COLLOQUY

THE QUESTION

RESPONSES

BACKGROUND

All factions of society are exposed to this issue, including institutions of higher education and their students. As a component of this much larger environment, it is our hope that universities, bars, parents, students, and fraternities will begin to realize that the responsibility for preventing alcohol misuse is a shared one. Changing an unacceptable cultural mindset cannot be accomplished by a single organization, if at all. It requires the cohesion, rather than dissonance, of the many individuals and organizations mentioned in your articles to effectively impact the social behavior of our students.

Lambda Chi Alpha, like universities, is not a custodial institution. It regards its members as adults and expects them to take responsibility for their own lives, decisions, and actions. It can, however, play an important role in the development and nourishment of its members as they strive to become positive members of society. For this reason, we remain committed to teaching our members the benefits of an environment that is conducive to making healthy decisions when faced with the difficult choices associated with the use of alcohol.

Since our founding, Lambda Chi Alpha has remained committed to the health and safety of its members and guests. By taking an active stance against hazing in 1972, we eliminated the pledging process by giving our newest members full rights of membership. In 1990, we became the first fraternity to create an officer position in every chapter whose sole responsibility was to secure the safety of its members and guests. More recently, we launched a campaign to encourage our chapters to substantially reduce or eliminate alcohol-related programming by offering $500,000 to our chapters as educational incentives and rewards.

While Lambda Chi Alpha is committed to educating its members on responsible behavior and rewarding them when they meet certain expectations, we are also firm advocates of accountability. In the last six months, we have ceased operations at four of our chapters. Our chapters at the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Idaho were closed due to their failure to comply with our strict risk-management guidelines and policies, while our chapters at Gettysburg College, Austin Peay State University, and California State University-Northridge were closed for failing to meet other standards of operation.

We charge all members of society to actively denounce the abuse of alcohol on college campuses -- a charge that must pass from parent to son, university to its students, and fraternity to its members. We must all work to shift this cultural crisis before more students reach the same fate as those men in your "When Alcohol Kills, Who Is Responsible?" article.

-- Thomas A. Helmbock, CEO, Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity (posted 11/5, 10:04 a.m., E.S.T.)

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