The WSU Greek Row hard alcohol ban remains in place throughout the Greek community, and some members say the ban is effective.

The hard alcohol ban was unveiled about two months after 19-year-old Sam Martinez died in the Alpha Tau Omega house from alcohol poisoning, according to a Spokesman-Review article.

Jenna Chandler, Panhellenic Council vice president of Recruitment Counselors, said she believes the ban was placed as a safety measure for the members of the Greek and Pullman community.

Chandler said the ban is in place to protect the community because of the high alcohol content of hard alcohol.

“It was a tough adjustment period,” she said. “The Greek community has adapted to the change and has continued to follow the rules well.”

Greek members have come to terms that the ban is for their own benefit, Chandler said.

The Greek Standards Board manages the overall chapters and oversees any activity that may indicate a violation of the regulations or safety concerns, Chandler said. The board is made up of Greek community members.

She said within each chapter, there are standards or personal boards that uphold the individual chapter rules and safety regulations.

“I think the standards for each chapter do a fairly good job making sure that the members are safe and overall respecting the ban,” Delta Gamma member Ashley Adams said.

Adams said registered fraternity functions are contained and have sober volunteers to help out in case there is a dangerous or emergent situation.

Casey Bailey, Phi Kappa Tau New Member Education chair, said the fraternity’s priority is to protect the members of their house and the Greek community by following the regulations set in place.

While the ban is recent, the Greek community has seen significant changes with the safety of chapters for both sororities and fraternities, Adams said.

However, the ban is not foolproof, said Meredith Lamb, Kappa Kappa Gamma member.

She said hard alcohol is still found on campus and that there are many students who have gone to the hospital for alcohol poisoning since the ban was in place.

Alison Weigley, Pullman Regional Hospital director of external relations, wrote in an email that PRH saw more alcohol-related injuries in 2021 and, on average, blood alcohol levels were higher. Additionally, the hospital treated a lot of patients who are younger than 21 for alcohol intoxication.

“Yes, hard alcohol is dangerous, but it doesn’t seem that it’s the root of all the issues that happen with over-drinking,” Lamb said.

Chandler said she has personally seen changes in the past four years she has been here and believes the ban has been effective for Greek life members.

“When I was a freshman back in 2018, things were very, very different,” she said.

After Sam Martinez’s death, the community can assume the ban was placed to prevent anything like that from happening again and keep community members safe, Chandler said.

“We have seen that when things go wrong, they can go very, very wrong, and we don’t want something like that to ever happen again,”she said.