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