Washington and Lee University
Social Events (aka parties) with alcohol in fraternity houses must be registered. Registered Social Events are allowed only on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday and not during academic hours. Registered Social Events are only approved if registered completely and accurately and submitted by noon on Wednesday the week of the event. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER THE EVENT. The online form will be active from 9 a.m. on Mondays to Noon on Wednesdays. Late submissions must be hand delivered to the Student Affairs Office (Commons 247) with an explanation of why they are late. Approved forms, including wristbands, will be ready for pick up from Commons 247 after 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Failure to pick up the approved forms and wristbands by 4 p.m. on Wednesday or Friday (prior to the scheduled event) may lead to cancellation of the event. The Student Affairs office (Commons 247) is open from 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Contact Sarah Walker (swalker@wlu.edu / 540-458-8405) with questions regarding registration.
Red Square and Davidson Park reservations must have prior approval from Student Affairs. Please contact Sarah Walker (swalker@wlu.edu / 540-458-8405) for approval. Note: For Red Square reservations, preference will be given first to the Chapters living on the square and then to Greek organizations.
Registered Social Events are required to have the following (all separate people):
Registered Social Events in fraternity houses do not require third party vendors because the event properly utilizes Tips Trained Bartenders and the chapter is using their national risk management policies. The guest list for every Registered Social Event is the Washington and Lee Directory unless otherwise stipulated. Anyone who will be attending, and is not in the directory, needs to be added to the guest list by notifying the Sober Officer and Event Security in writing. People who are not on the guest list should not be allowed at a social event.
An amplified sound permit must be obtained from the Lexington Police Station in City Hall. Lexington rules stipulate they may be obtained only by the person registering the event taking a copy of the social event registration form to the station during business hours (before 5 pm). An amplified sound permit means that the first time a Lexington police officer asks you to quiet down is simply a warning instead of a summons. Receiving a summons will make it unlikely the City will provide a noise permit to you or your organization for a period of time. The permit should be posted clearly at the entrance.
Hard alcohol is not permitted at open events. Hard alcohol is permitted at cocktail parties if:
No event may be scheduled within one academic week of examination periods during fall and winter terms. Requests to schedule events during the last week of classes during spring term will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
No event may be scheduled at a time that conflicts with an All-Campus event.
Alcoholic beverages cannot be purchased with chapter funds or otherwise provided by the chapter.
Grain alcohol or other communal sources of alcohol may not be present at parties.
Drinking games (beirut/beer pong, flip cup, quarters, etc.), funnels and organized group shots are not permitted.
Alcohol must be contained to the party room.
Alcohol cannot be served after 2 a.m.
IFC will purchase white stickers with black lettering (for each house) that say
These stickers must be worn (appropriately) by the people doing these tasks for identification purposes. They must not be worn by anyone not doing the tasks. They will be cared for and kept track of by the Chapter Officer in charge of wristbands.
Wristbands will be kept by a Chapter Officer in a locked area of each house until taken from that locked area and handed to the Sober Officer in charge of them the night of the event. Unattended wristbands at any time are not allowed.
The Contact Information Sheet available in the Forms section of this site or in Commons 247 must be properly filled out (correct information written legibly) and posted at the entrance and near the serving area.
Security for the event will be at the entrance/exit and actively supervising. People who appear intoxicated should not be allowed to enter. No one should be allowed to carry alcohol outside.
The Sober Bartenders must be the only people behind the bar and the only people distributing alcohol. They must only hand alcohol to people who show them their wristband and do not appear intoxicated.
1 Sober Officer should stand at the entrance/exit with Security. They should periodically walk around the event checking in with the bartender, other sober officer, and sober drivers. They should actively look for overly intoxicated people and remove those people from the house in the calmest possible effective manner with the help of Sober Drivers and/or Chapter Officers. They should be communicating with Public Safety and/or Lexington Police if they stop by.
1 Sober Officer should stand at the bar to assist the bartenders with crowd control. They should keep people calm and orderly when waiting to be served. They are responsible for getting wristbands from the locked area, keeping them behind the bar, and distributing them only to people who are of legal drinking age and want to drink. They should ensure that bottled water and packaged food items are always available and easily accessed by anyone. They should be actively monitoring the party room for intoxicated individuals who need to be removed from the event.
If a Sober Officer needs assistance or needs a break, they should get a Sober Driver to help or fill in until they return. Sober Drivers must be easily found at all times and should be actively assisting Sober Officers to identify and remove intoxicated individuals from the event.
Clean up:
W&L Public Safety will monitor compliance with these procedures. IFC will periodically perform site inspections. Violations will be an IFC judicial issue. Recurring violations, regardless of severity, will result in progressive sanctions.
The Office of Health Promotion, Elrod Commons Room 250, is available to help you plan a safe social event. BE SAFE, HAVE FUN!
These expectations will be monitored and enforced. Organizations will not provide alcohol to underage people.
If an organization fails to do any of the above, then they are not following the policies determined by IFC and will be held responsible for their actions.
If an organization does all of the above, they are making a reasonable effort to do the right thing.
If an individual decides to provide alcohol to someone underage then they have made a personal decision to circumvent the organization’s efforts to do the right thing.
If an underage individual decides to accept alcohol then they have made a personal decision to circumvent the organization’s efforts to do the right thing.
If an individual decides to provide a wristband to someone underage then they have made a personal decision to circumvent the organization’s efforts to do the right thing.
If an underage individual decides to wear a wristband then they have made a personal decision to circumvent the organization’s efforts to do the right thing.
If any of the individuals in the scenarios above are sober officers, sober drivers, bartenders or security, then the organization is responsible for their actions.
For Bartenders and/or Security please consider: