People dressed in semi-formal attire and drank alcohol-free Moscow mules, cranberry cocktails and champagne while dancing, socializing and pledging to never drink and drive. All around the room, signs hung from the walls with facts about drinking and its dangers.
Delta Zeta hosted their annual Mocktail Party on Oct. 18 as part of I Have a Choice Week. This party is an alcohol-free event the sorority organizes to spread awareness about the dangers of alcohol and to prevent alcohol-related deaths.
“I believe educating people and knowing the facts about alcohol safety is so important, especially with the recent tragedies occurring in Greek life at other schools,” said Lauren Storiz, Delta Zeta’s vice president of programming.
Maxwell Gruber was at freshman at Louisiana State University and was pledging Phi Delta Theta when he died from complications resulting from alcohol poisoning. Gruber’s death happened seven months after Timothy Piazza died from a fractured skull and ruptured spleen at Penn State University after a night of alcohol-related hazing at the Beta Theta Pi house.
IU has had recent problems with greek life and alcohol that led to the suspension of Sigma Nu, as well as several other fraternities being placed on disciplinary status, but has not had any recent incidents leading to death.
Storiz said that these recent deaths make I Have a Choice Week and the Mocktail Party more important than ever.
“With this event, we are trying to prevent anything like that from happening at IU,” Storiz said. “I want everyone to be smart and safe about their choices.”
I Have a Choice Week is organized by Delta Zeta nationals, and chapters across the country organize events similar to the Mocktail Party.
The event always takes place the third week in October and is organized in a partnership with Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.
This year, Delta Zeta chose to invite several fraternities – including Kappa Sigma, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Pi and Alpha Epsilon Pi –to join them at their North Jordan Avenue home and learn.
Delta Zeta member Kayleigh Wright said that it is important to raise awareness. Wright said that she was having fun without drinking and that everyone else could, too.
“I think it’s really important to show people that you don’t need alcohol to have a good time,” Wright said. “We’re all having fun and none of us are drinking.”
Storiz said that the event was successful because everyone was having a good time and also had a chance to learn something.
“Recently there’s been so many problems related to irresponsibility related to drinking,” Storiz said. “I think by hanging up the signs, they were able to see the facts about drinking and learn about the dangers of drinking. People should know the dangers and should know that they don’t even have to drink to have a good time.”
