We all play roles that increase or reduce the odds of harm associated with drinking before, during, and after parties. Recognize the risks, take steps to manage them and know what to do if trouble still occurs.

"How can I throw a party that won't get closed down by police at 10pm?"
- Cal student, Fall '06


Risks and Benefits of Parties and Drinking
Cal can be a pressure cooker academically, so the chance to relax, kick back and have fun is essential. Parties can be great for meeting, understanding, and learning from the amazing array of people in the campus community. Alcohol may or may not be part of your parties.

There are both benefits and risks of parties and of including alcohol. They can be physical, social, emotional, legal, academic, financial, and material. The benefits and risks can be felt at individual, group, organizational, neighborhood, and wider community level. Use the risk/benefit assessment form to consider the risks and benefits from a party at which you were previously a host, guest, or neighbor. You can also use the form to assess the risks and benefits for an upcoming party you are planning or attending.

 

Manage the Risks
As a host, guest or neighbor, once you've assessed the risks for a party, take steps to ensure that those risks are controlled. The following tips address common party risks many of which are heightened when alcohol is involved. Since harm associated with college drinking is costly, the commitment and skills needed to reduce it is as important at college parties as it is in licensed stores, bars, and restaurants where server training is now required by law in Berkeley.

If it sounds like too much trouble to assess, plan, and perhaps even pay for risk management activities, then maybe you want to wait until circumstances are more favorable. Being a friendly person or having gone to lots of parties doesn't necessarily qualify you as a good host. While you don't have to become a "professional", it's a myth to think that good parties don't require ability, planning and practice.

Are fun and safe parties rocket science? No. We can all do it. Check out the following tips and suggestions.

 

Information and Tips

Hosts

  • Serve food & non-alcoholic drinks. Not everyone drinks alcohol.
  • Be aware of how guests get to the party & back. Designate sober drivers in advance. Know, suggest, or provide alternative transportation. Don't let anyone leave alone.
  • Don't encourage drinking games. They make it easy to drink too much.
  • Don't serve alcohol to guests that are drunk. As the host, you are liable if intoxicated guests get into legal trouble even after they leave the party.
  • Make yourself easy to identify and locate, including by phone for neighbors.
  • Be ready to play the responsible role, i.e. to call for help if there is a medical or safety problem that arises.
  • Stay sober to deal with problems, Deal with problems immediately, i.e. uninvited guests - if they won't leave call the police for help.
  • Talk with neighbors many days ahead of time to exchange contact information and work out a acceptable party logistics, i.e. timing, location, noise, clean-up. Follow through on the agreements.
  • Set start and end times; Stick to plan; Stop serving alcohol and play quiet music for last hour.
  • Create and control your guest list. Monitor the activities and conduct of your guests.
  • Recognize the limits of your location. Try to allow for 15 sq. feet per guest in the public areas of your house or apartment, i.e. not bathrooms or bedrooms. Spread out, don't crowd everyone in one room. Nothing will shut a party down faster than being overcrowded or over the permitted occupancy.
  • Don't publicize the party in ways that increase likelihood of uninvited guests or trouble-makers.

Guests

  • Eat before drinking & snack while you drink. Bring healthy snacks to share with others. Alcohol on an empty stomach can have unpredictable & unintended effects.
  • Pace yourself. Have no more than 1 alcoholic beverage per hour. Switch between non-alcoholic & alcoholic beverages.
  • Don't combine alcohol & other drugs. It can lead unexpected & dangerous effects.
  • Plan your getaway. Know how, when & with whom you will leave. And bring cash for a cab, just in case.
  • Don't encourage or force anyone to drink.
  • Respect the hosts' guest list and control activities. Don't invite others or let them in through uncontrolled entry points.
  • Make you own drink & keep it in sight. Otherwise you'll have no idea what is in it. Date rape drugs are real and can lead to unwanted sex or sexual assault.
  • Stick to your limit & look out for each other. Check on your friends throughout the night. This can decrease risk of DUI, injury, assault, & rape.
  • When the party is over, leave gracefully.
  • Notice and react to changes in the party environment. If there are signs that the party is getting out of control, i.e. majority are drunk, verbal or physical or sexual aggression or harassment going on, overcrowding and spilling outside the residence, lot's of unknown guests, it is time to leave. It may be appropriate to call and notify police before serious harm occurs.

Neighbors

  • Whether a short or long term resident, make an effort to build relationships, communication and respect with neighbors. There is an amazing array of interesting people among us. Exchange contact information.
  • Communicate needs and expectations about work, sleep, study and play. Be ready to compromise for the good of the whole sometimes. Also be ready to call for help if other communications don't work.
  • Talk with neighbors in advance of parties to exchange contact information and work out a acceptable party logistics, i.e. activities, location, noise, start and end time, clean-up. Follow through on the agreements. Check in afterwards about what worked and what didn't.
  • Keep the noise level down. Keep the party inside the residence. Don't let guests hang out in front of your house, especially after 10pm when Berkeley's "quiet hours" begin.
  • If neighbors contact you about noise, respect their interests and appreciate that they are talking with you directly rather than calling the police.
  • Clean up trash on your property and surrounding areas as soon a possible. Check with your neighbors the next day to see if they had any problems.

