March 8, 1992
Last Sunday’s unsettling story on fraternity house drinking (“BYOB switch lets frats ease insurance liability”), contained documented evidence of past abuses — and the resulting increase in insurance rates for frat houses which buy and serve beer by the keg.
Dianne Gregory, executive director for Alpha Xi Delta fraternity for women, was quoted as saying, “If we don’t change our behavior, we’re not going to be around.” The Greek letter solution? Bring your own bottle.
Sorry, Socrates, but BYOB is not a change of behavior, only a change in acquiring and drinking alcohol illegally.
A true behavior change would be for all frat members under age 21 to stop drinking alcoholic beverages, as it is illegal in this state, and on any campus in the state.
The perception is that most college-age students are 17-to-21 years old, for the most part. Which indicates that four-fifths of those who imbibe are guilty of under-age drinking, punishable under state law.
When you add up all the saloons, the liquor stores, the private clubs and the fraternity houses, dormitories and apartments, then throw in the illegal curbside and back-alley liquor sales, Oakland has more alcohol per under-age drinker than any Skid Row in America.
No, BYOB won’t solve the problem. All it does is let the fraternities off the hook for the alcohol-related deaths and injuries which they encourage with their convoluted reasoning.
What is really required is Freshman Orientation which includes Alcoholism Education 101 and 102 before anyone can even begin to put a dent in the vincible ignorance of Oakland‘s entire academic community.
JACK O’NEIL
Sewickley