Athens, GA– The board that governs the fraternities on campus say they are cracking down on their regulations. With all the annual spring frat parties right around the corner, some fraternities and members are gearing up for some stricter rules. Abby Johnson is live from greek circle. Abby, what can we expect this year?
We’ve all been to these parties and while they are big and usually fun and crazy, it’s also very easy for them to get out of hand.
What you see in the video above is not a concert venue or theatre. It’s the lawn of the Chi Phi fraternity house.
That’s right– their front lawn. And it’s not uncommon for many UGA frats to hold parties like this one. But that could soon change with the Inter-Fraternity Council cracking down on what frats are allowed to do.
“They’ve gotten a lot more strict with what’s allowed. They’ve started cracking down on parties and stuff and so we can’t have much parties anymore” Said Chi Phi member Thomas Pendergrast.
IFC has begun to require wristbands for certain parties like SAE’s Showercap and also limiting the number of people each fraternity member can invite.
And since the IFC is cracking down on many fraternity regulations like pledgeship rules, and underage drinking, and parties, many fraternities are choosing to hold their annual parties at fields instead of their own lawns.
When asked about Chi Phi’s annual spring party one of its members said it’s going to be totally different this year.
“It’s going to be at a field instead of our lawn… it’s going to be different. We’re having to talk to IFC about once a week in order to make sure we’re doing what they want us to.” Ross Erskine said.
President of Beta John Hurt said that aside from the restrictions on parties, one of the main issues coming from IFC is the changes in the recruitment and pledgeship process. He said that these rules are meant to minimize the trouble for the greek life office and the school, but puts stress on the people running fraternities.
I also tried to contact several executive members of IFC and of fraternities and they did not respond. It is obviously a sensitive subject because some of the IFC members are also executive members of different Frats.
