RESOLUTION: NIC fraternities voted to support a pilot program for campus implementation of new health and safety policies and event procedures to reduce alcohol abuse. In this pilot, the NIC will work with campus fraternity communities to put measures in place to reduce the frequency and volume of alcohol in the fraternity experience. This includes the following policies/procedures:
| POLICIES | INTERPRETATION |
|---|---|
| 1. Alcohol is only permitted in private living quarters of chapter facilities for residents above the legal drinking age, and must be below 15% alcohol by volume (ABV). | No hard alcohol in fraternity houses (outside of #3). |
| 2. During a registered event, alcohol possession and distribution must be restricted to common spaces of a chapter facility for the duration of the event. | During a social event, alcohol can ONLY be used in common spaces (not living quarters). |
| 3. Alcohol above 15% ABV may only be served by a licensed and insured third-party vendor (regardless of event location) at registered events. | Hard alcohol can only be served at registered events by a licensed third-party vendor. |
| 4. In partnership with each host institution, the fraternity community/campus will set a standard that significantly reduces and caps the number of events with alcohol (regardless of event location). | Each fraternity community/campus sets standards that reduce and cap the # of events each fraternity can have with alcohol. |
| 5. Each fraternity will utilize a standardized event management and guest registration procedure (regardless of event location) that will be administered by a third-party company (Social Safe). | Social Safe will help standardize – making events safer – event management procedures. For example, it will make sure third-party vendors are licensed and insured. |
| 6. Events must be limited to a guest-to-member ratio of no more than 3:1 for events with alcohol, provided that no event with alcohol may exceed X attendees (set campus standard) or fire code (whichever is lower). | Social safe technology check attendees in/out and helps control event size. |
WHY?: This approach blends policy rooted in research from substance abuse experts, best practices in educational programming, enhanced procedures to make events safer and a commitment to measure the efficacy of these interventions through consistent assessment. This approach also acknowledges that positive change happens when it’s adopted at the local level through collaboration and customization.
IMPLEMENTATION: The NIC implementation plan adopted in 2017 includes identifying pilot campuses and building out the Social Safe procedures and technology. The NIC will work with an assessment partner to identify measurements to test the efficacy of these standards and procedures, as well as train pilot campus’ stakeholders. Since 2018, the NIC has worked with a limited group of pilot campuses to implement these new standards and measure their effectiveness.
