If you’re looking to join a fraternity just for the all-night ragers, Emporia State is not the place for you. Now, five out of six fraternities that have houses are dry.

“On November 5th, the membership of Sigma Tau Gamma, Delta Chapter, voted to go dry,” said Josiah D’Albini, president of Sigma Tau Gamma in an email statement.

D’Albini did not respond to an interview request sent by The Bulletin by press time Wednesday night.

Javier Gonzalez, director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, said the fact that so many ESU fraternities are going dry is a beneficial aspect to campus because it sets a precedent for a good example.

“We all know the negative stereotypes that tend to be given to fraternities and sororities,” Gonzalez said. “A huge part of it tends to be alcohol-related and so when you take that away, you open up new doors and new avenues and finally get rid of that stereotype.”

Alpha Kappa Lambda has also been dry since its return to the ESU campus in April of 2008. Jared Germann, sophomore secondary education major and member of the fraternity, said that for them, being a “dry” house means no parties.

“We have an apartment complex and because of that we can have alcohol in our rooms,” Germann said. “We have guidelines in places that make sure that we manage alcohol efficiently and maturely.”

Germann said that he supports any house that chooses to go dry in order to benefit their organization and that it allows for a healthy environment for studying.

“There’s no worries of having a big rager on a Tuesday night keeping you awake,” Germann said.

For Phi Delta Theta, being “dry” doesn’t just mean not having parties.

“There’s no alcohol permitted on the premises – that includes cars in the parking lot, anything,” said Victor Acosta, junior marketing major and treasurer of Phi Delta Theta.

The fraternity has been dry since the 1990s and is now dry nationwide.

“They saw how successful it was and they decided to implement that,” Acosta said.

The stigma of fraternities being places to party is eliminated by being dry, said Dominic Eliot, junior history education major and president of Sigma Phi Epsilon.

Sigma Phi Epsilon has been dry since August of 2013 in order to help the fraternity improve academically. For them, being dry also means having zero alcohol on their property. Since then, Dominic said that fraternity has been able to grow without having parties.

“Being able to have parties and drink is not what being in a fraternity is about,” Eliot said. “While there is nothing wrong with people wanting to have a good time, people do not always understand the legality of being wet and hosting parties and the risk they are taking by hosting the parties.”

The Kappa Sigma fraternity has also been dry since 2012, when their charter was pulled because a student was allegedly assaulted by someone underage in their parking the night of a party. The issue arose from the party being “open” and the report of underage drinking.

From 2012 to 2013, the number of liquor law arrests for ESU students rose from seven to 23. In 2012 and 2013, however, there were zero liquor law arrests on non-campus property. Non-campus property includes fraternity and sorority houses. The Alcohol/Drug Abuse Prevention Program at ESU “requires newly enrolled, degree seeking students under the age of 22 to complete the AlcoholEdu program.”

Sigma Pi is the remaining “wet” fraternity at ESU. Chase Sossi, secondary English education major and member of the fraternity, said he doesn’t believe there is a stigma attached to being the only wet fraternity and that he hasn’t felt any pressure to go dry. He also said being a wet house gives members a safe place to stay.

“I can’t really say if we will become a dry house or not, but I think as long as we keep being responsible and following our guidelines and values, the decision should remain up to the members apart of the chapter,” Sossi said.

As far as consequences for fraternity members coming back to their houses drunk when the house is dry, Gonazlez said it depends on the fraternity.

“Almost every chapter has a JRB or Judicial Review Board. So they all have their own sanctions and rules in regard to violating any type of rule,” Gonazlez said. “If they have the organizations to a certain degree in regards to that sanction of being dry, in regards to saying, ‘That is not permitted,’ then yes, there would be some type of reprimand, but more what holds true is that as long as no one gets hurt, yes, then that’s what happens. But generally, as long as no drinking happens on the premises, if they got drunk outside the house, then that’s a whole different story.”