Greek Life Social Event Guidelines

Summary

The set of guidelines below are Greek Life Office requirements and recommendations. All Greek organizations must follow Greek Life requirements. Greek Life recommendations should be considered but are not required.

If the Greek organization is affiliated with a national or international organization whose policies are stricter than the Auburn University policies in whole or in part, then the Greek Life Office recommends the organization follow the more restrictive policy.

Purpose

Greek Life Social Event Guidelines are to further assist Greek organizations in planning, promoting, and hosting safe and responsible social events. These guidelines are a continuation of the Auburn University Student Organization Social Event Policy and are to be followed by each Greek organization at Auburn University. These guidelines will include specific requirements and recommendations concerning hosting a social event, especially those events that have alcohol.

For health, safety, and security reasons, the Greek Life Office has the right to cancel events if the event is conducted in a manner inconsistent with Auburn University policies or Greek Life guidelines or in the case of a weather emergency.

Definition

A social event is an organized event held on or off campus that is social. Any event, including alcohol, is defined as social. Examples include band parties, date parties, house parties, social events, formals, parents’ events, alumni events, etc. Many social events include alcohol. When alcohol is present at events, there is a greater need to plan carefully to manage the additional risk involved. Social events must follow all chapter and Auburn University policies including compliance with health and safety policies and procedures.

Registration Requirements

Any social event or activity sponsored or endorsed by the Greek organization on or off-campus must be registered through AUinvolve at least seven class days before the event.
No social event may begin before 8:00 a.m. and must end no later than midnight unless it is Friday – Saturday; then, it must end no later than 1:00 a.m. the following morning.
No social event may be hosted during the week of final exams.

Note: Events registered less than seven Auburn University business days before the scheduled event date may not be approved, regardless of the amount of money the group has already invested in the event. Any event that is registered late is not guaranteed to be approved. Organizations should register events with as much notice as possible to reduce the likelihood of having an event denied.

Violation Procedure

This procedure will follow if an event is not registered within seven Auburn University business days before the event takes place. All other event policy violations in this policy and all other policies that govern event management will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct.

First offense – the Chapter President and Chapter Advisor will receive a warning letter from the Greek Life Office stating that an event was submitted late and a reminder of the event registration and submission policy.
Second offense – if the organization submits an event late, after the first offense, the organization will have an event registration and submission meeting with a staff member in Greek Life to review policies and set expectations.
Third offense – the event will be denied, and the organization will be referred to the appropriate conduct process for violating the Social Event Guidelines and Auburn University Student Organization Social Event Policy.

Note: Event registration and submission offenses are reset at the start of every calendar year.

Alcohol Service Options

The Office of Greek Life requires that if alcohol is present, it must be either:

Provided and sold on a per drink basis by a licensed and insured third-party vendor (e.g., restaurant, bar, caterer, etc.) The vendor and chapter must complete the Third-Party Vendor Agreement Form and be uploaded with the AUinvolve registration.
Brought by individual members and guests through a bring your own beverage (BYOB) system that is managed using an Alcohol Service Center.

The Greek Life Office requires that the Alcohol Service Center be a single location where Greek members and guests must store and safely retrieve alcohol. Additionally, Greek Life recommends that the Alcohol Service Center be a single location where tickets are provided with one ticket per container of alcohol, and the person must present the ticket to retrieve one container of alcohol at a time.