Alcohol Violations Freeze Fraternity Rush

In news that will shock very few, alcohol consumption - including underage drinking - has been observed on a college campus. What is newsworthy is that University of South Carolina officials responded to numerous alcohol-policy violations by freezing the entire fraternity recruitment period (otherwise known as "rushing").

According to the Daily Gamecock, Jerry Brewer, USC's Vice President of Student Affairs, elected to suspend the recruitment process for campus fraternities due to the severity of the alcohol violations. Additional reports from The State indicated that four incidents required medical assistance, one of which required hospitalization.

In the wake of the shutdown, the University will open hearings about the violations and design a plan to move forward beginning today. Not to be outdone, leaders among USC's Greek system composed a contrary statement that seeks to pin blame for the events on the Office for Greek Life for driving alcohol consumption underground. [Read the statement at The Daily Gamecock here: PDF.]

So, to the social problem question: Is this behavior indicative of a larger, cultural problem? Is underage drinking more or less common/severe than in the past? Was the University justified in its decision to suspend fraternity recruitment?