Student Union officials are questioning why they were not involved in the drafting of a policy outlining procedures about the serving of alcohol at campus events. The policy was drafted earlier this month by the department of Student Activities, with help from the Events Services office, Aramark and the departments of Student Life and Public Safety. "We feel that we weren't involved in the process and we're wondering why," Student Union President Jenny Feinberg '07 said.

Feinberg said she and other Union executives were first alerted to the existence of the policy when Ziv Quad Senator Adam Gartner '07 came across unfamiliar questions and information last week while organizing a Super Bowl party. Stephanie Grimes, the director of Student Events, then e-mailed a copy of the policy to Union officials.

The policy stipulates the conditions that must be in place in order for alcohol to be served at a campus event. Student groups planning an events with alcohol must send members who are over 21 to attend a "One-Stop" event-planning meeting to discuss with Dining Services staffers the details concerning the presence of alcohol at the event. The document states that alcohol must be provided and served by Dining Services inside a fenced-in "beer garden" erected at least 20 feet from the event. In addition, at least one bartender and one person checking students' identifications must be present for every 75 students of drinking age expected to attend.

Grimes, who was the primary author of the policy, said her office had drafted the document with the intention of putting into "black and white" rules that were already being enforced by the University.

"If we had nothing at all and we were starting from scratch, of course we would be involving students into the process," she said. "We wanted to make sure that we were being as transparent as we could to students and not have them question whether their event was being treated differently than another event."

But Feinberg said the policy introduced several rules of which she and other Union officials had not previously been aware, including the requirement that planners of events involving alcohol must be over 21 years of age. "A lot of Union events with alcohol have not been planned by senators or individuals who were over 21," she said.

Feinberg cited concerns over the financial implications to student groups of some regulations laid out in the policy, such as the need to hire Dining Services employees to check students' identifications and the cost of purchasing the over-21 bracelets, which falls on student groups at 25 cents per bracelet.

"It just seems very, very stringent and really impeding to any group that would want to have an alcoholic event," Feinberg said. "We are talking about adding one more keg for ModFest. It used to be a $90 decision. Now that it comes with another server and another carder and it's just all these added expenses that keep building up."

Edgar Ndjatou '06, the Union's director of social affairs, said the most costly change for student groups under the new policy is the rule stipulating that event planners must hire one professional staff member from Dining Services to check identifications for every bartender working an event. Ndjatou said bartenders generally cost approximately $150 per event while ID checkers charge around $125.

He said he worries that organizations will feel discouraged from serving alcohol at events. He said he does not want students to "feel priced out of an alcoholic event or . [that] they're not treated as adults," he said.

Student Events Director Helen Pekker '06 said she is not yet sure of the specific effects of the policy changes, but knows her organization will need to take into consideration the additional costs when planning events. She said money may be redistributed from other endeavors to fund the extra costs of having a beer garden at events like Springfest.

"It might depend on who we can bring and who we can't bring as an artist [to Springfest]," she said. "If you're doing giveaways, do we put more money towards giveaways or toward the beer garden? It could mean going from four kegs at Springfest to three. We're talking about that kind of effect on events."

Grimes acknowledged that certain aspects of University procedure had been modified, but maintained that the "whole basis of the policy" was still true to previous University practice.

"I think that there is a point and time when the University needs to put in safeguards to handle such situations as liability and student safety that may not necessarily agree with what the students feel like they need and what they want," she said.

Feinberg said she felt the policy might set back much of the progress the Union had made in discussing responsible partying with University administrators. "People will find other avenues to drink in less safe ways and we're very fearful of that," she said. "We want this campus to be more cohesive."

Ndjatou and Feinberg said they would speak with other Union members about their concerns with the policy in preparation for a meeting with Grimes later this week.