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Parties at Stanford

Oktoberfest Students

What is a party?

At Stanford, a party is an event held primarily for the purposes of socializing, or any event where the people hosting the event serve alcohol. These two categories frequently overlap.

Some parties need to be registered and other parties do not. If your party can be safely confined to a private room, as long as its not being held on behalf of a registered student organization, row house, Greek organization or dorm, you do not need to register it. However, if your private party needs to make use of public space (e.g. the hallway of your dorm, lounge at your row house, space in Elliot Program Center or in Tresidder, or Lag BBQ Pit), then it needs to be registered on behalf of a registered student organization, row house, Greek organization or dorm.

Examples of parties that should not be registered:

You and a friend (both of you over 21) have a beer or a glass of wine in your room.

You invite a speaker to campus, after the talk you host a reception. You don’t serve alcohol. (This is an event. Events have their own registration process which is overseen by Student Activitiesand Leadership).

Examples of events that should be registered as parties:

  1. A public event without alcohol service held for the purpose of socializing. These are parties like Screw Your Sib and Club Caliente. Students dance, eat, drink (EANABs!), and they socialize.
  2. Public events with alcohol service.
    Examples of this kind of party include 680’s Exotic, Café Night and Senior Night.

Why do we ask students to register parties?

  1. To demonstrate that they’ve planned their party thoroughly and in a way that mitigates the risks associated with parties.
  2. To be able to provide a list of parties to University partners in law enforcement and emergency services, should they need to be called on.
  3. To make sure Stanford students are following University policy.

Social host liability and the law

While the law regarding civil liability is complex, it is important to know that under some circumstances party hosts, sponsors, bartenders or others might be held legally liable for the consequences of serving alcohol to underage drinkers or to obviously intoxicated persons. As a social host or party planner who has served underage drinkers or the obviously intoxicated, you could be sued and potentially found personally liable for damages to the injured party(ies) in three ways:

Specific damages: These are damages that are measurable (for example, when bodily injury results in medical expenses or lost wages).

General damages: These are damages that cannot be specifically measured in terms of dollar amounts (for example, pain and suffering resulting from bodily injury).

Punitive damages: These are damages intended to serve as an ex- ample to others and to discourage behavior that is deemed highly undesirable to society.

Stanford University is not a sanctuary from the enforcement of state and local laws. Students and others on campus who violate the law may be and have been arrested and prosecuted.

Though laws are subject to change, as of September 2012, it is a criminal offense:

  1. To provide any alcoholic beverage to a person under 21.
  2. To provide any alcoholic beverage to an obviously intoxicated person.
  3. To be in possession of an unregistered keg.
  4. To serve, possess, distribute, or manufacture alcohol if you are under the age of 21.
  5. To charge admission or solicit donations where alcohol is served or to charge for alcohol unless a liquor license is obtained from the Alcohol Beverage Control.

There are also legal responsibilities for party-goers. It is a criminal offense:

  1. For any person under age 21 to purchase or be in possession of alcohol.
  2. To be under the influence of alcohol in a public place and un- able to exercise care for one’s own safety or that of others.
  3. For persons under 21 to have any container of alcohol in any public place or any place open to the public.
  4. To operate a motor vehicle or golf cart under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants or with a blood alcohol level of .08% or higher (.05% or higher under 21) or to operate a bicycle in a state of impaired motor functioning. Individuals under 21 with a blood alcohol level of .01% or higher may also be subject to civil penalties.
  5. To have an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle and for persons under 21 to drive a vehicle carrying alcohol.
  6. To have in one’s possession or to use false evidence of age and identity to purchase alcohol.
  7. To falsely ID oneself as another to police upon lawful detention or arrest in order to avoid proper ID by police or evade the court process.
  8. To unlawfully possess or possess for sale controlled substances specified in California's Health and Safety Code.

A note about this guide

From this point forward, the guide will focus on Stanford’s policies and procedures. There is one huge exception to all these rules. The student affairs professionals that review your parties may ask you to implement plans and procedures other than those in this guide. They may decide that you need extra security, additional sober monitors, or crowd control barriers. Every rule in this guide can be augmented or altered by their judgment.