BYOB seems A-OK

The easiest thing in the world is to see a problem and turn your head. It involves almost nothing on your part -- your eyes observe an event, your brain reflexively interprets it and then whatever level of required force is spent to close your eyes or use the muscles in your neck to turn your head elsewhere. The only lasting repercussions are, at most, conquering guilt.\nThat's why it's always so impressive when an organization recognizes reality and actively moves to reverse it. The Interfraternity Council has spent more than a year researching its new Social Responsibility Policy, which endorses a "bring-your-own-beer" policy to parties in which people 21 and older can bring six packs. We applaud them for spending the time necessary to construct the new policy. It seems like a reasonable proposal, and one that should rub no one the wrong way as long as it's enforced. \nThe primary reason we can get behind this proposal is its notion of individual responsibility and a socially safe party entertainment. Of-age people could bring alcohol to enjoy -- hard liquor remains prohibited, however -- and they wouldn't have to hide the fact that they're doing such a thing. It moves the issue out of the darkened corner and out into the rest of the party. Off-duty police officers would check identifications of drinkers or drink bringers, and the beer would be secured in a designated area, cutting out the middle-man and increasing the possibility of enforcement. If the fraternity properly fulfilled its end of the bargain, the heat would be off the host and put rightly on the violator. \nThere are inherent benefits to developing the BYOB policy, as well. After all, you wouldn't expect an organization to back a proposal so heartily if it didn't get something out of it. IFC readily acknowledges that the current rules regarding drinking are already being broken, so this policy would be more of a move to institutionalize a problem. The logic, whatever you think of it, is that if you can't stop the problem completely, you might as well interfere into the nature of the problem and regulate it.\nWe can appreciate that, and we hope, as Phi Kappa Psi President David Weller said he believes, that the policy will help reduce underage and binge drinking and make greek functions safer. Those are serious concerns, and concerns that, if not resolved through a BYOB policy, need further addressing by IFC and individual chapters.\nThe BYOB proposal still awaits authorization from IU's dean of students' office, which has promised to look at it but has stayed mum on its feasibility, which is an admittedly fair thing to say.\nAs IFC embarks a test period, we hope the dean of students' office keeps an open mind and works with IFC to tweak the holes and problems. It's not everyday an organization acknowledges an internal problem and begins to rectify it.