# data[].attributes.headline
Why exactly are Sororities not allowed alcohol in the houses? 

# data[].attributes.subject
Why exactly are Sororities not allowed alcohol in the houses? 

# data[].attributes.body
"The reason that the NPC (National Panhellenic Conference) gives for this seemingly archaic rule is that it’s much cheaper to insure sororities if alcohol isn’t allowed in their houses. Sorority members pay about $25 to $50 a year for insurance policies, while fraternity members pay $180."

# data[].attributes.body
"For whatever reason, years ago there was someone making rules for Greek houses and deemed it inappropriate for sororities to host parties where there’s alcohol."

# data[].attributes.body
- It's much cheaper for sorority members to pay for insurance policies because they aren't allowed alcohol in the houses.
- Regardless, the sororities should be treated equally to the fraternities.
- Even if a sorority has no interest in throwing a party, they should still have the OPTION to do so.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A rule within the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) - an umbrella organization of 26 autonomous sororities - bans alcohol in sorority houses.

Since these sororities can't throw parties themselves, they throw a number of joint parties, or "mixers," with fraternities throughout the year.

At Yale University, some students note the inequity in the arrangement.

On college campuses across America, groups of men who've pledged a brotherhood to one another as part of a fraternity gather and throw parties with alcohol.

Most women who are part of equivalent sister organizations are prohibited from doing so.

That's because of a rule within the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) - an umbrella organization of 26 autonomous sororities - that bans alcohol in sorority houses. These sororities are not allowed to throw events with alcohol, because their governing national chapters voluntarily elect to adhere to that rule, and pay lower insurance premiums as a result.

Since sororities can't throw parties themselves, they throw a number of joint parties, or "mixers," with fraternities throughout the year, which make the two organizations codependent. At Yale University, some students note the inequity in the arrangement.

"Sororities are social places for women but they depend on frats for real estate and parties," Korinayo Thompson, co-president of Yale University's co-ed fraternity Fence Club, told Business Insider.

This rule also means that off-campus parties are almost exclusively thrown by male-only organizations. And in these spaces men are in control. Fraternity brothers monitor the door, dictating which attendees are worthy of entrance and gauging the gender ratio, and stand behind the bar.

"There's something weird about a space operated and controlled by men that feeds alcohol to women," Thompson said.

The NPC says its policies represent national best practices. "Our organizations were founded to support scholarship, leadership and engagement on campus - all of which are principles that lead them to prioritize substance-free living environments," Dani Weatherford, executive director of the NPC, said in a statement to Business Insider. "We believe that regardless of where a party takes place, the efforts needed to create safe campuses and battle sexual assault are universal - requiring a culture shift, not a venue shift."

Since women in sororities at Yale must throw joint parties with fraternities, or events at third-party vendors like local bars, if they wish to serve alcohol, they've developed a strategy to protect themselves from men they believe have engaged in sexual harassment or assault.

They use anonymous Google forms to compile the names of men who women fear are dangerous, and then prohibit them from attending certain social events.

"If there is a person you would feel unsafe having at formal, please utilize the Anonymous Feedback form," an October 2017 email to Kappa Alpha Theta sorority members read. "Please use this form seriously and submit it by end of the day Saturday."

The women of Theta submitted the names of people they believed had engaged in sexual harassment or assault, a Theta sorority sister told Business Insider. Later, executive members of the sorority reviewed the anonymous Google form and barred listed men from the party. Other Yale sororities, including Pi Phi and Alpha Phi, use a similar strategy, according to members of each group.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Most sororities have to follow a sexist and potentially dangerous rule that gives men on college campuses power

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A rule within the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) - an umbrella organization of 26 autonomous sororities - bans alcohol in sorority houses. Since these sororities can't throw parties themselves, they throw a number of joint parties, or "mixers," with fraternities throughout the year. At Yale University, some students note the inequity in the arrangement.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Frats throw parties and sororities don't. It's a simple fact of life that college students tend to take for granted without even realizing it. "That's just the way things are" is a stubborn defense, and we often accept things because we're used to them, not because they're right.

But give it more than two seconds of thought and it's hard to think of a non-sexist justification for this state of affairs. In fact, not only do sororities tend not to throw parties, they are actually not allowed to: While fraternities are fairly free to do what they want, every sorority's national organization all alcohol in sorority houses at all times. It's a rarely discussed double standard that has huge implications for campus life nationwide.

National sorority organizations should overturn their unconditional bans on alcohol in order to make campus social scenes safer and more egalitarian. When only men can throw parties, men control the most popular-and the most dangerous-social spaces. It's arguably the most fundamental underpinning of campus rape culture. Even well-intentioned (which is an assumption that universally ) men still get to feel safer on their own turf, don't have to meet someone else's standards to score invites to parties, and get to have control over what their social spaces look like, while women do not . And while rape is not just a male-on-female crime, it's very likely that having some parties controlled by women would reduce the risk of sexual assault.

