According to Sears, insurance expenses are a motivating factor in terms of graduate involvement.

"Graduates will do whatever they can to keep liability issues from arising," he says.

Landlord and Tenants

Undergraduate members for the most part say they understand graduates' concern, but most feel the measures taken this spring were too extreme.

Owl President Jonathan Powers '00 says the relationship between the undergraduates and the graduates can be summed up with a simple analogy.

"They own the house, and we rent," he says.

Even the undergraduates who would like to be able to keep the clubs open to their friends understand the tenuous position of the graduate boards.

"They're in charge of keeping the club running," Powers says. "From a financial standpoint, it will be their asses on the line."

When students throw wild parties and property gets hurt, the graduate boards are responsible for the damage. Many undergraduate members say they understand that liability completely.

"It's not worth taking the risk because even if the prosecution didn't have a case against us, it would require us to pay an enormous amount of money in legal fees," Powers says. "We need graduate board support."

Another club president, who wishes to remain anonymous, says he understands the graduates' concerns with liability but says they are overly concerned.

"The grad board has liability issues even if I do not think the liabilities are as big as they do," he says.

Because of the graduates' complaints about club misuse, some undergraduates have had to work around the new guest policies to hold events.

The Spee club, which has been closed to non-members since April 8, has held its annual Pajama Party in the club at 76 Mt. Auburn St. in the past, but this year, the club had to rent out Club Karma on Landsdowne Street.

Sears says he sees moves like this as a solution to the problem because it takes pressure off the clubs.