Whether it is a passing phase, the current trend for fraternities is to “just say no” to alcohol.

There are currently five dry fraternities at ISU: Adelante, 318 Welch Ave., Sigma Alpha Epsilon, 140 Lynn Ave., FarmHouse, 311 Ash Ave., Phi Delta Theta, 2035 Sunset Drive and Alpha Sigma Phi, 305 Lynn Ave.

Stu Sorrel, president of the Interfraternity Council and senior in marketing, said there are many benefits for fraternities that go “dry.”

“Some benefits [of going dry] are liability — cost will come down,” he said. “Other benefits are to improve living conditions and getting back to the basic foundations of fraternities.”

Brian Tenclinger, greek affairs coordinator, said the financial benefits of going dry are attractive to some fraternities.

“Typically, it will lower their insurance rates, normally up to 10 or 15 percent a year,” he said. “It’s usually a significant savings for the chapters.”

A fraternity can become substance-free by a policy of the national organization, a vote to go dry by chapter members or a mandate from the university if the university owns the property the fraternity is housed on.

“A lot of national fraternities are offering deals to their fraternities that they may choose to go dry, and they’ll support them, and also they may knock some money off,” Tenclinger said. “In situations where the university would mandate it, the university would also own the property and the dwellings, so they would pay the insurance. We’re not in that situation here.”

Sorrel said most of the fraternities at ISU are dry by the choice of the chapter.

The trend to go dry may actually attract more men to the greek system, Tenclinger said.

“We saw an increase in men who joined dry houses,” he said. “I think it’s a positive trend.”

Sorrel agreed that dry houses will not have a negative effect on greek membership.

“There have been surveys [showing that] 47 percent of incoming freshmen are looking for a substance-free environment,” he said.

Sorrel said being dry by the year 2000 is a goal that has been set by several fraternities.

“A lot of national headquarters [for] fraternities are saying that by 2000 or 2001, ‘You will be substance free,'” he said.

Tenclinger said the year 2000 goal gives the fraternities time to adjust to the idea of going dry.

“[The year] 2000 gives them the chance to do some programming and some transitions,” he said. “To ask a fraternity to go dry is like pulling the plug. They can do some programming with the university, the alumni and the members.”

Sorrel agreed that the idea of going dry takes some getting used to for fraternity members.

“[We] need to educate the members,” he said.

There are three ISU fraternities that are expected to be dry by the year 2000: Phi Gamma Delta, 325 Ash Ave., Alpha Kappa Lambda, 2635 Knapp St. and Delta Sigma Phi, 218 Ash Ave.

Tenclinger said he thinks going dry will be accepted by ISU fraternities.

“I think it’ll be seen as a welcome change,” he said. “It’s nice to have these options open for students to choose from. It really gives them a wide variety of menu choices.”

Matt Mather, senior in computer engineering and president of Alpha Sigma Phi, 305 Lynn Ave., said going dry could be a good experience.

“It may not be right for everyone, but it’s bringing out positive things in various chapters,” he said.

Mather sees several benefits of going dry.

“I think it forces you to focus more on service and philanthropy, and it also forces you to be more creative in terms of Rush,” he said.

Nick Johnson, junior in computer science and member of Theta Xi, 315 Welch Ave., does not support the move to go dry.

“I’m not a real strong advocate of the greeks going dry, although there may be some reasons to go dry,” he said. “I think that each person should be able to make their own decision and not be forced into anything.”

Theta Xi has attempted to go dry in the past, Johnson said.

“Our chapter did try to go dry for a year, and the reasons I wanted to do that was to possibly improve grades, to try to find alternative entertainment for the group and to improve the quality [of the fraternity] without having alcohol around,” he said.

However, Johnson said some members reacted negatively to “that loss of freedom.”

“When we actually tried to implement it, it was different for a lot of guys,” he said. “They were like, ‘I just got out of high school and have this new freedom, and you shouldn’t take it away.'”

Johnson said he does not see many benefits to going dry.

“I thought there would be benefits, but after trial and error, [I realized] those goals can be reached with still having alcohol present, just in a managed situation,” he said. “Maybe not a totally non-alcohol place, but having guidelines regarding alcohol may be better.”

Whether all fraternities will go dry is still unclear, Tenclinger said.

“I don’t know if all of them will, but I know that there’s dialogue now with a lot of the national headquarters,” he said. “A lot of headquarters are starting the discussion, ‘Should we or should we not go dry?'”

Sorrel is more confident that the trend will last.

“If the headquarters of the fraternities don’t, I think the universities will do it by 2003,” he said.

“There are seven or eight fraternities who have chosen the 2000 date, and other fraternities will watch them and see how it goes for a couple of years and then choose 2003,” Sorrel said.

Tenclinger foresees a change in the connotations associated with fraternities as they go dry.

“I think it’ll really help change the negative stereotype,” he said, adding that greeks are active in community service.

He also said the greek system provides “wonderful leadership experience.”

“Those are the areas that will hopefully be highlighted more besides alcohol,” Tenclinger said.

Sorrel said some fraternity chapters may close due to the substance-free trend.

“There’ll be some who will shut down, which is sad that they’re that dependent on alcohol,” he said. “They won’t want to work through it for change.”

Sorrel said he hopes none of the fraternities at ISU will close as a result of going dry.

“I would like to hope not, but there’s always potential [that some ISU fraternities will close],” he said.