The student government president plans to remove rules governing the process student groups must go through to have alcohol at their events because he believes it exposes the ASUO to legal liability.
Yet, a University law professor said removing the clause won’t protect the ASUO from all liability.
ASUO President Jared Axelrod wants to remove Program Rule 06.1, which requires groups that wish to have alcohol at events to submit applications for permits at least 10 days prior and to receive permission from the ASUO programs administrator.
“We didn’t want to have the ASUO approve groups that were having alcohol at events,” Axelrod said.
The rule was added last year, the school year after some student leaders admitted to drinking and smoking pot on an October retreat to Sunriver.
No student fees may be used to purchase alcohol, but that does not prevent ASUO-funded groups from providing alcohol at group functions if they go through official channels.
Axelrod said he did not consult with a lawyer prior to making the decision, but he did talk with University administrators, including Mike Eyster, director of student housing.
Law professor Dominick Vetri, however, said the ASUO has the potential for liability with or without the rule.
Vetri said requiring ASUO approval could expose the organization to potential liability if the application didn’t ask the right questions or if the programs administrator knowingly approved an application containing false information.
“But saying that doesn’t mean that the ASUO has no potential liability if they don’t require approvals,” he said.
If the ASUO knows there are problems with alcohol in a funded group and allows it to operate and serve alcohol, someone could make claims against the ASUO, Vetri said.
“Having the approval program gives the ASUO the opportunity to educate and instruct groups about their responsibilities when alcohol will be served at an event,” Vetri said. The ASUO would also have the ability to deny applications based on prior violations.
“The issue may be whether the ASUO wants to exercise more control to reduce abuses,” he said.
Without the ASUO guidelines, the process for serving alcohol at group functions reverts to University rules, which require that an Oregon Liquor Control Commission-licensed server be present, food to be served and an individual from the sponsoring group be present.
Eyster said most of the time, if alcohol is to be offered at an event, the request goes through University Catering and Conferences, which employs OLCC-licensed workers.
The catering manager reviews applications for the “proper balance of food and alcohol being served,” Eyster said. The balance is needed to prevent guests from getting intoxicated.
If the catering manager has concerns about the possibility of underage people attending, he or she will turn to Eyster’s office for guidance.
“A group of graduating seniors who want to have a wine and cheese party with faculty are not likely to draw in undergraduates,” Eyster said.
A club made up of undergraduates may draw a more critical eye from the caterer and administrators, however.
Eyster said he was also not likely to approve a location that would be high-profile or highly visible or one that would require gated separation of those older and younger than 21.
“The University is not going to, in the near future, do anything that looks like promoting alcohol to students,” Eyster said.
If a group chooses not to have an event catered by the University, it would need to get permission to hire its own OLCC-trained caterers.
Axelrod said the removal of Program Rule 06.2, which deals with retreats, is an effort to reduce paperwork. It was also added last year.
Many ASUO-funded groups go on retreats for training and other reasons. The rule states programs planning to go on retreats need to turn in an ASUO retreat contract to the programs administrator 10 school days prior to the retreat.
Axelrod said the rule is unnecessary.
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