DRYING OUT : FED-UP ALUMNI FORM UC BERKELEY'S FIRST SUBSTANCE-FREE FRAT HOUSE.

Byline: David Kligman Associated Press 

Sorority members in knee-length dresses and their dates in coats and ties gathered last fall for the Sigma Nu fraternity's annual champagne party.

By the end of the evening, the partygoers had consumed more than 200 bottles of champagne and countless cases of beer. Drunken revelers vomited on floors, urinated in places other than toilets, broke several French windows and spray painted walls.

In Greek social circles, the party was one of the biggest events at the University of California. But if there's a champagne party this year, it won't be at 2710 Bancroft Way.

After two years of debating whether to clean up the ``Animal House'' image of the 104-year-old Berkeley chapter, Sigma Nu's local alumni board decided to take action, creating the first substance-free fraternity on campus.

That means no alcohol, no drugs, no smoking.

``The more I think about it, the happier I am that there's no alcohol and drugs,'' said Mason Bancroft, one of six holdover pledges from last year who were allowed to remain.

The remaining 18 members, all active, were given alumni status and ordered to move out of the house after fraternity leaders decided they would be unable to conform to the new rules.

``People like to come home to a place they can respect,'' said Bancroft, elected the fraternity's president last week. ``At first, we thought we were going to get a bunch of geeks and nerds. It turns out we got the complete opposite.''

The new rules also ban hazing, a longstanding fraternal practice in which new initiates are at times degraded and not allowed to eat or sleep.

``The definition of a Greek social fraternity is a group of men working toward a common goal. It's not a group of men partying,'' said Kelly Phillips, Sigma Nu's regional director, who is overseeing the transformation of the Berkeley chapter.

Not everybody is as optimistic about the new policy, particularly last year's fraternity members who were kicked out of the house. Matt Portnoff, who now lives in an Emeryville apartment, said he doubts the initiates will abide by the rules.

``The reason why a lot of people join fraternities is for the social aspect,'' Portnoff said. ``You want to party with the best looking girls and have the most fun. I just don't know if they can hold up that smoke screen of being substance-free. It's a novel idea, but I don't think it will work.''

This past summer, the brick house built in 1921 was completely renovated. The carpets were replaced, the walls painted over and the wood floors refinished. Even the doors had to be replaced after years of damage from frat members who kicked in the doors when they forgot their keys.

Traditionally, the Greek system has not been a big draw at UC Berkeley, known more for its academic rigors and social activism. Of the university's 21,000 undergraduate students, only about 10 percent belong to fraternities or sororities.

Phillips suggested that if Sigma Nu's substance-free policy catches on, fraternities could become more attractive to students who might otherwise have shunned the Greek lifestyle.

``The way we look at it, people who come here are serious people who see fraternities as a distraction,'' he said. ``This changes that.''

The interest in Sigma Nu's new dry image seems to support that theory. During a secret ceremony last week, 25 men were initiated. School officials think that may be this year's largest pledge group, although final numbers won't be available for a month or so.

Across the country, dry fraternities have become more and more common. The Sigma Nu house at Berkeley is the 13th chapter of the fraternity to become substance-free.

Fraternity members insist they're not square just because drugs, alcohol and smoking are off-limits. In fact, most say they drink, and six members smoke - but they now puff in the house's courtyard.

Parties with alcohol aren't necessarily taboo, either.

One alternative, Bancroft said, is to bus fraternity members and their dates to a rented hotel ballroom. A paid bartender at a cash bar will check IDs for underage drinkers and deny alcohol to anyone drunk.

CAPTION(S):

Photo

Photo: (1) Students enjoying a meal at the Sigma Nu fratern ity house at the University of California at Berkeley wash their food down with juice and lemonade.

(2) Francis D'Haenens, left, and Dan Arroyo play pool at the Sigma Nu fraternity house.

Associated Press