Tufts' new Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Patrick Romero-Aldaz is hoping to reshape Greek life at Tufts, and he may begin by trying to enforce policies against supplying alcohol at parties.
This topic and other areas of concern will be discussed tonight at a meeting between Romero-Aldaz, Inter-Greek Council (IGC) members and fraternity and sorority heads.
Romero-Aldaz may begin his career at Tufts by enforcing a policy forbidding fraternities and sororities from distributing alcohol at parties. Instead, people would have to either bring their own alcohol, or the party sponsors would have to use a third-party vendor, such as a catering service.
While it may not have been strictly obeyed in the past, "that policy is, in fact, already in effect by each of our chapters' respective national/international organizations," he said.
National chapters have long had this policy, but Tufts is not responsible for enforcing it. Still, Romero-Aldaz feels that it is the university's job to help Tufts' fraternity and sorority chapters by protecting them from retribution at the national level.
"What has changed is the understanding [at Tufts] that chapters are being asked to have about their own policies," he said. "Based on basic principles and policies of risk management, each organization represented on campus is expected to abide by policies and practices set forth by the [Fraternal] Information and Programming Group [FIPG]."
This group outlines "two acceptable ways of hosting events with alcohol." One is bring-your-own-booze (BYOB) and the other "is by third-party vendor," Romero-Aldaz said.
Junior Jessica Lynn Snow, the IGC's public relations chair, said that Romero-Aldaz' responsibility is simply to hold fraternities and sororities accountable. "He'll really just be letting people know that they will be held to the regulation," she said.
Romero-Aldaz echoed this sentiment. "I am responsible for ensuring the safety and security of students and chapters at Tufts," he said. "I'm expected to uphold these policies."
Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman did not put his support behind a university BYOB policy, but he did not rule it out. "Is it a solution? Not optimal. Is it workable? I know schools that have done it," he said.
"I'd say that BYOB has its advantages, but you can't approach BYOB as a way to get around illegal drinking - it's not," he continued.
By violating the national policies that govern each fraternity and sorority - especially those that deal with hosting parties and distributing alcohol - a Tufts fraternity or sorority chapter is putting itself at risk of being suspended or shut down by the national office of that fraternity or sorority.
For instance, when the Tufts chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi violated its social probation in 2005 by hosting a spring formal, the national Judiciary of the Committee on Fraternities and Sororities suspended the chapter for one semester.
Background: Romero-Aldaz and Tufts' troubled Greek system
Romero-Aldaz assumed his position at Tufts at the beginning of this school year, filling a void that had been open since his predecessor, Todd Sullivan, left Tufts in June 2006.
Romero-Aldaz left his job as Virginia Tech's assistant director of fraternity and sorority life to come to Tufts.
Several months before Sullivan vacated the position of fraternity and sorority affairs director, Reitman received a report from an outside contractor that Tufts had hired to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in its Greek system.
The company, t.jelke solutions, is a consulting firm specializing in improving fraternity and sorority life. Its January 2006 report stated that Tufts' Greek system had strayed considerably from the classic goals of American fraternities and sororities.
The t.jelke report identified those goals as leadership, scholarship, service and character building. They are far removed from what Tufts' fraternities and sororities currently focus on, Reitman said.
"The system had broken down from one where people felt pride in being a part of fraternities and sororities," Reitman said, referring to the Greek system that t.jelke critiqued in 2006.
It had begun to consist simply of "houses that reflected an alternative living situation," he said.
"I'd say that Patrick's [Romero-Aldaz's] primary goal is to address some of the main points of the t.jelke report," Reitman continued.
New Greek life director to move forward
Romero-Aldaz hopes to publicize his plans for how to accomplish this soon after tonight's meeting, which will give him the opportunity to hear feedback from students on the IGC and in fraternities and sororities.
"My goals for this year and the next five will be outlined in a forthcoming strategic plan which we hope to make public in the coming weeks after the leadership of the fraternity and sorority community have an opportunity to provide feedback and modifications," he said.
As the t.jelke report lamented that the Greek system has moved away from its initial intentions, Romero-Aldaz hopes to move it back in the right direction.
"Changes will certainly take place over the next months and years," he said. "Some of them include examining our member education, community outreach, recruitment and risk management."
In doing so, Snow said he will fill a void long felt by the Greek system after Sullivan left.
"We really needed a director; we didn't have anyone to vouch for us," she said.
Christy McCuaig contributed reporting to this article.
