Greeks know how to party responsibly

With all the negativity surrounding greek life in the media, it’s important to defend one of the biggest things IU greeks do right: parties.

I’m not talking about how greeks throw the hugest ragers on campus, but rather how these parties are planned, controlled and monitored. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes that many people don’t know about.

Your typical super-sketchy house party in the villas is controlled by no one. If something goes wrong, there usually isn’t someone designated to help.

If someone gets too drunk and is on the verge of alcohol poisoning, they probably can’t trust a drunk friend to deal with the situation properly.

What if someone drank too much and is sexually assaulted? What if someone stumbles off of your front porch into the street and gets hit by a car? Take a guess who is ultimately liable for that.

As unfortunate as it is, we now live in a world of lawsuits and liabilities. Everyone in the United States loves to sue each other for ridiculous reasons. Some girl or guy got drunk at some party and fell and broke a leg? Lawsuit.

It’s almost too easy to sue a fraternity. The president and his executive board can be held liable. That’s why fraternities have taken drastic steps to reduce their liability and make events safer.

At almost any fraternity event, you will find at least one sober executive. This is the guy who is in charge for the night. He is responsible for everything that goes on and is there to deal with any issues that might arise.

He is the one responsible for dealing with your friend who’s puking in the bathroom, or your other friend who’s blacked-out, trying to fight people walking down the street. So if something bad were to happen, there is at least one sober, hopefully responsible and dependable, person there to deal with the situation.

Additionally, fraternities have an entire group of people “working” the parties — usually pledges. Typically there are workers posted at the back door to control who is entering and exiting the house and to track how many people are in the house at a given time.

Also, there may be other sober monitors to assist the sober executive in keeping things under control. Sororities regularly provide sober monitors as well.

But most importantly, most, if not all, fraternities at IU have sober drivers.
This is absolutely essential in ensuring peoples’ safety. This is one of the best services IU’s greek organizations provide.
Sober drivers work to ensure everyone gets to wherever they need to go, safely. No one needs to drive drunk because there are free rides available.
No one needs to bear the risk of getting arrested from walking home drunk. But most importantly, sober drivers ensure that Hoosiers get home safely and don’t have to face creeps, rapists or murderers while walking home at night.
Greeks at IU sometimes receive negative press, but the parties they host are more controlled than some might think.
Say what you will about the IU greek system, but there are some sound safety systems in place that people often overlook.

­— lliskey@indiana.edu
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