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Formals

Several Dartmouth Greek organizations suggested the following procedures to ensure safety and appropriate conduct at all formals sponsored by Greek Letter Organizations.

Preparing for the event

  • Before booking a venue, transportation or caterer for formals, all contracts should be carefully reviewed by the elected formal chairs, the president, and the treasurer. All ambiguous details should be carefully reviewed with the host to prevent any confusion. Those details include:
    • Expected time of arrival and departure
    • Number of stops during the bus ride
    • Responsibility for clean-up
    • Responsibility for checking identification
    • Clarification on permissible food and drink services
    • Possible reasons for any additional fees
  • Establish contact information for a supervisor who will be on site during the event and provide names of responsible organization members to be contacted in case of problems or emergencies.
  • Specify to all attendees whether or not there will be food available at the event.
  • Have the Risk Management chair (or equivalent elected officer) give a presentation to the chapter before the event on appropriate conduct as well as tips to help ensure safety. This presentation will advise against underage or excessive alcohol consumption and what constitutes inappropriate behavior. New member educators are specifically responsible for educating new members about appropriate conduct at formal events.
  • In particular, have appropriate officers emphasize with the entire membership the dangers and unacceptability of “pre-loading” or “pre-gaming” the event.
  • Establish appropriate bus behavior with membership. This should include maintaining an appropriate noise level, remaining in seats for the duration of the bus ride, and behaving courteously and respectfully towards the bus driver. If there is an incident, the sober monitor will inform the appropriate officer (i.e. the president or the formal chair) who will take action as necessary.
  • All non-members (i.e. guests) will be contacted prior to the event via email specifying expectations.
  • Request that the venue provides a water cooler and other nonalcoholic beverages be readily available throughout the course of the evening to ensure the safety of all those who are drinking.

During the Event

  • Provide four members who will serve as “Sober Monitors.” They will help ensure safety and the appropriate behavior of all attendees at the event and they will remain legally sober throughout the course of the formal. Each will be assigned to monitor behavior on each of the buses, and they will check all areas of the facility periodically throughout the evening with the assistance of the President and Formal Chair.
     
  • One “Sober Monitor” will be assigned to each bus and will be responsible for monitoring the behavior of members and their guests. This includes making sure that anyone getting on the bus is not intoxicated, and that during the rides, all members and guests behave in a safe and appropriate manner as outlined above.
     
  • The President and Formal Chair will check in with the contact person upon arrival at the event as well as at the end of the event.
     
  • The majority of members who behave recklessly at Formal events are new members and younger members. With this in mind, we strongly encourage all older members to set a positive example for appropriate behavior. This includes behavior at the event itself and the way the event is treated in prior discussion.

After the Event

  • The President or Formal Chair will check in with the contact person over the phone to ensure there are no outstanding complaints.
     
  • The chapter will be informed about the importance of accountability and the consequences for behavior at events, such as Formal, where behavior fails to meet the standards set for Dartmouth Students in the College Student Handbook. These consequences will vary between houses but may include sober monitoring the next Formal, holding members financially accountable for the damage done by themselves or their dates, or not being allowed to attend the next Formal event.