All freshmen, sophomores and juniors at Kappa Alpha Theta, 303 Oakhill Drive, will now have to take a mandatory online alcohol awareness course, known as AlcoholEdu.
MSU chapter president Kim Brosky said seniors are exempt because many are either pursuing jobs and careers, aren’t living in the house or have limited time.
Its national chapter required all chapter members to take the two- to three-hour interactive course within three months. The class is mandatory to help raise alcohol awareness.
“It’s not something everybody wants to do, but it’s effective on so many levels,” said Brosky, a public administration and public policy senior. “You can’t force someone to make a good judgment, but you can educate them as much as possible and hope for the best.”
Housemate Marisa Sbrocca likes the idea but said she wants to dispel any rumors about why the program was started at the house.
“It’s not like there’s any problems,” the political science and pre-law junior said. “It’s not like anyone dies, they’re just trying to set some rules and act responsibly.”
Kappa Alpha Theta is the only group in the Panhellenic Council using the course. Panhellenic Council President Jennifer Nichols said any council member that requires the course is heading in the right direction.
“I think Kappa Alpha Theta is taking a pro-active approach to stopping (alcohol abuse) and any sorority that does that is good,” Nichols said. “They’re looking ahead into the future.”
But not all sororities at MSU are following the women’s fraternity - Kappa Alpha Theta is the only house taking the course.
“We’re probably not going to do it, because we have our own programs,” said Chi Omega President and communication senior Tricia Kelley. “Our national chapter sends us a packet and we go over it in a seminar.”
Kappa Alpha Theta has seminars and has required housemates to take a CD-ROM lesson, but upgraded to the online version so test takers could ask questions such as how many drinks they could consume before they would become intoxicated.
“It gives you a chance to test your limits,” Brosky said. “It’s individualized. This is a little bit more realistic.”
Students can test their limits thanks to a company called Outside the Classroom, who created the course.
Brandon Busteed, founder and chief executive officer of the company, said he hopes more sororities will follow in the organization’s steps.
The course was created to raise alcohol awareness and to prevent possible sexual assaults on potentially intoxicated women.
“Kappa Alpha Theta is the first woman’s fraternity in the country (and) with 15,000 members - it’s pretty profound,” Busteed said.
