The University of Iowa administration is requiring all 23 U of I fraternity houses to comply with a ban on alcohol by 1999.

“We are changing our policy,” said Phillip Jones, vice president for student services and dean of students at the University of Iowa. “In 24 months, fraternities will no longer be able to serve alcohol at functions, and they will not be able to have alcohol at the fraternity houses.”

Jones said the university has found, through the system of greek peer monitoring, that 70 to 80 percent of people drinking at fraternity parties are under the legal drinking age.

“It’s been rather difficult to rationalize the serving of alcohol,” Jones said.

Jones said the increased number of arrests among fraternity members at U of I also impacted the university’s decision.

“The arrest rates of fraternity men are considerably higher than those of women in sororities and men and women in unorganized housing,” he said.

Jones said the university will work with students campus-wide on alternative ideas for socialization.

The student government at the U of I, Jones said, worked on creating non-alcohol-related activities for college-age students. Jones said some of the group ideas were late-night studies at the Memorial Union, free movie previews and dancing.

“We are creating a new Union programming board,” he said. “They will try to create an atmosphere for dancing that will compete with the bars.”

Jones said the administration did not come to this decision to frustrate students at the university.

“We aren’t doing this as a means of prohibition,” he said. “We want to provide students with other activities.”

Jones said there are people who like the decision and those who are unhappy with the resolution.

“What we do isn’t due to whether or not people like this,” he said.

Julie Phye, director of the Stepping Up project at the U of I, said she strongly agrees with the decision.

The Stepping Up project is a coalition to reduce high-risk drinking and is helping the university with alternative activity ideas.

“This ban is one facet of our coalition’s overall goal,” Phye said. “We are just trying to reduce alcohol abuse, not pick on the greek system.”

Phye said although many students are frustrated with the university’s decision, students need to remember there are many more positive rewards for being a member of the greek system than drinking.

“They can still go downtown if they want to drink,” Phye said.

James Laird, a member of Delta Upsilon at U of I, said he disagrees with the resolution.

“Personally I don’t like it, ” he said. “We are all adults and are legally responsible for our own lives.”

Laird said he believes the decision will start hurting the U of I’s greek system next year.

“Who is going to want to live in a fraternity when they can live in their own place and have total freedom?” he asked.

Jones said the question is not about the popularity of the decision but rather about what a university represents.

“We stand for creating excellence,” Jones said.

In the fall of 1995, freshman Mattew Garofalo of Elgin, Ill., a pledge at Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, passed out from excessive drinking and died from fluid in his lungs. Garofalo, who was 19, had a blood-alcohol level of .188.

The death of Garofalo prompted officials on Sept. 27, 1995 to impose a temporary moratorium for drinking at fraternities.

Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa have not made any moves toward banning alcohol throughout the entire greek system, said university officials.

Jason Nyhus, a junior in marketing at ISU and a member of Delta Tau Delta, said, “I just hope this is not a trend.”

Chuck Cychosz, alcohol and substance abuse education coordinator at ISU, said he does not see a banning of alcohol in the greek system at Iowa State anytime soon.

“We’ll pay close attention to the topic, but I don’t sense there will be a change,” Cychosz said.

Cychosz said an events policy committee at ISU frequently discusses the topic of alcohol at fraternity parties but has not made any new decisions on the topic.

“Students here are tuned into what is happening nationally with the greek systems,” he said. “I predict there will be more talk in the future.”