Regulations on Social Functions
Social functions, such as dances, parties, and receptions, are a valuable part of student life. To make a positive contribution, however, they must be conducted with due consideration for others. This entails, in addition to the requirements set forth below, keeping the sound level within reasonable limits and leaving the area used neat and clean. Violation of these regulations may result in disciplinary action by a student's master or by the Yale College Executive Committee.
Social functions shall be deemed organized if they are financed, even in part, by funds administered by the University or if they are held in general access areas such as the common rooms, lounges, dining halls, courtyards, or entryways of residential colleges and the Old Campus, or the cultural centers or other University buildings or common areas.
Approval of the master of a residential college must be obtained no later than four days in advance of any organized social function anywhere in a college or in its annexes or in an affiliated entry on the Old Campus. If a college dining hall is to be used, permission must also be obtained in advance from the din ing hall manager. Use of any other University premises for an organized social function requires advance approval of the appropriate authority including the University Police, the University Fire Marshal, or the Office of Environmental Health and Safety. If alcoholic beverages will be served, approval must be obtained at least one week prior to the event.
Private social functions in students' rooms in the residential colleges, in the college annexes, and on the Old Campus at which more than twenty participants are expected require advance approval by the college master. These private social functions may not make use of general access areas enumerated in section A, "Organized social functions," and may not have more than fifty participants at any one time.
For each organized or private social function in a residential college, in a college annex, or on the Old Campus that requires the approval of the master, a host or sponsoring organization must be designated to the master in advance. That individual or organization assumes responsibility for the orderly conduct and prompt conclusion of the event, as well as for cleaning the area used and returning furnishings to their proper places. In addition, the host or sponsoring organization will be liable for any expenses arising from damage to University premises or property. If alcoholic beverages are to be served, the host, who must be of legal drinking age, assumes responsibility for adherence to the State law that prohibits the service of alcoholic beverages to persons under the age of twenty-one or to anyone who is intoxicated. If at a private function the number of participants unexpectedly exceeds fifty, the host must reduce the number of guests or end the function.
If fifty or more persons are expected to attend an organized social function, other than an official residential college dinner, where alcoholic beverages are served, an off-duty campus police officer must be engaged by the sponsoring organization and must be present throughout the event. The person or organization sponsoring such an organized social function must notify the University Police Department at least two weeks prior to the event. The chief of University Police, or his or her designee, will determine whether police services are needed and the number of police appropriate for the event. The person or organization sponsoring the event will be financially responsible for police services. At the discretion of the college master or the chief of University Police, it may also be prudent and appropriate to engage an off-duty officer for events where there are no alcoholic beverages served. If the actual number of people attending an organized social function unexpectedly exceeds fifty, it is the obligation of the host to telephone the University Police and the University Fire Marshal at once. A residential college master or the chief of University Police or his or her designee may require that more than one police officer be present if attendance at a function is expected to be large or if the college's geography makes gate attendance and general surveillance difficult for a single officer.
For organized events at which alcoholic beverages are to be served, arrangements must be made at least a week in advance with the Office of Yale Dining Services for bartending service by off-duty dining services personnel. At the time these arrangements are made, the student hosts must reach agreement with the dining hall manager and the college master regarding the procedures for checking identification cards, the number of bartenders needed, and other preparations. The number of bartenders needed will depend upon the predictable attendance and the procedures to be used for checking identification cards. In all cases, bartenders must be provided with adequate student help for moving supplies and necessary tasks other than actual serving of alcoholic beverages.
All social functions, organized or private, that take place on University property must end no later than 11 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday nights and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. With the master's approval, a college social committee may each term sponsor one organized function that extends until 2 a.m. on a Friday or Saturday night.
Admission charges may be levied for organized social functions only in the event of substantial entertainment costs and never to cover the purchase of alcoholic beverages. No admission charge or any other fee may be levied for private social functions.
H. Service of alcoholic beverages
Any service of alcoholic beverages at a social function, whether organized or private, must be in full compliance with the laws of the State of Connecticut and the Yale College regulations on alcoholic beverages. (See Yale College Regulations on Alcoholic Beverages.) Masters, deans, dining hall personnel, and University Police are authorized to request a student's identification card in order to confirm that he or she has reached legal drinking age.
I. Nonalcoholic beverages and food
At any event at which alcoholic beverages are served, there must also be available nonalcoholic beverages and food in adequate amounts.
Posters or other announcements of campus functions must be approved by the master before they are posted or circulated. They must comply with University policy on posters (Regulations for Student Activities and Extracurricular Activities, section H, "Posters") and they may contain no advertising of the availability of alcoholic beverages.
All student organizations that receive funds from the University must keep precise financial records of those funds and provide details on the amount expended for social functions in a report to be submitted at the end of each term. Those records must be accessible at all times to the masters of the residential colleges, or, in the case of funds assigned by the Yale College Dean's Office, to the appropriate representative of that office or to the University auditors.
In the event of abuses, such as the passing of alcoholic beverages to persons other than those who receive them at the bar or verbal abuse of bartenders or police, the police will warn that service is being jeopardized. If that warning is not heeded, they may close the bar. It is the responsibility of the host (or host organization) to monitor the behavior of students or other guests and to maintain the general decorum of the event.
