New party policies: Are they working?

The Homewood Undergraduate Party Registration and Safety Policy was implemented last semester as a means of controlling parties and the behavior of students who attend them. Such measures include requiring party registration and the presence of Sober Party Monitors.

Additionally, an amnesty provision encourages students to actively seek medical assistance in the case of alcohol overconsumption by granting them immunity to punishment.

The City of Baltimore introduced a new bill last year with harsher regulations on noise complaints.

Calvin Smith, the director of Fraternity and Sorority Life (OFSL), believes these policies are an important step towards safe partying.

“I am happy to see that we have taken a proactive stance in putting our students in a position to make positive decisions around keeping their peers safe when consuming alcohol,” Smith wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “I believe [the amnesty provision] will enable individual students and groups to more easily make the right decisions.”

In executing the policy, the OFSL has requiredfraternity and sorority members to undergo training to reinforce the new policies and has implemented various safety procedures.

“Fraternity and Sorority Life has trained the leaders of the twenty-one respective organizations, specifically the presidents, social chairs, and risk chairs, about the Homewood Undergraduate Party Registration and Safety Policy and will continue to do so each semester for new leaders that transition into those roles,” Smith wrote.

Smith elaborated on the follow-up procedures that Greek life leaders must complete after finishing the training regarding the new policies.

“Upon completion of that training the respective officers for each chapter must complete an assessment to verify that they understand their responsibility when hosting parties on or off campus,” Smith wrote. “Additionally, I work with our community liaison and a representative from CHEW to review party submissions on Hopkins Groups, collect guest lists, [ensure] the houses have received safety checks and make sure all of the appropriate people have received SPMT (Sober Party Monitor Training).”

Smith described that a major challenge towards the policy’s execution is the magnitude in the change by which Greek life chapters operate and host parties. The implementation of Sober Party Monitors, registered events and other facets of the policy are relatively foreign to fraternities and sororities.

“Our policy just aligns university practices with national best practices for events sponsored by organizations that provide alcohol,” Smith wrote. “The working group within the Dean of Student Life’s office will continue to work through the policy to find areas where we can streamline the process to make it easier for students.”

Despite the many adjustments, Smith sees the Party Registration and Safety Policy as an overall success.

“There has been an improvement in the behavior and noise control at events hosted by fraternities and sororities. Noise complaints, alcohol related transports, underage drinking infractions, citations from the city are all down dramatically from this time last year,” Smith wrote.

Additionally, fraternity members themselves generally agree on the importance of the new policies, and view it as a method in guaranteeing safe and responsible parties.

“I think it is a great system. It holds fraternities accountable while encouraging them to prioritize safety,” David Weiner-Light, president of Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “Beforehand, fraternities were penalized for making sure students got the attention they needed in dire circumstances.”

Weiner-Light also believes that while the policy itself has required many changes in Greek life operation, AEPi’s approach towards partying has not changed as much.

“Our policy has always been to prioritize the safety of our guests. In that sense, [the Party Registration and Safety Policy] hasn’t impacted our behavior but it gives guests peace of mind to know that their safety is paramount,” Weiner-Light wrote.

Subsequently, Sober Party Monitors play an extensive and important role when alcohol is served at the parties being thrown by fraternities.

“Sober Monitors are crucial to the success of parties. It varies from event to event but typically, they are at the door checking for invites and ID’s and [are] inside ensuring that everyone is safe,” said Weiner-Light.

Sophomore Jack Karyo who is a trained Sober Party Monitor again stressed the importance of his role in ensuring safety at parties.

“Basically, the role of a sober party monitor is to make sure that everyone at the party is safe,” Karyo wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “It’s very important that the monitor stay aware at all times in order to identify potential risks and to make sure that those risks are resolved. This keeps the party from getting out of hand and posing a hazard to the safety of those attending.”

Regarding the Baltimore city noise law, Treasurer of AEPi Adriano Zazur spoke about how the fraternity has to take into account potential fines that may occur throughout the year.

“We simply plan for fines in the budget,” Zazur wrote in an email to The News-Letter. “While we do all we can to avoid noise complaints and fines, it would be financially irresponsible to not plan for them.”

The student response to the Party Registration and Safety Policy, and specifically the presence of Sober Party Monitors, has been polarized. While some view the policy as a safety blanket for an overconsumption of alcohol as well as a stepping stone towards responsible behavior, others see it as ineffective, as they have never witnessed evidence of its successful implementation.

“I have never seen a Sober Party Monitor when I went out. I’ve heard of them, but I’ve also heard the parties they were at weren’t very good,” an anonymous source said. “I think [the Hopkins administration is] probably [implementing the policy] in order to make themselves look good, to make themselves look like they’re taking responsibility for the way their students are behaving and trying to exert some control over [their behaviors].”

Additionally, this source has noted that they have never been on a party’s guest list while attending parties.

Another anonymous source recounted that while walking past a party, they were invited by a Sober Party Monitor to go inside but the source declined to enter due to how strange the situation was to the source.

Despite the training of FSL and the changes being made to partying methods, Smith believes that the Party Registration and Safety Policy still has room for improvement.

“I will not say everything is perfect. We are still working through the process making sure the entire community is educated, but statistically we are in a much better place,” Smith wrote.