Fraternities must adhere to alcohol probation, risk training
USC fraternities without pending alcohol sanctions will give out bids Friday, but they’ll have to give up alcohol until mid-September at all fraternity events.
University officials and fraternity presidents hammered out an agreement Thursday afternoon that formally returned fraternity recruitment — with a few stipulations. It was unanimously approved.
Fraternities must forfeit alcohol until at least Sept. 14, the Wednesday before USC’s first home football game. Fraternities that require all of their executive officers, 80 percent of their members and 80 percent of their new members to take “risk management” classes offered by the university can drink then.
Those that don’t will be forbidden from tailgating at the first home game, according to the university. The alcohol ban ends for all groups Sept. 22.
“The presidents didn’t want to give up the tailgate,” said Tyler McBride, president of Alpha Tau Omega. “That was the big issue up for discussion.”
Fraternities also agreed to reduce their new member education programs to 10 weeks. In previous semesters, most fraternities required new members to undergo a 12-week program. National organizations typically recommend the process lasts eight weeks, said Keith Ellis, USC’s associate director of Greek Life.
Also, fraternities will have to forgo alcohol for the first 15 days of each semester, according to the new agreement. The agreement also reinstates the Fraternity Council, which USC said it wouldn’t recognize last Thursday.
“Everyone was pretty good with the way it worked out,” said Michael Huneycutt, president of Beta Theta Pi. “When it was first coming up, everyone kind of wanted to see what everyone thinks, and it eventually fell in the middle.”
Fraternities that hadn’t committed any violations were initially hesitant with the agreement, McBride said. But they agreed after everyone realized the agreement was likely the only way to move forward.
Other terms of the agreement include:
— USC fraternity officials will sign an agreement before each recruitment period saying rush will be alcohol-free.
— The university will now have a task force of students, faculty, staff, alumni advisers and national representatives to talk about alcohol.— USC will provide ongoing educational training and policy orientation for all fraternity membership.