Revisions to U.'s alcohol policy become official

As of today, the ineffective "Bring Your Own Beer" component of the University's year-old alcohol policy ceases to exist. University President Judith Rodin approved several key changes to the policy last Thursday. Aside from the elimination of BYOB, the alcohol policy now applies to all undergraduate student organizations. The administration proposed changes to the alcohol policy in mid-September, noting that the BYOB clause was ineffective and hard to enforce. BYOB required that every 21-year-old attending a registered on-campus party -- including fraternity parties and most other events organized by official campus groups -- could bring a six-pack of beer into the party and later retrieve the alcohol from the bartender. But officials now say the BYOB component simply doesn't work. "It's fair to say BYOB was difficult to enforce," University Alcohol Coordinator Stephanie Ives said. "It was a challenge." Undergraduate Assembly Chairman Michael Bassik, a member of the original provost-led committee that wrote the new alcohol policy in the spring of 1999, said the elimination of BYOB won't have a practical effect. "As we all know, the reason BYOB was eliminated from the policy was that it was unenforceable to begin with," he explained. "Students shouldn't realize any changes whatsoever." The policy is also broadened to apply to all undergraduate student organizations, which was not explicitly stated before today's changes. "It's just sort of more encompassing of all student organizations," Ives explained. She added that prior to the change, groups that received money from SAC could not use those funds to buy alcohol, but all groups weren't explicitly included in the alcohol policy. "It was not allowed by the Office of Student Life, but it wasn't in the over-arching, all-encompassing policy," Ives noted. Bassik said that this also won't have a large effect. "All undergraduate organizations affiliated with the University can't use University money to buy alcohol," he said. "It's merely just making sure that every part of the policy is enforceable." The revised section of the policy includes five components, including banning large alcohol containers -- like kegs -- and drinking games and prohibiting student organizations from using University funds to purchase alcohol. The policy also states that no student, regardless of age, can be served alcohol at a registered party if he or she is clearly intoxicated. Alcohol must be served from a separate area of the party by of-age bartenders unaffiliated with the group sponsoring the event. The policy changes were available for comment from the University community for a month, ending October 13. Ives said the only feedback she received came from the Alcohol and Other Drug Task Force, which recommended minor wording changes in the proposal. Last fall, the University adopted the campus-wide policy -- including stricter monitoring, a ban on hard alcohol and an emphasis on education and counseling, as well as the BYOB component. The old policy came under fire in March 1999 following the death of 26-year-old alumnus Michael Tobin after a night of drinking at a Phi Gamma Delta fraternity reunion party. Just days after his death, Rodin imposed a full ban on alcohol at undergraduate parties. Provost Robert Barchi convened and led a committee to re-examine Penn's policy -- which developed the school's current rules.

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