From: msaletni@jade.tufts.edu (Michael J. Saletnik)
Newsgroups: soc.college
Subject: Re: ALCOHOL:  New Survey
Date: 8 Oct 92 20:25:47 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Tufts University - Medford, MA

Well, I hope I get all the details right.  I'll start with the dorms.
Here at Tufts, the technical rule is that alchohol is allowed only in
a private room, and may only be stored and drunk by those over 21.  No
drinking in the hallways or common areas.  Your door is supposed to be
shut, also.  If an RA sees someone in their room with a drink, through
an open door, they can take action if the drinker is under 21, or at
least ask to have the door closed.  In practice most RA's will say
something along the lines of "Don't let me see that," though a few
will not even give you one warning but immediately fine you.

Yes, our RA's have authority.  They can fine you $$$ for most
rule-breakings, but can not violate your privacy.  If you and several
friends are in your room with the door shut and are drinking, the RA
may still not enter the room without your permission (ie they must
knock and you must let them enter).  You may refuse them entry,
though.  You cannot refuse the police entry if they have a reason,
though (such as the 40 people dancing in your room, the blasting
music, or the swaying floor under the dancing - I kid you not on this
one, we had a concrete floor going up and down about 6" several times).

I had an RA harass me once.  I was in a co-op.  At Tufts, this means a
set of several bedrooms, a living room, a bathroom, and a kitchen, all
behind one door.  This makes the entire "suite" a private area.  They
are chosen by groups of people.  This particular co-op, unlike most,
was inside a regular, staffed dorm.  I and several others were in the
living room watching TV.  I had a beer.  Some of the people were under
21, but nobody underage had alchohol.  This RA told me that I could
not sit there and drink my beer, in spite of the fact:
	1) it was in a private area
	2) the RA was there in a social setting (watching "Star Trek")
	3) it was not against *any* Tufts housing regulation
	4) it was not against *any* Massachusetts state law
The issue was never resolved, however, since it was not my co-op that
year, and the current residents didn't want trouble.  I and a friend 
had to go in the kitchen to finish our beer.  Silly and obnoxious,
especially from an RA who was supposedly a friend of ours first.  In
other words, the enforcement of the rules here varies *tremendously*
from the "as long as you're being quiet and safe" to the utterly
anal.

Okay, back to the topic at hand.  That's dorm life.  We also have an
on-campus pub that's open once a week for 21+.  They card
fastidiuosly.  Also, when there are dances, bands, or other events
there, they card and use a bracelet policy to allow 21+ to drink with
21-.  No separate rooms or anything like that.  But they won't serve
bottles due to insurance reasons, and they do have spotters watching
for minors getting alchohol purchased for them.

Fraternities, however, have really gotten slammed in the 6 years I've
been here.  They cannot have kegs.  They must serve alchohol in a
separate room.  They must have a police officer (Tufts has its own
force) present.  They are supposed to card.  They must provide
non-alchoholic drinks.  They cannot charge admission unless under
strict rules, otherwise it becomes selling alchohol without a liquor
license.  And these parties must be registered with the University.
The University can refuse to register a party, also, if they feel
there's too much going on in one night.  The only advantage is that as
long as a registered party stays within the rules and doesn't become
overcrowded, it can't be shut down until the registered closing time.

Breaking of the rules typically results in visits to the dean, and
school disciplinary action, not police action.

Ah, right - no kegs in dorms.  Kegs, beer balls, etc. are subject to
*immediate* confiscation by the University Police.  There goes your
beer, and your deposit on the keg.  If you're not really fast, they'll
take the tap, too, and you lose *that* deposit, which around here is
about $50.

It's not always that bad, though.  We had a birthday party in my co-op
when I was a senior.  That co-op was in an unstaffed building.  The
police were checking out the area about the time the 40 of us were
singing "Happy Birthday."  So they came to the door.  My suite-mate
Bob went to the door when he heard a knock, looked through the
peephole, and saw the 3 officers.  He turned around, and shouted "It's
the cops, everyone under 21 put your beer down!"  After about 10
seconds of quieting down, he opened the door on 3 very amused and
laughing cops.  They said "We heard a report of some noise around
here.  Anyone making any noise?"  Bob turned to us and said "We
haven't been making noise, have *we*?"  40 of us shout "No!"  Cops
laugh again, tell us to keep it down somewhat, and leave.  We shut the
windows to keep the sound in, and continued the party.

In other words, a lot of the people around here know when to turn a
blind eye.  A group of folks dancing, singing "Happy Birthday" and in
generally good humor don't get broken up as quickly as a raucous,
drunken brawl.  But of course, don't make the police come back a
second time.  Then they *will* break the party up.

Public drinking (ie outside) is illegal in Massachusetts, and they
enforce that one; thus there are no tailgate parties and limited
barbecues.  We do, however, have Spring Fling on the lawn, where
several bands play, and each 21+ student is allowed to bring on the
site 12 ounces of beer in cans or 1 bottle of wine.  No wine coolers,
no bottles.  It used to be "one 6-pack" until someone brought in 6
Foster's jumbo cans tied together with twine.  All this is okay, but
they don't allow 2-litre bottles of anything, not even soda.  They're
so paranoid that people will load them with vodka and sprite, or rum
and coke.  Sheesh.

That about covers it, I hope I got things right.  I never paid much
attention to the rules except the one time I was harassed.
:-)
						Michael


--
Michael J. Saletnik, Tufts University E'91 G'93  / I reserve the right
Department of Civil Engineering Computer Lab TA / to be utterly and
michael@binkley.ext.tufts.edu (daily uucp)     / completely wrong.
Newsgroups: soc.college