Alcohol group report expected by Thanksgiving

Alcohol consumption during a first-year student’s first few weeks of school is an epidemic, the High Risk Alcohol and Substance Abuse Working Group concluded at their Monday meeting.

Jonathan Sauls, dean of Students for Student Affairs, said he expects the group’s final report to come out before Thanksgiving and for the policy changes they suggest to come into effect sometime in the spring semester.

Aaron Bachenheimer, director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and Community Involvement, said deferring or delaying UNC Interfraternity Council’s recruiting period in effort to reduce the number of open parties occurring around campus was previously proposed.

“(Parties are) literally the entire first week, every single night of the week, every night of the week, open free for all,” Bachenheimer said.

Bachenheimer warned against completely deferring the IFC recruiting process until the second semester, as many private colleges have, because it would reduce the exposure of smaller fraternities.

“The pressure to have parties and woo first-year students with alcohol increases as the recruitment time frame expands,” he said. “The wealthier organizations have more power, and this narrows access to smaller organizations.”

While Bachenheimer said most IFC chapters were receptive to possible new policy changes, there’s still a casual attitude about partying.

“The chapters don’t deny it,” he said. “It’s the worst kept secret on campus that all of our chapters provide alcohol.”

Sauls said he’s frustrated with the relaxed relations between IFC chapters and the University at large.

“We have probably been content for some time with an arm’s length relationship with frats,” Sauls said.

Sauls said he wants to simply enforce the alcohol policies the University already has, along with handing down appropriate punishment when infractions occur.

“At some point, to say it bluntly, you have to make an example of some folks,” Sauls said.

Timothy Ives, the director of the Pain Management Clinic and a professor of medicine, said he thinks in the past the University should’ve done a better job setting a consistent, standard response to unlawful alcohol consumption.

“The policy we’ve had for years is that nobody is going to do something,” Ives said.

Leslie Lerea, the associate dean for student affairs for the graduate school, said she thinks the problem goes beyond changing the minutiae of IFC chapter policies and rush week.

“It’s really a cultural things that need to be changed,” Lerea said.

Dr. Jacob Lohr, a professor of general pediatrics, said these issues and concerns were by no means new.

“I was on this campus as a student 50 years ago,” Lohr said. “Nothing has changed. We were having these same conversations.”

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