Criminal Liability & California Law
The Campus Community“Often my friends and I take turns being the light drinker so we can look out for each other and make sure everyone stays within their limits”. PK, Grad Median SAT scores and numerous Nobel Prize winners aside—the statistic that affects Stanford student life most is this: nearly all undergraduates (and many graduate students) live on campus. Ask your friends at other universities how many juniors and seniors they know who live on campus—odds are it’s not many. While students at many other schools have to drive off campus to socialize with their peers, here we have the advantage of a campus social scene that brings us into contact with old acquaintances as well as new people all the time, both in and out of class. Living on the University’s turf makes this student body a real community. We’re not just residents of a city or town who happen to be students, we’re citizens of the University itself. This gives us many opportunities in student leadership, broadens our social horizons, and places us in a position of power and responsibility for shaping many student policies. The flip side to all this opportunity is that students here take an extraordinary amount of responsibility for ensuring that the campus stays safe. In this section, we’ll look at some of the groups who plan parties. WE ALL MATTER How do your decisions about alcohol use affect your community’s right to live and learn in a comfortable and safe environment? Stanford Parties: Behind the ScenesSo let’s say a group, perhaps the Stanford Accordion Player Society, wants to throw a party to celebrate the successful conclusion of its concert season. If the SAPS rush ahead and hold the party without planning, they’re likely to run into problems: For instance, not enough members on duty to keep an eye on things; no security at the door to keep those pesky high-schoolers out. And don’t forget, since most parties have to be registered with the Office of Student Activities (OSA), SAPS would risk being placed on probation or in extreme cases, losing its recognition as a student group. A lot of hidden work goes into planning a campus party, and that work is done almost entirely by the student group throwing the party. Typically, the group’s social manager organizes the event, the first step of which is to contact the OSA. That Office works with group planners, advising on such details as how and where to put up flyers, when the noise ordinances come into effect, when the music has to stop, security needs, etc. If the party involves alcohol, the group demonstrates the social responsibility for ensuring that state laws and University policies are observed. This demonstrates the social responsibility given by the University to student groups. “As a result of being on the Board, I finally understand how disciplinary action works for Stanford student groups and Greek organizations. Decisions are based partially on the specific circumstances, and also on whether the group demonstrat ed that it thoughtfully made responsible efforts to follow the Party Planning Guidelines.”
RESIDENCE PARTIES: All residents are accountable for creating a healthy atmosphere and a safe event when a house hosts a party, as are the RAs and RFs. As a resident, and a responsible partygoer, you have the right to act when someone has had too much to drink. The campus as a whole benefits when we look out for one another. “I like to party, and I like the parties in my house. J. was getting obnoxiously hammered as usual. So I told my buddy, and we got J. away from the booze. It took both of us to convince him that he’d had enough. And it took both of us to make sure that the party wasn’t closed down”.
What about informal drinking in the residences? So far we've talked about drinking at campus parties and other planned events. Students also drink alcohol, when friends spontaneously gather to socialize or host an informal private event. The majority of these gatherings do not present health or safety risks. In upper class and four-class dorms, the operating guidelines are primarily acts of mutual respect for common spaces and neighbors, such as turning down your music or cleaning up a common space after a party. In all-frosh dorms, the rules are a little different. Alcoholic beverages of any kind are not to be served at house events in common spaces (such as lounges, hallways, patios or other outdoor areas around the residence). Why? One of the reasons that frosh are housed together is to provide a comfortable environment geared to helping them adjust to the extraordinary pace and expectations regarding academics, relationships, and residential life. Stanford data indicates that frosh are particularly vulnerable to health and safety risks during that first year in all frosh dorms. This policy is aimed at creating a safe, healthy atmosphere while frosh are adjusting chal to campus life. The Residential Education staff – RDs, RFs, RAs and PHEs – are here to educate and set a healthy tone. Their role is not to cite or “write up” students for policy infractions, however, they are empowered get appropriate assistance (RDs, RFs) when policies are disregarded and/or safety is being jeopardized. YOU ARE NOT IMMUNE Alcohol misuse can adversely affect your academics, personal health and relationships with others. Also, University sanctions and legal problems can and do result. DRUNK DRIVING No one can deny that drunk driving is a serious problem. In addition to legal consequences for drinking and driving, the real impact is to our Stanford community, friends and peers. Drunk driving breaks our community’s trust. The Law considers intoxication to be a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .08% or more for those 21 years of age and older; for minors (under 21), the BAC limit is even lower: 0.01%. A first D riving U nder the I nfluence (DUI) carries a variety of unpleasant consequences:
There are plenty of alternatives to drinking and driving.
Even when no clear alternative presents itself, the risks to life and limb, to yourself and others by drinking and driving are so staggering that it’s more than worth it to simply stay put and sober up or walk home with someone. Our responsibility as Stanford students is formalized in the Fundamental Standard, and an incidence of drunk driving may be brought to a Judicial Panel that will likely assess penalties such as suspension, community service, and loss of driving privileges on campus HAZING & ALCOHOLHazing is prohibited by state law and University policy. There are different levels of hazing, often involving alcohol. When we use the word “hazing” we usually think of the worst kinds: Being forced to drink absurd amounts of alcohol, wear humiliating clothes, or submit to physical assault. More subtle cases, however, can take the form of social or peer pressure to drink, or to drink more than you feel comfortable with; it could involve mockery or coercion. Either way, you alone have the right to set your own policy- whether or not to drink, or stop at your comfortable limit. If others try to make the decision for you, they violate law and policy, as well as breach respect for you r individual rights. Violations may result in administrative actions against individuals and/or against student organizations. “ There are lots of initiation traditions about joining “X”. I was psyched, but during initia tion, I kinda freaked about having to drink vast amounts of booze. I had a tough choice, but I ultimately just think it really sucks to be forced to do stupid, dangerous stuff against my own will” . AD, Junior
© Stanford University Alcohol Advisory Board, 2008 |
