Programming

Alcoholic Beverages and University Policy

Columbia University is committed to creating and maintaining an environment that is free of alcohol abuse and that complies with state laws and regulations governing alcoholic beverages involving University activities. Therefore, the University has developed the Alcohol Policy implementation procedures, and mandatory training programs for students who plan events with alcohol.

Deciding Whether to Serve Alcoholic Beverages at an Event: If your organization is considering serving alcoholic beverages at an event, think about why you want to do so. Your event must have a social, educational, or cultural theme, and may not have the availability of alcohol as a focus. Essentially, your event should be able to stand on its own with or without alcohol; if its success seems dependent upon serving alcohol, you need to reconsider your event in its entirety.

What You Need to Know: If you believe that serving alcoholic beverages would be an appropriate component of an event, you are expected to have undergone University alcohol policy training, and to understand fully both New York State law pertaining to alcohol and Columbia University’s alcohol policy and procedures. The University alcohol policy prescribes minimum standards that apply to all University functions, regardless of whether they are held on-campus or off-campus. Departments and facilities may add additional requirements and conditions. Your advisor’s approval and your adherence to University policy are required for all events, on or off-campus.

1. Reserve the space in which the event will be held.indoors or outdoors. This should be done well in advance of your event: you should not wait for the Alcohol Registration process to be completed. Because the event must be able to stand alone without the aid of alcohol, space reservations should not be determined by approval of an alcohol event.
2. Have an club officer of legal drinking age who will run the event and has been trained by the University in planning events with alcohol. Participation in one of the training sessions offered by the University is mandatory for students who will serve as their organizations’ representatives in planning and registering events with alcohol and for staff members who authorize such events. Clearly, substantial forethought is required to be sure a member of your group has been trained in advance of seeking approval to serve alcohol at an event. The person who will represent your group must attend training during the current academic year, be an officer of your group who is at least twenty-one years of age, and manage the event. Please note that these training sessions only occur at the beginning of each semester. Lerner Hall Administration is the office that manages the alcohol policy and training. Check their website for training dates and policy updates. http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lernerhall/
3. Obtain your advisor’s approval for the event and complete an Alcohol Registration Form at least ten days in advance. The University requires that all events comply with its alcohol policy and that your event be registered with your group’s advisor and the Office of Student Activities if it will be:
   1. Held outdoors on University property, or
   2. Open to the University community, or
   3. Funded with University funds, or
   4. Attended by more than fifty guests, or
   5. Entailing the exchange of money for any reason.

   Your organization may have an event with alcoholic beverages registered only by an officer of your organization who: Is at least twenty-one years of age, and has undergone University training for organizers of events with alcohol during the current academic year, and will be responsible for the management of the event, the serving of alcohol at the event, and agrees to be present during the entire event.

   The University alcohol policy requires that you speak with your advisor about any event at which alcohol is to be served. The policy’s requirements are not placed solely on you, however, but also on your advisor, who is required to discuss the event in detail with you prior to deciding whether to approve the event. Among the details that you must discuss are attendance, proctoring, health issues, availability of food and non-alcoholic beverages, the quantities and types of alcohol to be served monitoring of the drinking age, and event management.

   If your advisor approves the event, you may complete the registration process:
   1. Obtain and complete a registration form from Student Activities and obtain your advisor’s signature,
      affirming that you and your advisor have discussed and agreed upon the terms of the event described on
      the form. Include the account number to be charged for proctors.
   2. Submit the approved application to your advisor at least two weeks prior to the event.

   Your advisor will review your application, determine how many proctors should be assigned, direct you to apply for a Temporary Beer and Wine Permit if money will exchange hands in any way at the event, and inform you whether the event has been given final approval.

4. Clear all arrangements in advance with the coordinator of the facility at which your event is scheduled. Many areas often have additional requirements of their own for events with alcohol, some of which may take weeks to complete. Be sure to determine this well in advance of the event, so that you are not faced with last minute problems.
5. Obtain a temporary beer and wine permit if money will be exchanging hands at the event for any reason.
   
