio said, he has five or more
drinks in one sitting, which Harvard University'
Health defines as a binge.
Lauterio said he believes too much has been made of the Greek
system's problems by the media. Many fraternity leaders agree.
At the same time, however, UCR's student life center is preparing
a marketing campaign featuring the Greek system's community service
and the national organizations are promoting heavily their "success
stories." Beta Theta Pi claims its Men of Principle campaign helped
the University of Georgia chapter to attract its largest pledge
class in 16 years and encouraged the chapter at Washington
University in St. Louis to swear off alcohol at its parties.
At least 10 chapters are expected to join the program's ranks
each year, Cobb said.
Lasher, UCR's chapter president, said Riverside could be next.
The chapter already has banned alcohol from its rush activities,
adopted a minimum 2.65 grade-point average for active members and
holds an annual Easter egg hunt for local youngsters.
"It's what the guys want to do," Lasher
said.
