The North-American Interfraternity Conference banned hard liquor from chapter houses across the nation.
The NIC ban prohibits hard liquor unless it is provided by a third-party vendor, such as at formals and date parties hosted by the fraternity. This decision forces all 66 fraternities under the conference to comply with the policy by Sept. 1, 2019.
However, IU already has sanctions in place to this effect. IU’s Interfraternity Council banned hard liquor in 2016 to stop abuses they said were caused by alcohol. Interfraternity Council governs 30 of the fraternities on campus.
“I don’t believe it’s going to be one of those extreme shocks to our community because that has been placed in front of them within our Greek Organizations Agreement for the three years now,” said Zachary Shirley, assistant dean for sorority and fraternity life.
According to IU’s Vision for the Ideal Fraternity and Sorority Community, a document created to improve greek standards, a factor in the elimination of liquor is the alcohol abuse that is more often cultivated in bigger fraternities.
Senior Fikki Sadykhov, IFC financial consultant, said it has appeared to help in major incidents.
Sadykhov describes major incidents as hospitalizations and blackouts due to drinking, while minor incidents are people throwing up and falling asleep at events.
He contributed the increase of minor incidents to factors such as the higher alcohol content in beverages such as wine causing these symptoms.
Another factor was the upcoming bicentennial, in which the Office of the Provost approached the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association to improve standards before the bicentennial took place.
