The threat of lawsuits and the need for liability insurance gives schools and national fraternities a greater measure of control over chapters who officially maintain houses. Fraternity houses must have insurance coverage and the insurance companies know that beatings create lawsuits. In addition, most individual chapters can only afford to buy their insurance through their national organizations. Thus, the national officers of white fraternities have a very direct incentive to pressure their chapters to desist from beatings.

Some deans of students say the lack of African American fraternity houses at HBCUs and predominantly white institutions stems largely from economics. African American fraternity members have not tried to establish fraternity houses at their alma maters because they see it as a low priority, according to a number of administrators and fraternity officials. College graduates belonging to the Black fraternities are more inclined to donate their money to scholarships or community service projects.

Alpha Phi Alpha's Palmer says he knows of groups of fraternity members who rented houses while attending school and then called those dwellings "fraternity houses." But they have never been official fraternity houses, the way some white fraternity houses have been. Palmer also notes that the grand old houses often purchased or rented by white fraternities near their campuses are generally atypical of the working class neighborhoods found around many HBCUs.

The Question of Rape

As is often the case with the two most common problems that go on in fraternity houses -- alcohol abuse and date rape -- victim is usually someone outside the fraternity, such as a young woman subjected to rape or a pedestrian or driver involved in a collision with an intoxicated member. In those instances, the institution is more likely to learn about the incident because the victim will probably sue both the fraternity and the college or university.