Campus alcohol prevention programs are valuable because they help minimize the misuse of alcohol, Kenney said. Deaths, such as the one in April of David Thornton, who choked on his own vomit after drinking 21 drinks for his 21st birthday at UC-Davis, have led to heightened prevention efforts on campus and to a move to much stricter alcohol policies by many fraternities. Phi Delta Theta fraternity, which has 169 chapters across the country, banned alcohol in all its chapter houses this year, the first fraternity to take such a tough stand. Initially the fraternity was motivated by liability concerns. In recent years, many fraternities have elected to prohibit buying alcohol with chapter funds or having kegs at house events under national rules.
All fraternities prohibit serving alcohol to minors.
Most sororities never allowed drinking in their houses, or stopped the practice years ago. This year, the National Panhellenic Council passed a resolution prohibiting sororities from engaging in social events at fraternity houses where alcohol is served, Berkeley's Kenney said. As a result of the tighter rules, many fraternities and sororities now hold events off campus, at hotels and restaurants, if they plan to serve alcohol. Undergraduate residences also cannot purchase booze for events with school funds. But a total ban on alcohol probably would not work, said Jim Montoy, vice provost for student affairs.