Wofford College Office of Campus Life and Student Development revised the alcohol policy for the Greek row on Sep. 26.
The policy was updated last year but new changes have been made.
Last year, The Old Gold & Black discussed a policy change regarding the ban on coolers in fraternity houses. As of today, that policy still stands for the Greek Village in addition to other new policies released last month.
Students who are 21 years old or older are allowed to bring six 12-ounce cans upon entering the Greek Village. Unopened beverages with ten percent alcohol by volume, ABV, or lower are now allowed into the row.
Earlier in the year, that was not the case, as the popular brand High Noons was not allowed to be brought into the Greek Village, despite their four-and-a-half alcohol percentage.
Additionally, both beer and wine were accepted in the past, but wine is now excluded because of its higher percentage.
The alcohol policy states that each IFC organization requires four sober party monitors at all times throughout the night; however, only two have to be active undergraduate members and easily identifiable at all times. The alcohol policy allows for third-party licensed vendors at each organization, but they must follow the new ten percent ABV or lower policy, making wine and liquor unavailable to serve, even if it is a paid vendor from an outside source.
Nolan Nicholson ‘24, an active member of IFC’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon, works for the fraternity’s council. Nicholson has experienced the changing policies over the course of his four years, turning 21 nearly a year ago.
“I think (the 10% policy) is a good thing because I think students will be more responsible with their drinking beforehand,” said Nicholson.
The higher percentage policy allows students to bring in more preferred beverages to the fraternity houses, rather than feeling restricted when being at the Greek Village.
This will allow students to be able to continue drinking the beverages that they prefer while at a fraternity house, rather than binging on these drinks before attending.
“I can see the downsides of it with stronger percentages, but for the most part, I think it will make people feel like they aren’t forced to drink way more than they should before the row,” Nicholson said.
The national drinking policy for Sigma Alpha Epsilon is 15 percent ABV. The Wofford Administration and IFC do not work together when instituting these policies, so it inhibits the enforcement of these national policies for individual organizations.
“I do think this change was one in the right direction,” Nicholson said. “I think, moving forward, we could be a lot more successful if this is a collaborative process with all the fraternities.”
