The once highly frequented frat lots on gameday are now off limits to all sorority members, pending approval. This follows two new Greek life policies enacted by Sorority Council Monday evening.
The first policy requires ten days before any Greek social event can be approved. Due to this, there are no social functions allowed between Monday night and October 1st. That means any tailgates, darties, parties or functions that you were planning on going to are off-limits until then. For girls in sororities, that also means that the frat lots are off-limits for the first home game. The only reprieve is that a few sororities may be allowed to have functions that were already paid for before the new policy was enforced.
Once the new ten-day policy is enacted, Greek life members can attend approved events, but only approved events. That means unregulated darties and impromptu fraternity pregames are not allowed. A list of sanctioned events will be released each week, so members can know exactly which events will be approved and avoid those that aren’t. However, the sorority women who don’t adhere to the set of authorized events are subject to discipline.
The second policy involves functions, which now require a sobering up period. All attendees must meet at the chosen bus pick up 30 minutes before their bus. This is to ensure that they are sober enough to attend the event.
These huge policy changes come after a reported 200 percent increase in hospitalizations from last year—many of which were sorority women. Sorority Council says the changes are in order to prevent further issues and keep sorority women safe. However, the new changes might not be very appreciated by members of the Greek community, especially after the recent increase in dues that requires Greek life members to pay an extra $125 per semester to build a parking garage that most of them will probably never use.
Although the new changes come after a concerning increase, it does beg the question of how much power sororities should have over the free time of their members. These are, after all, college women who are old enough to pursue a degree and begin their professional careers. Yes, sororities are a great way to get involved, give back and make new friends, but is it really up to them to make decisions that adult women should be able to make on their own? Let us know your opinion on the new policies below. Do you think that SoCo should have made these changes?
Editor’s Note: Following the publication of this article, the Greek Life policy change was altered to allow attendance at approved functions and tailgates.