Further, even independent of its consequences, the very existence of this double standard demeans collegiate women. We tell men that they are adults able to make their own decisions, while we tell women that they must be held to a separate standard of respectable, ladylike behavior. My sorority is not even allowed to host a wine and cheese event in our space. Meanwhile, my friends in fraternities can throw huge parties whenever they please.

There's absolutely no reasonable justification for this unequal treatment, and it feels just as antiquated and unfair as it should. It's like being told your brother is allowed to go out at night without a chaperone because boys will be boys, but you're not because you're a well-behaved young lady.

There's a small movement to fight this double standard, and I think it's a great one. The Sigma Delta sorority at Dartmouth, for example, is able to host parties with alcohol because it does not have a national affiliation, allowing women to feel safer at parties with female bartenders and women manning the doors. Yet the change lacks widespread support , particularly within Greek organizations. National sorority organizations tend to ban alcohol to get lower insurance rates, or because they argue that women don't want to live in a place with rowdy parties.

I get these arguments to an extent. But ultimately, particularly in the context of sadly already-expensive dues, something that has the potential to keep women safer is worth the added cost. If women don't want to throw rowdy parties, they certainly don't have to, but they should at least be allowed to make the choice for themselves.

The only objection I find mildly convincing is the argument that introducing more alcohol is not the way to make Greek life safer, and that if double standards are the problem, we should instead ban alcohol in frats. But that's a far more unrealistic and overreaching solution: Some might see it as an unfortunate reality, but it is nonetheless true that many college students will drink no matter what.

I'm all for taking certain steps to combat problems with alcohol in Greek life, such as having sober members present to monitor parties or banning punch. But an all-out ban on alcohol, even for closed events, raises the same problems as an insistence on abstinence-only sex education. We know students are going to drink, so let's instead try to make that drinking as safe as possible.

While I'm a member of a sorority at Harvard and have had an incredibly positive experience, I understand that Greek life more generally receives a lot of valid criticism. But so long as Greek life exists in its current form, it might as well exist without blatant double standards.
Stephanie G. Franklin '16, a Crimson editorial writer, is a social studies concentrator in Dunster House.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
An Overlooked Double Standard | Opinion | The Harvard Crimson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Frats throw parties and sororities don't. It's a simple fact of life that college students tend to take for granted without even realizing it. "That's just the way things are" is a stubborn defense, and we often accept things because we're used to them, not because they're right.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Something that people don't tend to realize about Greek life on college campuses is that sororities that are part of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) are not allowed to have alcohol, or throw parties in their sorority houses. There are 26 sororities associated with the NPC, and a lot of campuses have almost exclusively NPC sororities. So that means that the girls have to rely on the guys for parties, and that can lead to some dangerous situations.

The problem with the parties being only allowed in the fraternity houses is that the boys have total control over these parties. Fraternity parties are completely controlled by the young men in the fraternity, with them even deciding who can and can not attend. On top of that, if a sorority wants to have a party with alcohol, they have to throw an unofficial mixer with a fraternity at the fraternity's house, thus still leaving them at the will of the young men. In a situation with alcohol where men have complete control, it can lead to a higher risk of sexual assault.

There was a study done that showed that men in fraternities were three times more likely to commit sexual assault. That's not say all fraternity men commit sexual assault, and there are plenty of other campus organizations with similar statistics. But not allowing sororities to throw their own parties and control their own situations is something that definitely feeds into this problem.

The reason that the NPC gives for this seemingly archaic rule is that it's much cheaper to insure sororities if alcohol isn't allowed in their houses. Sorority members pay about $25 to $50 a year for insurance policies, while fraternity members pay $180. Considering how expensive it already is to be a member of Greek life, saving money isn't necessarily a bad thing.

There are sororities however that can host parties in their houses. These are sometimes called "local" sororities, and they tend to be smaller and are not run by a governing organization like the NPC. At Dartmouth University, there is a local university called Sigma Delta. Sigma Delta originally was established as a chapter of the NPC sorority Sigma Kappa, but broke away due to differences with the national organization. There are other non-Panhellenic traditional sororities across the country, and even international ones like Alpha Pi Phi in Canada. So if a young woman going through recruitment has a local sorority on campus, the option is there for an experience that allows more freedom and power for the young women involved.

Are you looking to get more experience in digital media? Join the CMN team as a writer or social media producer and get real-time experience, intense feedback on your writing and a great place to display your work.You can get academic credit, too. Check out our current opportunities here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Something that people don't tend to realize about Greek life on college campuses is that sororities that are part of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) are not allowed to have alcohol, or throw parties in their sorority houses. There are 26 sororities associated with the NPC, and a lot of campuses have almost exclusively NPC sororities.