The fraternity brothers said they burnt their bar in celebration of the chapter house becoming substance free.

Chapter President Rich O'Boyle said the Alpha Tau Omega house has been substance free since Thursday.

"Substance free means no tobacco, no alcohol," he said. "There will be nothing in the house itself. Burning the bar was a symbolic thing."

O'Boyle said his national fraternity is supporting a program sponsored by the National Fraternity Conference, the governing body for fraternities.

"Our national wants all chapters to support Select 2000, a program asking all fraternities to be substance free by 2000," he said. "But they want chapters to decide to do it themselves. We weren't in a real pressure situation, but we were encouraged to make a decision."

Coordinator of Greek Affairs Matthew Butts said the chapter will continue to have social occasions, but any involving alcohol will require a third-party vendor.

"Otherwise, the guys could still have a party with alcohol in the Rat, but the alcohol won't be in their house. They will be socializing in a much more responsible fashion."

O'Boyle said he thought there were misconceptions about substance free fraternities.

"Some people think that we won't be social anymore," he said. "We are already looking into sponsoring parties with other fraternities, and we're going to have dry events too."

Dave Ping, chapter philanthropy chair and a smoker, said he was a little nervous about not being allowed to smoke in the house at first.

"It hasn't been that much of a hassle," he said. "We go off the property in groups and smoke together. It definitely smells a lot nicer in the house."

Butts said the chapter's initiative in going substance free was admirable.

"It shows that fraternities are going back to the basic principles they were founded upon," he said.

Butts said Kent State's Phi Delta Theta fraternity will also become substance free on March 15.