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Alcoholic Beverage Policy for Students

(Approved by President's Cabinet, July 18, 2005)

Section I

Excessive alcohol consumption is an unfortunate part of the student social culture on campuses today. The principles expressed in this policy are intended to guide the DePauw community in all matters regarding the use, misuse, and abuse of alcohol. This policy is intended to serve as a basis for institutional rules and regulations, as a guide for individual and group decision-making, and as a community standard for behavior. Our primary objective is to help our students make responsible decisions to reduce the harms associated with alcohol use. We commit ourselves to promoting a community that values, teaches, and models healthy life choices and to creating conditions that provide a safe environment for living and learning. We expect our students to follow Indiana law regarding alcohol consumption and direct our greatest educational efforts toward curbing high-risk alcohol use. Members of the DePauw community who are 21 or over and decide to use alcohol are expected to do so responsibly and may be charged judicially for behavior that places them or others at risk or otherwise violates this policy.

We work to help our students become responsible citizens and make informed decisions by: educating students on the behaviors that define high-risk drinking; developing a culture on campus that challenges high-risk alcohol use; reducing secondary effects of alcohol use that impact student success; empowering students who serve as advocates for reducing high-risk drinking on campus; reaching the majority of first-year students during the first two weeks of the semester with accurate information about the risks of alcohol use as well as University policy; identifying high-risk populations and developing specific interventions for these populations; sponsoring non-alcoholic social events and programs; offering substance-free housing so that students who choose to not use alcohol can live in an environment where their lifestyle is supported by their peers; teaching students and staff intervention skills and focusing on their responsibility to intervene when others are engaging in high-risk behaviors; building relationships with student organizations and their leadership relative to their engagement of alcohol issues on campus; providing resources that will assist students who have alcohol abuse issues; using technology and creative strategies to reach our students; holding students accountable to their choices and behaviors; and engaging faculty, staff, alumni, and parents in these efforts.

Alcohol and other chemical dependency problems can be treated successfully if they are identified as early as possible and if appropriate treatment or prevention programs are promptly instituted. Students or organizations who request help in addressing these issues before any judicial actions are instituted may not face judicial charges. Student Life staff will address students' behavior when policy violations occur and will act to correct the situation. University judicial charges will result from policy violations.

Section II

Laws of the State of Indiana

Any violation of the laws of the State of Indiana regarding alcohol is grounds for University judicial action. It is important for members of the community to understand that while we operate under standards that best serve our community, we are not exempt from state law. Under the laws of the state of Indiana, it is illegal to:

  1. Possess, consume, or transport any alcoholic beverage if under the age of 21;

  2. Provide an alcoholic beverage to a person under the age of 21;

  3. Operate a vehicle while intoxicated or with a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or higher;

  4. Become publicly intoxicated;

  5. Provide alcohol to an intoxicated person;

  6. Sell any alcoholic beverage without a license;

  7. Possess a false identification or in any other way make a false statement about one's age, if under 21, for the purpose of procuring an alcoholic beverage;

  8. Furnish false or fraudulent evidence of identification to a minor (under 21 years of age) for use in procuring an alcoholic beverage;

  9. Refuse to be chemically tested for blood alcohol level if stopped for suspicion of operating a vehicle while intoxicated; and

  10. Be present in a bar or liquor store where the primary purpose of business is to sell alcohol if you are under the age of 21.

The above information on state laws is intended only to provide a brief summary of some relevant Indiana statutes. Students are personally responsible for awareness of the law.

In addition to criminal penalties, civil liability may be incurred by one's behavior under the influence of alcohol or by the behavior of another person to whom one provided alcohol. Members of the University and local police forces have the power of arrest and can, and do, arrest students for violations of Indiana law.

Section III

Responsible Management of Events Involving Alcohol

  1. Certain parties or events hosted by student organizations must be registered in advance. Greek organizations and students living in University-owned housing register with the Campus Living and Community Development office in Anderson Street Hall; other student groups register with the Campus Activities Office in UB 206. Registration is required so that student hosts will have the opportunity to understand the responsibilities and liabilities associated with hosting an event, including risk management procedures and to allow appropriate Student Life staff, including Public Safety, to be prepared to respond in case the host needs assistance during the event.

