The first extended “red zone,” or dry recruitment period, officially ended on Jan. 30. This extension was a response to alcohol abuse and sexual assault cases at Trinity, and aimed to increase safety around recruitment events. Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) members, though, are still questioning the policy’s effectiveness.
On Sept. 15, the day dry recruitment was set to end, Associate Dean of Students Benjamin Williams sent out the email to students announcing the extension until Jan. 30 — Bid Day. In the initial email, Williams wrote that this policy applied to “any event where a potential new member is invited or present.”
However, following conversations between both administration and students, FSL specified the rules. The policy did not apply to personal parties, or even fraternity parties, as students once thought. Instead, members cannot advertise parties directly to potential new members (PNMs) or have any alcohol at official recruitment events.
Following the first extension, some students still doubt the efficiency of the policy. JP Palmer, senior earth and environmental geosciences major and fraternity risk and judicial co-chair for Greek Council, explained that the only way that the dry recruitment extension could be enforced is if a student at one of these events reported it to Trinity staff. The policy leaves room for a lot of “murkiness,” he said.
Similarly, Henry Hafner, senior computer science major and president of Iota Chi Rho, said it didn’t change much. He said that when enforced correctly and adhered to, the extended dry recruitment could effectively increase student safety, but in its current state the policy hasn’t had much of an effect.
“The administration rushed this decision and had to backpedal a little bit, which is what led to this weird loophole coming up and not really changing much,” Hafner said.
Zach Dycus, senior art history and psychology double-major and president of the Bengal Lancers, also expressed doubt regarding how effective the policy change was in protecting students, due to the fact that most rush events take place off campus. That makes it difficult for administration to properly enforce the dry recruitment policy, he said.
“The rule in concept may incentivise fraternity and sorority members to hide. To perhaps be in a less safe environment,” Dycus said. “The drinking education process for many young people has changed, and I don’t know if that change is going to be a good thing.”
Williams acknowledged students’ issues with how they were informed of the policy change, but still maintained that extending dry recruitment was the correct decision.
When asked whether student incidents involving substances fell after the dry recruitment extension, Williams said that he was unable to give a fair comparison of Title IX violations this year compared to last year, and that he wouldn’t be able to until this rule change had been in place for a few rush cycles. However, the extension has led to greater conversation around campus about alcohol use, he said. This, alongside events promoting alcohol and drug safety, could lead to greater overall awareness.
The dry recruitment extension was not an anti-drinking policy, Williams said. It only meant to protect students at rush-related events.
“We’re taking a step to look at this broader conversation around alcohol as it relates to use at Trinity, including where it’s used as a part of fraternity and sorority recruitment, and it’s a part of a broader strategy to have conversations about what else we can do,” Williams said.
Trinity will be hosting an event later this semester to help inform students about the dangers of drug abuse, according to Williams. Within this event, administrators will address other measures to protect students.
*This article was updated on Feb. 8 to correct information in the last paragraph. The event will not address future dry recruitment periods, but will be an opportunity to address alcohol and drug related issues in general.
