CSUN Fraternities to Forgo Alcohol at Rush Week Parties

In an effort to improve their image on campus and in the community, fraternities at California State University, Northridge for the first time will serve soft drinks instead of alcohol to kick off their fall rush week recruitment parties beginning tonight.

Anybody caught drinking alcohol at the events will be immediately thrown out of the parties and the fraternity involved could be fined $200 for each incident, said Ray Hernandez, vice president of the campus Interfraternity Council.

The crackdown comes as a response to the rocky 1985-86 school year, during which three fraternities were suspended and the Greek system was criticized for being too rowdy.

Fraternities are also using a new approach for rush week this year by holding the parties under 12 large open-air marquees--one for each house--in the North Campus area, where the shindigs are less likely to annoy community residents, Hernandez said.

‘Not All Animal Houses’

“We know about the problems with the community, and we’ve all heard how wild the Greeks are. We’re responding to that, trying to prove we’re not all animal houses,” Hernandez said, referring to a popular movie about fraternity pranksters.

The parties will be held from about 7 p.m. to midnight tonight and Thursday. The fraternities are paying about $420 for extra campus police patrols to make sure the festivities remain peaceful and sober, CSUN Police Lt. Mark Hissong said.

In conducting “dry rush,” CSUN fraternities are following the example of about 250 campuses across the country where fraternities do not allow alcohol at their recruitment parties, CSUN Greek adviser Tom Piernik said. In April, the Interfraternity Council voted to conduct rush alcohol-free.

Traditionally, sororities at CSUN and other sororities across the nation do not allowed drinking during rush parties. CSUN sororities begin their rush activities Thursday.

Mark Fox, president of CSUN’s chapter of Sigma Chi fraternity, said: “What we’ve found is that fraternities that have dry rush are actually seeing increased membership. Basically, when you’re talking to someone who could become a lifelong brother, it should be a sober discussion.”

‘Shows Positive Attributes’

Fox said non-alcoholic parties give the impression to potential members that the fraternity is serious about brotherhood and “shows a lot more of our positive attributes.”

He said 15 students have expressed interest in joining his fraternity, in contrast to the three or four the organization usually attracts before rush week begins.

Hernandez said alcohol-free rush should bolster CSUN’s Greek population, which has doubled since 1980 to about 4,000 students in the 12 fraternities and eight sororities.

“Dry rush is going to get rid of the people we call professional rushers, the ones who are just there for the beer and women,” he said. “Those are also the people who give us a bad name and keep people from joining.”

Dry rush is one of several measures that CSUN’s fraternities have taken in the past year to improve their image.

The fraternities have agreed to the Halstead Plan--named after the street where many fraternities are located--which limits the days and hours during which they hold parties.

In addition, fraternities over the summer signed a code of ethics with the administration. The code, among other things, requires fraternity houses to respect the rights of nearby property owners, who in the past have complained of loud, late-night parties and trash that has cluttered their neighborhoods after the celebrations.