UC Berkeley Greek life parties are back – with rules

The self-imposed party ban at UC Berkeley is over, with a new set of rules being introduced in the hope of keeping students safe.

The Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils met over the weekend to discuss long term solutions to preventing sexual assaults at Greek life social events.

This emergency meeting was called after last week’s suspension of on-site social events in the wake of frequent sexual assault reports, shootings, and threats to campus safety.

According to SF Gate, their agreements include requiring “consent talks” for party guests, mandating three sober monitors at every party, banning hard alcohol, and having only one location where beer is available.

Game day parties will return newly regulated

Daniel Saedi, president of the Interfraternity Council, says “a lot of the changes are just a change in social norms”.

These rules are simply a reaffirmation of regulations already in place, but are often ignored and disregarded. Meghan Warner, former co-chair of the student group Greeks Against Sexual Assault, calls the revitalization of these requirements a “step in the right direction”.

However, she says, “These changes sound like they’re going to make a difference, but I don’t really have faith that they’re actually going to enact them.”

“I’d like to believe all of this is 100 percent preventable if we are all vigilant and aware,” Daniel Saedi says.