Alcohol

  • Designate servers and train them. No self-serve alcohol.
  • Create and maintain a system for checking age identification and minimizing underage drinking
    Control access to and quantity of alcohol to guests.
  • Don't serve intoxicated persons.
  • Don't encourage drinking games. They make it easy to drink too much. Play social games (it sounds corny, but if relaxing, hanging out with friends, and meeting new people is the benefit you're after, life is not better when you or your friends are drunk, vomiting, passed out, or doing things they later regret).
  • Serve plenty of food & non-alcoholic drinks. Not everyone drinks alcohol.
  • Pace yourself. Have no more than 1 alcoholic beverage per hour. Switch between non-alcoholic & alcoholic beverages.
  • Don't combine alcohol & other drugs. It can lead unexpected & dangerous effects.
  • Regardless of cup size, serve standard drink quantities to help people pace themselves.
  • Know the signs of alcohol toxicity and what to do.
  • Don't charge admission fees. Risk increases as cash held at door increases. You'll also need a business license and, if serving alcohol, a permit to sell alcohol. Serve plenty of food. Ask guests to bring something to share.

Food

  • Party Food 101: List of Finger Foods for Parties
    • Cheese cubes or slices and various types of crackers
    • Cut up apples and caramel sauce to dip in
    • Vegetables such as carrots, raw broccoli and cauliflower, and celery along with a ranch dip
    • Chips and salsa or guacamole (Guacamole can either be store bought or home with numerous different recipes.)
      • Here is one simple recipe: Combine 1 medium ripe avocado (peeled and mashed), 1 tablespoon salsa, 1 clove garlic (peeled), and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Amounts can be varied due to taste preference and add lime or lemon after combining in order to keep it fresh.
      • Can also make a bean dip to go along with the chips that can combine beans, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole.
    • Mixture of shelled nuts such as walnuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts, etc. (Not sure whether this is good or not since many people are allergic to nuts.)
    • Fruit salad or just a platter with fruit that is easy to pick up.
    • Pineapple, strawberries, grapes, etc. can be picked up with toothpicks so that is an easy way for people to eat it.
    • Cookie platter, either store bought or homemade.
    • Small, bite size sandwiches. (Just make a regular size sandwich and then cut it into four pieces and put a toothpick through the middle so it will stay together for easy pick-up.)
      • Make a variety of types…turkey, ham, cheese, what ever is easiest.
    • Shrimp and cocktail dipping sauce
      • Cut up baguette and bruscetta to put on top.
    • Large stores such as Costco or Smart and Final have a huge variety of party foods that they keep in the frozen food section and they are all pretty easy to serve. The food is usually precooked and just needs to be heated up in the oven.
      • Mini quiche
      • Vegetable or egg rolls
      • Chicken skewers with peanut or teriyaki sauce
      • Mini pizza bites
      • Pigs in a blanket: These are little mini hotdogs that are rolled in a type of dough and again you just stick them in the oven and they are good to go
      • Mini quesadillas
      • Mozzarella cheese sticks with marinara sauce.

Noise

  • Keep the noise level down, especially after 10pm when Berkeley's "quiet hours" begin.
  • Keep the party inside the residence and don't let guests hang out in front of your house.
  • If neighbors contact you about noise, respect their interests and appreciate that they are talking with you directly rather than calling the police.
  • If there is a noise complaint and the police arrive and corroborate it, you'll be asked to break up the party. Do so as quickly and safely as possible. Despite serving a city of 100,000, City of Berkeley Police estimate that 90% of the noise complaints it receives are from the area near campus. Depending on all the circumstances, you may also receive a Second Response Ordinance warning or fine up to $2500.

Setting

  • The setting for a party can greatly impact its benefits and risks. Recognize the setting elements that you can and cannot change and adjust your plans accordingly.
  • Your neighbors, block and neighborhood's interest in you and tolerance for parties and the associated noise, traffic, etc.
  • The past history of the location - previous harm, neighbor complaints, police involvement are factors that should influence hosts and guests.
  • Fraternity houses and private off campus houses and apartments have been demonstrated as settings with greatest risk of harm associated with college drinking.
  • Fire alarms, sprinklers, security and other building systems in working condition.
  • Places or methods for locking up or securing resident and/or guest valuables, i.e. laptops, money, jewelry.
  • Risks are greater for evening and weekend parties; risk increases after 8pm and again after midnight.
  • Can people walk or use public transportation to come and go? Must they drive?
  • Is drinking the primary focus of activity or are there plenty of other activities that engage and bring people together?

If Need or Trouble Arises
Program these numbers into your phone before the party starts.

Police

  • Emergency
    • From a land line: 911.
    • From a cell phone:
      • Berkeley Police 510.981.5911
      • UC Police: 510.642.3333
  • Non-Emergency
    • Berkeley Police 510.981.5900
    • UC Berkeley Police 510.642.6760

Transportation

Alcohol Overdose

An alcohol overdose can lead to irreversible brain damage or even death. Be aware of the following symptoms of alcohol overdose. If you see someone displaying any of these symptoms, call emergency services immediately! Student safety and health is the priority. Do not delay calling for help because you are worried about getting in trouble given the setting or activities. The consequences will be worse if you risk a life.

Knowing these signs and taking these steps can save a life:

  • Person is passed out - semi-conscious, unconscious, or cannot be awakened.
  • Slurred, incoherent speech.
  • Cold, clammy, pale or bluish skin.
  • Breathing is slow or irregular - less than 10-12 times per minute or 10 seconds or more between breaths.
  • Excessive vomiting or vomiting while sleeping or passed out.
  • Call emergency services immediately if any of these symptoms are evident. Wait for emergency personnel to come to you. Don't drive someone with alcohol poisoning or substance overdose to the hospital.

PartySafe@Cal is a program of University Health Services in collaboration with other campus and community organizations.
The mission is to reduce harm associated with drinking in the campus area.
To volunteer or for more information call 510-642-7202 or email hp@uhs.berkeley.edu.