Fraternity parties on Alpha Drive might be a little different since ASU banned alcohol from the houses.
Greek Life coordinators met with representatives from seven fraternities on Feb. 1, and told them they could not serve alcohol until further notice.
The chapters affected were Sigma Chi, Delta Sigma Phi, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Phi Kappa Psi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Pi and Tau Kappa Epsilon.
Leah Hardesty, a spokeswoman for ASU's Department of Public Safety, said DPS has seen increasing complaints and violations of underage drinking on and around Alpha Drive since fall 2005.
Some of the fraternities were not following their national guidelines, Hardesty said.
"It's come down to the fact that they weren't doing the best job managing events with alcohol," Hardesty said.
The University is not banning alcohol outright, but is trying to get fraternities to outline better plans to manage events with alcohol, she said.
Fraternities can get in trouble with their national organizations if they don't follow set guidelines.
If rules are broken, members can be removed, the fraternity can be forced to vacate its house or the ASU chapter can be closed, Hardesty said.
"We're not trying to reprimand or prevent people from doing whatever they want," she said.
Mark Anderson, president of the national Sigma Chi Corporation, said the national headquarters received notification of the ban around Feb. 1, but had nothing to do with its implementation.
"I'm not really sure I understand their intentions and what they hope to accomplish," he said. "I'm unclear whether it's meant to be a directive for all of campus."
Although Sigma Chi allows alcohol, the ASU chapter will follow the new mandate set forth by the University, he added.
"Sigma Chi likes to work in partnership with the institution," he said, "We like to do what is expected of us."
Marketing sophomore Alex Barrett, a Sigma Chi member, said he thinks the ban isn't necessary but could help the fraternities.
"As soon as [the ban] stops, each fraternity needs to come up with their own ways to improve," he said. "In the end [the fraternities] will tell their members they need to shape up."
The University would like to see the fraternities have security at parties to ID people and have a guest list at parties, Hardesty said.
All the fraternities are members of the North-American Interfraternity Conference, a group meant to enrich the fraternity experience.
Jon Williamson, executive vice president of the conference, said the organization does have rules regarding alcohol.
"It can't be used during the recruitment process anytime or anywhere, or during pledging," he said.
Chapters are also prohibited from using alcohol in any way that would break a federal, state or county law, he added.
But Williamson said fraternities should not be seen as the sole reason for the increase in alcohol arrests at ASU.
"If they are just focusing on Greek life, they are missing the point," he said. "People tend to point to Greeks because they are more organized."
Hardesty said DPS also works with Residential Life to educate students about alcohol.
Reach the reporter at kristi.eaton@asu.edu.
