Keeping in compliance with their insurance policies, fraternities at Union College have begun the process of eliminating registered social events where there are kegs present at the party. The fraternities, in conjunction with the Interfraterntity Council (IFC), plan to make the Union campus keg-less by the fall of 2010 by utilizing beer cans as the primary source of beer.
In order to be fully compliant with their national chapter standards, as well as with their national insurance contracts, fraternities at Union cannot continue to use kegs since they are considered a central open source of alcohol. According to Timothy Dunn, Director of Greek Life at Union, the majority of the fraternity and sorority dues go towards insurance. While the cost of insurance varies on campus, Dunn says that it ranges from $8,000 to $15,000.
The decision to go keg-free at Union was made by the IFC, which had been discussing the issue since June after a student accidentally fell at a fraternity party. The student had damaged their teeth as a result of the fall and, because the kegs violated the insurance policy, the insurance company did not cover the damages.
Instead of violating their insurance policies, fraternities are planning keg-less weekends to prepare for next fall.
"At IFC meetings we decided to wane the fraternities off kegs and instead of no kegs, we are trying keg-less weekends," said Alec Rosen '10, President of the IFC and a brother at Sigma Phi.
Rosen believes that the keg-less weekends should not affect students attending open parties at Union.
"The point of having keg-less weekends is to teach fraternities how to run parties without kegs in order to be prepared for next year," Rosen said. "We are nervous about the change, but it is to our own benefit to have these weekends."
On October 23, Alpha Epsilon Pi became the first fraternity at Union to run an open party with cans of beer instead of kegs.
According to David Kislik '10, President of Alpha Epsilon Pi, the event was successful, even without the use of kegs as the primary source of beer.
"It was a successful event that showed us that using the methods of running a party that we believe in will work in the coming years when kegs are no longer permitted on campus. We learned how people will react to the prospect of cans versus kegs, and we learned how to deal with the issue of storage space and organization of the cans, both empty and full," Kislik said. "I fully believe that we did everything right and had a successful event because of it. There were no issues at all from any guest, brother, or administrative or campus safety official and I expect that to continue as we transition."
The next keg-less weekend is scheduled to take place at all the fraternities on the weekend of November 13-14. While not all fraternities will be holding open parties that weekend, every organization will be registered with cans. Additionally, there will be two keg-less weekends in the winter and spring, respectively.
The IFC is also planning to have the fraternities hold "BYOB: Bring Your Own Beer" parties where students might be able to bring their own beer and the fraternity would provide the music and the dance floor.
While the source of alcohol will change, the registration process for beer and parties will be similar to the current process.
"The accountability for alcohol will be the same, though the actual process of registering beer cans still needs to be worked out," said Brad Wilhelm '10, Vice President and Chief Justice of the IFC and a brother at Theta Delta Chi.
Another concern of the IFC is the logistics of beer can storage and disposal.
"It is important for us to recycle the cans because the fraternities need the money back from the cans," Rosen said.
Currently, Sigma Phi has a system in place to use the money from the cans for building projects in the house.
When the first campus-wide keg-free weekend occurs, the money from the recycled cans will go toward a contribution by the IFC to the Union College Ancestral Plot in Vale Cemetery to mark the plot of Moses Viney, a runaway slave who escaped to Schenectady on the Underground Railroad.
While recycling is important, Kislik believes that using cans instead of kegs will hurt fraternities financially.
"The most pressing problem with going keg-less is the money. It is a losing proposition to switch over to cans as a fraternity regardless of the return you can make on recycling," Kislik said. "The costs outweigh most if not all of the benefits."
Wilhelm believes that buying cans of beer instead of kegs will cost fraternities between a third and a half more, though the IFC hopes to work with distributors to get a bulk price at wholesale.
"My brothers and I are apprehensive about the change since we have been doing the same thing for the past 30 years. We will figure out together how to handle things," Wilhelm said. "As long as it is financially viable, we will be supportive."
Kislik and the brothers of Alpha Epsilon Pi are also looking towards the future positively.
"I think the fraternities will always be the safest option for an alcoholic social event on campus and should be recognized as such," Kislik commented. "I do not agree with the removal of kegs from our campus, but with my brothers we will strive to meet the standards set by the administration and ensure that our social events are appreciated, fun, and safe for all."
"In the current policy of kegs, there is more of an ability to monitor and regulate the kegs and the amount of beer served at any given social event. This makes not only our jobs easier, but campus safety's, and therefore, the administration's job easier as well," Kislik said.
"Added to this is the possibility of less social functions hosted by fraternities which can only lead to more privatized drinking on campus. This drinking will occur in dorm rooms, Minerva houses, Seward houses, and theme houses. Any of these possibilities is ten times harder to regulate or control compared to the fraternities, and will promote worse drinking habits where there is no host to control the rate the alcohol is being served," he said.
While changing college policy is a difficult process, Dunn is proud of those involved in the transition from kegs to cans.
"The brothers understand the change is for their protection, as well as the rationale behind the change," Dunn said. "I am impressed how the IFC has taken the bull by the horns in this effort to change the policy. The students have been considering all aspects of the policy change: behavior, recycling, financial concerns, and not purchasing kegs from the local distributor."
Originally published in Union's Concordy on 11/5/09
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