Frat Consequences

Although the Krueger incident is one the few alcohol-related deaths in MIT's history, the school's Greek societies have a notorious track record.

Last year, the president of Lambda Chi Alpha was hospitalized after falling down his house's four-story elevator shaft in an alcohol-related incident. In 1991, a sophomore in Sigma Alpha Epsilon was accused of rape, and numerous other societies have frequently lost their right to serve alcohol in recent years.

Krueger's death brings a new urgency to dealing with the school's Greek problems, and according to Gilon of the Inter Fraternity Council, it has prompted some soul-searching.

In addition to the alcohol ban, Gilon said that the InterFraternity Council is beginning a top-to-bottom review of its practices.

"The purpose of our review process is to identify whether we were able to prevent any of this from happening in the past, or whether we can do something now for the future," he said.

While Gilon said that all MIT fraternities are governed by state drinking policies, he was almost flippant when asked how often the rules are broken.

"You could probably guess as well as I could," he said.

In Search of a Solution

Although the university is launching an intensive new examination of Greek policy, it maintains that the system does have its strengths.

"There are the negatives of the frat, like drinking, and there are the positives of the frat which are the close relationships that those guys have," Campbell said.

According to Campbell, university officials find that the most effective way to prevent such tragedies is to promote awareness of alcohol risks within the Greek system.

"The most effective alcohol education is peer education," he said. "If your buddy says, 'You're being stupid, don't drink so much,' it counts more than if you have someone over 30 saying that to you."

But some, like Burke-White, insisted that the MIT system needs more serious changes.

"The entire fraternity system needs to be scrutinized," he said. "I personally believe that Harvard's policy of not allowing fraternities on campus is the best policy in this regard."

But regardless of university re-evaluations and regulations, Burke-White said that it is the college student who still must find that delicate, often dangerous, balance in life.

"The line between having a good time and being dead is a very thin line," he said. "And I hope people will remember Scott the next time they go out to a party.