Two ISU fraternities have gone dry this semester after talking with their boards of directors. This increases the total number of dry fraternities at Iowa State to 11.

Rumors circulated on campus after Tau Kappa Epsilon, 224 Ash Ave., decided to go alcohol-free within the house this semester.

“The [TKE] members and the board of directors voluntarily came to a decision to have a dry house,” said Peter Kaser, president of the ISU TKE Board of Directors.

Insurance and risk management were some of the reasons TKE members decided to go dry, said Kaser, a 1964 ISU alum.

“We want to make a better environment for our members,” said Kyle Mayberry, TKE president, “and thinking about risk management was a reason we decided to go dry within our house.”

The national TKE board is not forcing its chapters to go dry, but it supports chapters that choose to, said Mayberry, senior in marketing.

The TKE house will officially become dry Dec. 1, Kaser said.

Alpha Gamma Rho, 201 Gray Ave., is another fraternity that chose to become alcohol-free earlier this year.

“[AGR] volunteered to become dry after discussions with their board of directors,” said Peter Tomlinson, national AGR chapter consultant.

The national directors support all AGR chapters that go alcohol-free because alcohol is something the chapters always deal with, he said.

“Our national organization doesn’t have a stance on whether or not we will nationally go dry,” Tomlinson said.

The ISU AGR chapter was unavailable for comment.

Farmhouse, 311 Ash Ave., is one of 11 dry ISU fraternities.

Kevin Schulte, president of Farmhouse, a nationally dry fraternity, said he sees no problem living in a dry house. Farmhouse has not had problems with low recruitment or members leaving due to the alcohol-free atmosphere, he said.

The University of Iowa was the first campus in the nation to have a dry greek community, said Chris Niro, U of I Interfraternity Council president.

“We volunteered to go dry in 1997 after issues arose in our community, but the university was going to make the greek community dry in 2000,” Niro said.

“We have a lot more to offer our members than alcohol and partying,” he said, noting recruitment hasn’t been a problem.

There is no official discussion at Iowa State about a dry greek community. Schulte said the IFC on campus “would have to approach this with the best interest of all the members of the greek community involved.”