Should fraternities be banned on college campuses? The frequency of excessive 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 to buy $2 pitchers. They prepare for the big game by roaming the parking lots with coolers full of beer. Fraternities hold keg parties to help recruit new donors. As students return to campus for the new school year, events like these will be repeated across the country. If students are not more careful, experts say tragic events like the drinking binge that killed Louisiana State University student Benjamin Wynne and left three others hospitalized could repeat themselves. at LSU,” says Dr. Henry Wechsler, a professor at Harvard University and author of a 1995 study on binge drinking. “This is not an isolated event. Something like this will happen again. According to Harvard studies, 44 percent of students and 86 percent of fraternity residents are heavy drinkers, downing four to five drinks in a row. Wechsler attributes this to both heavy drinkers attracted to fraternities and the Greek system that turns some students into problem drinkers. So this brings me to my question: should fraternities be banned? The stereotype of college fraternities being ridiculed may be funny in movies, but in real life, it's no joke. Alcohol abuse is a major health problem on college campuses nationwide. It is therefore encouraging that some fraternities are making a commitment of another type: they are drying up. Beer is almost as synonymous with the fraternity system as Greek letters, and changing that culture won't be easy. But a few fraternities, notably the University of Utah's Sigma Nu and Phi Delta Theta chapters, are trying to put their organizations on the wagon by the year 2000. The Greeks at Utah State University Utah have been dry since 1995. Members are not banned. to drink alcohol, but these drinks will ultimately be prohibited on fraternity property. Such a policy is unthinkable for many members and alumni, but the reality of high insurance costs and vandalism on their property are just reasons why fraternities are moving toward an alcohol-free policy. . However, the health of students is the main concern. Alcohol abuse is an epidemic among college students..