MSU’s greek community is turning a new page this semester following recent alcohol-related deaths of two MSU fraternity members Ryan Rosman and Brian McMillen. The greek community has said all of its members will engage in drug and alcohol abuse prevention plans and in-house awareness programs, as well as revising their social policies in response to the tragedies. And although all of this looks good on paper, what hasn’t seemed to change is the attitude about partying within the greek community.
A self-imposed social probation for MSU fraternities and sororities ended last week, but the average partygoer had to look no further than Facebook to see that initiatives to rein in irresponsible partying habits haven’t made much of a difference.
In fact, although Panhellenic Council President Kait Rector said that the greek community viewed the probation as a “reflection” period rather than a “punishment,” the number of “welcome back” parties held this past weekend — some sponsored by greek houses — seem to indicate that partying was something the MSU community had sorely missed.
Although the efforts of the greek community to address the tragic deaths of MSU students certainly are well-intentioned, they’re not enough.
The greek community is not the only part of the student body that could use a wake-up call to make some smarter decisions about partying. The greek community at MSU is composed of a few thousand students, yet it has done little to use its extensive communication network to reach out to the rest of campus.
The greek community had a true opportunity to bring together the entire MSU student body by going beyond compliance with new rules. Houses could have collaborated, perhaps planning an event that would address and raise awareness about drug and alcohol use or by supporting an MSU “dry weekend,” leading the campus in alcohol-free weekend activities. Instead, some houses took full advantage of the three-day weekend by hosting more than one party in succession.
The deaths of Rosman and McMillen were painful losses not only for the greek community but for the rest of MSU as well. These events should alert all students to the dangers of irresponsible partying. Without major changes in the way MSU students view social norms and partying, avoidable tragedies will continue to happen. The greek community still has an opportunity here and now to make a difference and change its “party culture” stereotype.
Registering parties and supplying guest lists to the East Lansing Police Department isn’t going to stop needless alcohol-related deaths. Only changing the way we view partying will.
The greek community has resources readily available to make this happen and yet it still relies on local media to distribute information on the small effort it is making. Little has been done to even notify the MSU community of what measures fraternity and sorority houses are taking in response to the tragedies.
It’s time MSU’s fraternities and sororities take a stand, stepping beyond temporary preventative measures to get a grip on the reality of the situation.
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