  2. In Greek living units, any party, situation or event involving alcohol at which a specific number of nonmembers will be present, must be registered in advance. This number on nonmembers shall be a minimum of 30 and at maximum not exceeding the number of active members currently living in the chapter house. Any event in University-owned living units at which 10 or more non-residents of the unit will be present must be registered, regardless of whether or not alcohol will be present. These policies help ensure the safety of those present, the legal and safe consumption of alcohol, compliance with fire code and noise regulations, and the continuance of positive relations with neighboring community members.

  3. Parties, events and other situations involving alcohol may not be held during times at which regularly scheduled classes are in session or on the evening before a day on which classes are regularly scheduled to meet. This policy helps to ensure the academic priority of the institution and allow for an environment conducive to studying.

  4. Neither University funds or fees collected by the University, chapter funds or fees, or living unit funds or fees may be used to purchase alcoholic beverages for an event. Pooling of funds to purchase alcoholic beverages on behalf of the organization is not permitted. The possession, sale, use or consumption of alcoholic beverages, while on chapter premises or during a fraternity or sorority event, in any situation sponsored or endorsed by the chapter, or in any event an observer would associate with a fraternity or a sorority, must be in compliance with any and all applicable laws of the State of Indiana, Putnam County, and the City of Greencastle and must follow either the BYOB or Third Party Vendor guidelines in the event registration process. Given that all students, including those under the age of 21 as well as students who choose not to drink, contribute to these funds, it would be inappropriate and non-inclusive to use these funds in a manner that did not benefit all members of the organization, living unit, or group. Additionally, these funds are generally collected with the premise that they will be used for an educational or operational purpose or intended to further the organization, living unit, or group. National fraternities and sororities also prohibit the use of chapter funds in this manner.

  5. There will be no public advertising of alcohol for a party or event. This includes flyers, emails, internet sites, sheet signs, etc. The consumption of alcohol should not be the primary reason for an event, and publicly advertising alcohol suggests that alcohol use is the main focus of the event. Rather, the University encourages forms of marketing that advertise other appropriate social aspects of the event.

  6. University policy and regulations govern all events, regardless of whether or not the event takes place during the academic year. Because students maintain their status when school is not in session if they are officially enrolled at the University, students may be held accountable for violations of University policy and regulations occurring outside the academic year.

  7. Participation in or sponsorship of drinking games or drinking contests is prohibited. These high-risk behaviors that encourage large amounts of consumption of alcohol in short periods of time can lead to negative health consequences such as vomiting, blacking out, having a hangover or alcohol poisoning.

  8. Kegs of beer and other common containers are prohibited. Drinking from a common container in which the contents are not mixed in front of the consumer and that contains an unknown amount and content of alcohol or other drugs, including date rape drugs, is a dangerous behavior that can have negative health and safety consequences, including vomiting, blacking out, having a hangover, or sexual assault. Additionally, kegs are not permitted because they may lead to higher alcohol consumption rates and pose party management risks.

  9. Alcoholic beverages are not permitted in any nonresidential University-owned and operated property and must not be consumed outdoors in the vicinity of any University-owned property or Greek living unit. The only exception to this policy is the Inn at DePauw and events that have gone through the appropriate approval process. This regulation reduces the potential for noise, trash, and other inconveniences to the academic environment of the University as well as to the surrounding Greencastle community.

  10. Hiring a third party vendor to serve alcohol and/or security agencies to check IDs does not release a student organization from its responsibility to ensure compliance with the University’s Policy on the Use of Alcoholic Beverages. Appropriate risk management procedures approved by the Campus Living and Community Development Office apply even when organizations hire a third party vendor.

  11. Individual and group responsibilities are not mutually exclusive. If violations occur, Community Standards action may result for individuals and organizations for the same conduct. Student Life will hold those accountable who are responsible for a violation of University policy. Additionally, individuals may be responsible for violating more than one component of the policy on the use of alcoholic beverages.

  12. Students are responsible for ensuring that their behavior and that of their guests does not violate policies, laws, or rights of others. Because the actions of guests also impact members of the DePauw community, students assume responsibility for those they host in the community.

  13. Hosting social events in a residence during which alcohol policy violations occur and the number of students or guests is deemed excessive is prohibited. This regulation addresses the responsibility of students to effectively manage events with alcohol that take place in their living environment.