So get this. Six ASU fraternities are moving to the University's Adelphi Commons.
The best part of the transition is that the frats can no longer do keg stands or play "quarters" at home because the Commons are alcohol free.
We know there are fraternities on campus who have enforced alcohol-free policies before, but now ASU will enforce it for many of them.
This whole debacle would disappoint Frank "the Tank" Beanie and "The Godfather" of "Old School." Without all-night parties where frats can get their drink on, tradition is lost.
And tradition is important, especially at ASU, where the student body is so large that tradition seems to be forgotten, just like what we did Friday night.
We have to hang on to whatever tradition we have left, especially since tortilla throwing started fading out and favorite local hangouts like Long Wong's, Bandersnatch and Timber Wolf are either closed or closing.
Besides losing the right to drink themselves into a stupor, six fraternities are moving under the thumb of ASU. Hazing incidents, a student death and an infamous porn scandal have forced ASU to tighten its grip.
So, in another buck of tradition, those fraternities will lose any autonomy they once had and will hand it all over to ASU in exchange for the privilege of living in glorified dorms like a bunch of sorority girls. It's the end of frat parties as we know them.
But partying is not fraternities' sole purpose at ASU. They are supposed to be academic groups, where students can make friends and live as upstanding gentlemen in an atmosphere conducive to attending college, without said college ramming rules down their throats.
Once the frats are in Adelphi, they won't be much different from the 18-year-olds living in residence halls all over campus. Those kids can hardly go to the bathroom or speak in voices louder than a whisper without running to their resident assistant to ask permission. We'll get enough of that when the old fraternity houses are demolished to make way for ... yes, even more dorms.
The way we see it, frats have three options. They could sit back and live timidly in their new dorms. Or they could take a cue from "Animal House" and wreak havoc on the town.
While we'd kind of like to see that, their best option would be to follow in the footsteps of "Old School." Frank and the crew got their acts together and wowed everyone with academics, athletics and community service. Still, they maintained their autonomy and managed to have a good time.
But ASU fraternities are in a tougher spot. While the 'no drinking' rules may force them to clean up their reputations, they may never regain the traditional autonomy fraternities should have.
