As part of Williams' overall educational effort, its Party Policy is designed to enhance student awareness of the issues related to alcohol consumption and to emphasize the extreme seriousness of problems associated with alcohol abuse. When alcoholic beverages are served, all applicable state and municipal laws must be observed. Massachusetts law makes it illegal for persons under 21 years of age to drink alcohol. It is also illegal to buy or serve alcohol to anyone under 21. College Governance Legal responsibility for the affairs of the college is vested by the college's charter in the president and trustees.
Trustees deal with basic questions of policy, planning, and financial management.
The president and the faculty share immediate responsibility for college governance. The faculty conducts its business in meetings of the full faculty, which the president chairs, and through its committees. Students have the major responsibility for conducting undergraduate affairs through College Council, the residential house officers, and the student-faculty Committee on Undergraduate Life. College Council is the student government organization at Williams and the directing force of student activities. Its members are elected to represent each residential house, the first-year class, minorities, and the student body at large.