   The New York Alcoholic Beverage Control Board requires that a temporary beer and wine permit be secured whenever money will exchange hands for any reason at a function in an unlicensed premise at which beer and wine will be served. (Licensed premises at Columbia, including the Faculty House, operate under the terms of their own licenses.) The unlicensed sale of alcoholic beverages is strictly prohibited. Hard liquor may not be sold in an unlicensed area nor dispensed with a temporary beer and wine permit.
   
   Obtaining permits. Temporary (one day) permits allowing the sale of beer and New York State wines within a specific designated area may be obtained from the New York Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. Its office is presently at 11 Park Place, New York City, and they generally require two weeks to obtain a temporary license, good only for a single event. The University will assist your group in applying for this license through Student Activities. With the approval of your advisor and at least two weeks prior to the event, your group’s representative must:
   1. Obtain a letter from your advisor certifying that your group is a registered Columbia organization and specifying the date, time, and place of the function.
   2. Complete an application for a license
   3. Obtain a certified check or money order for $25.00, payable to the New York State Liquor Authority.Hand deliver all of this to the New York Alcoholic Beverage control Board, 11 Park Place, New York, New York between 9:00 am and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. If approved, the temporary beer and wine permit will be mailed to you, or you will be called to pick it up. In recent years, this has taken a minimum of approximately ten business days.
   4. A copy of your temporary permit should be given to your advisor five days prior to the event. The permit itself must be displayed at your event.
6. Abide by the University alcohol policy and the terms of the approval of your event. Failure to do so may prevent your organization from holding events with alcohol in the future.

The following highlights considerations for events where alcohol will be served; discuss specifics for your event with your advisor.

Theme
Remember that the theme of your event must be social, cultural, or educational and not the availability of alcohol.

Advertising
Your event may not be publicized until it is approved by your advisor. All publicity must state that double proof of age is required for the consumption of alcoholic beverages and may not mention or depict alcohol in any other way.

Food and Beverages
Food and non-alcoholic beverages must be continuously and amply provided and displayed throughout the event.

Day of the Event Management

1. Neither members designated to serve alcohol and check for proof of age nor the event coordinator may consume alcohol.
2. The event coordinator must arrive one half-hour early to meet with the lead proctor.
3. Only the approved amount of alcohol will be allowed at the event.
4. If a punch or other mixed drink is prepared in quantity before or during the event, it must be mixed in the presence of the proctors, not before their arrival.
5. You must enforce University policy at the event, and may seek the assistance of a proctor or security officer. If an emergency arises during the event that creates an unsafe or dangerous situation, go to the proctor and then call Security and CAVA. After the event, report any problems you experienced to your advisor.
6. At the specified closing time, all service of alcoholic beverages must cease. Kegs must be untapped. Punch or other mixtures must be promptly disposed of. Proctors are not authorized to make exceptions to these rules.

Proctors
In accordance with the University’s Alcohol Policy, Student Activities will determine if proctors will be assigned to the event. If persons under 21 years old are present, proctors must be used. Certain other locations or events may also require proctors, or they may be required for additional reasons other than age of participants or physical location of the event. If proctors are assigned to the event, proctor information will be listed on the approved form and available prior to the event from your Student Activities advisor. The Event Coordinator must contact the lead proctor at least twenty-four hours before the event to discuss alcohol policy and the role and responsibility of the proctors. The proctor’s role is primarily to identify those of legal drinking age, appropriately handle the distribution of alcohol, and effectively monitor behavior at the event.

Serving alcoholic beverages
Only the amounts and types of alcoholic beverages approved for your event may be served. Alcohol must be served, one drink at a time, only to persons who have been checked for proof of age, and must not be served to anyone who is drunk or disorderly. Both the temporary beer and wine permit and a warning on the effects of alcohol during pregnancy must be displayed. Unused alcohol is to be disposed of in the manner directed by the lead proctor.

Checking for proof of age
Valid double proof of age (21 or older) is required to drink alcoholic beverages and must include a US or Canadian driver’s license or non-driver identification card, passport, or US Armed Forces identification card; a CUID card may serve as the second proof of age. Approved wristbands must be used to identify those who have shown proper proof of age.