Greeks feel singled out by alcohol tactics

For two years, University-hired party patrolman Scott Thiery roamed greek row in search of alcohol violations.\nAnd in those two years, there was no significant decrease in alcohol use and abuse, Dean of Students Richard McKaig said.\n"We thought it was money being poorly spent," he said.\nNow, the University is depending on the IU Police Department to keep the party scene under control, but student leaders say greeks are being unfairly singled out.\nAs the number of alcohol-related citations rise, the IUPD is issuing more citations to individuals in fraternities.\nLast year, 27 separate cases were documented where fraternities violated IU alcohol policy, McKaig said.\n"In light of the recent statistics, I have no reason to think there will be less than 27 cases this year," he said. "But in terms of a trend of too many citations, there hasn't been enough time to establish one."\nMcKaig said the Interfraternity Council is looking into certain proposals to enforce alcohol policy among the greek community.\n"At this point having student leadership monitor alcohol consumption is certainly a strong option," McKaig said. "I think it's a combination of enforcement, education and alternative activities that will assist in controlling student drinking."\nInterfraternity Council President Colin Godecke said he thinks the police spotlight is shining brightly on the greek community, neglecting other parts of campus.\n"It seems like this police attention is exclusive to fraternities and we aren't sure why," Godecke said. "We're always concerned with the safety of our members. Right now we are discussing changes we can make to promote a responsible greek community."\nIU's alcohol policy states that use or possession of alcoholic beverages in any undergraduate residence supervised by the University, including fraternity and sorority houses, is prohibited.\n"The more we can do to encourage student leadership and positive student behavior, the better off we'll be in reaching our goal of student safety," McKaig said.\nMcKaig said certain groups promoting events such as Little 500 or IU Sing are anxious to voice their opinions about cracking down on fraternities.\n"I have known for years that the 'Little Five' riders are the kind of people who limit the kinds of substances they consume," McKaig said. "It would be naive to think that there aren't riders who are outraged when they are excluded from the race because of activities their fraternity did when they didn't personally do anything wrong."\nIUPD Sgt. Tim Lewis said each situation calls for a different response, whether it is greek related or not.\n"If you look at all the situations where we have to deal with fraternities, the only reason we ever go is because we get a complaint," Lewis said. "We don't have the personnel, time or information to knock on fraternity doors just to see what they're doing."\nIU Student Association President Bill Gray, a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, said the lack of communication between the University and its students has led to the tension.\n"I would hope and expect that the IUPD, the administration and the greek community will be able to come to an agreement about the way in which they are to be policed," Gray said. "The greek community at IU has exemplified leadership in philanthropic events as well as volunteer work, but at the same time greeks are being unfairly scrutinized"