Fraternities should be banned from college campuses The frequency of binge drinking in fraternities and sororities leads to an “animal house” lifestyle. (Dr. Henry Wechsler, Harvard University) Students celebrate the end of the week by flocking to local bars for $2 jugs. They prepare for the big game by queuing in parking lots with refrigerators full of beer. Fraternities use keg parties to help recruit new pledges. As college students return to campus for the new school year, events like these will be repeated across the country. If students aren't more careful, experts say tragic events like the drinking binge that killed Louisiana State University student Benjamin Wynne and hospitalized three others could happen again. at LSU,” says Dr. Henry Wechsler, a Harvard University professor and author of a 1995 study on binge drinking. “This is not a single event. Something like this will happen again." Harvard studies show that 44% of students and 86% of fraternity residents are binge drinkers, having four to five drinks in a row. Wechsler attributes this both to the fact that heavy drinkers are attracted to fraternities and to the Greek system that turns some students into binge drinkers. So this leads to my question: should fraternities be banned? The stereotype of college fraternities making fun of each other may be funny in movies, but in real life it's no joke. Alcohol abuse is a major health problem on college campuses across the nation. So it's encouraging that some fraternities are making a commitment of a different kind: They're drying up. Beer is almost as synonymous with the fraternity system as Greek letters, and it won't be easy to change that culture. But some fraternities, including the University of Utah's Sigma Nu and Phi Delta Theta chapters, are attempting to put their organizations on the bandwagon by 2000. Utah State University's Greeks have been dry since 1995. Membership is not banned drink alcohol, but such drinks will eventually be banned on fraternity property. Such a policy is unthinkable for many members and alumni, but the reality of high insurance costs and vandalism to their properties are just reasons why fraternities are moving to become alcohol-free. The main concern, however, is the health of the students. Alcohol abuse is an epidemic among college students.