LSA Alcohol Policy

Any units planning to serve alcohol at an event held inside an LSA Building must contact the LSA Facilities Office for written approval

Criteria for approval include:

• The event is department or unit-sponsored
• There is no sale of alcohol
• There is no charge for attending the event
• Advertising for the event does not mention alcohol
• Non-alcoholic beverages and food are also being served
• If alcohol is to be served at an event, a certified server must be used. Most caterers will be able to help you arrange to have one. Please see the information below regarding certified servers.
• The event is by invitation only (not open to the public) — this includes email invitations, but excludes events for which you have posted notices or advertisements on doors or in hallways.
• The public may not freely enter the space where the event is held (no hallways or atriums). On the occasions when an exception is made to this rule, a certified server must be used.

Call LSA Facilities and Operations at 734.764.0323 for more information.

If the event is to be held outside on University grounds, contact the Office of the Associate Vice President for Facilities and Operations at 734.764.3402.

Information about certified servers:  See serving alcohololic beverages at events on UM campus FAQ page.

For additional resources or on-campus training for certification, please contact Michigan Dining by Emailing michigan-dining@umich.edu or calling 734-764-3000.

The Office of the General Counsel's SPG 601.29 Alcohol Policy.

LSA Alcohol Policy

Applies to:             LSA Faculty, Staff, and Students
Related Policies:     U-M SPG Alcohol and Drug Policy (601.29); 
                                 U-M Guidelines for Serving Alcohol on University Property;
                                 LSA Budget and Finance Hosting Best Practices
Date Issued:           07/22/1999
Date Revised:         01/25/2021
Owner:                     LSA Facilities & Operations
Primary Contact:     LSA Facilities Director

SERVING ALCOHOL IN AN LSA BUILDING

A. Introduction

Units should consider carefully whether the purchase of alcohol is the best use of limited funds. Decisions regarding selling and serving alcohol at LSA events should incorporate principles of safety and health in order to reduce the risk for both attendees and for the College.

Faculty and staff are urged to exercise a high degree of awareness of the role of modeling safe and healthy norms with regard to alcohol.  Drinking alcohol during working hours is not allowed. University events that include alcohol should be scheduled at a time when employees are not expected to return to work.

It should go without saying that every faculty and staff member who chooses not to drink alcoholic beverages should feel comfortable, included, and accepted by colleagues in all formal and informal University business.

B. Guidelines for Serving and Selling Alcohol at LSA Events

Before deciding to sell or serve alcohol, each LSA unit or individual planning an event that involves LSA facilities or planning any LSA event that involves LSA faculty, staff, and students should consider the following guidelines.

(1) It is not necessary to have alcohol at LSA events. Faculty and staff should consider their roles as models for students when considering whether or not to serve alcohol or whether to hold events or classes in facilities where alcohol is sold.

(2) Non-alcoholic beverages and food should always be as readily available when alcohol is served.  If food and alcoholic beverages are served at consecutive hosted events with the exact same attendees, then the dollar amount spent on alcohol and food must be combined for all events and must not exceed University limits.

(3) University policy states alcoholic beverages, plus the associated tax and gratuity, must be charged to a non-general, non-sponsored fund shortcode (unless specifically budgeted and approved by the sponsor), and must be marked as indirect cost exempt (ICRX, X class code). Additionally, there is rarely a business need for University funds to be used for alcohol for staff only (or predominantly staff-related) events, so pre-approval in these situations must be obtained.

(4) Because the practice of drinking alcohol during working hours is not allowed, hosts of events should always consider the appropriateness of serving alcohol during those hours. Hosts should consider liability issues and the appropriateness of alcohol availability for events held immediately before people will drive home. Likewise, hosts should consider the appropriateness of alcohol availability at events that will include intellectual or physical activity or which are held in proximity to dangerous equipment.

(5) Alcohol should not be available at events at which half or more of the attendees are under the legal drinking age (21). Michigan law requires that adequate procedures be in place to identify attendees under legal drinking age and to refuse alcohol service to them.

(6) Alcohol should not be available at events involving large numbers of people or settings which preclude crowd control. For instance, alcohol should not be served at events that are open to the general public in which the host cannot determine the age of those in attendance and/or cannot limit attendance from passersby.

(7) Be mindful that the individuals hosting or serving at an event where alcohol is served also may have personal liability -- not just the University.

C. Specific Regulations

(1) The sale of alcoholic beverages is permitted only in licensed facilities, such as hotels and restaurants, or by a special U-M permit and must be in accordance with State laws. The Michigan League, Michigan Union, Pierpont Commons, Oxford Conference Center, and Business Administration Executive Residence are licensed for liquor service and provide all legally required services. Permits, which may be required to serve alcohol in some facilities, are not needed in these locations. Information about permits is available from the Office of the Associate Vice President for Facilities and Operations, 734.764.6652.

(2) Guests are not permitted to bring alcoholic beverages into or remove them from events at licensed University facilities or other official events with special U-M permits giving license to sell alcohol.

(3) Alcohol may not be sold or served to persons under age 21.

(4) Units considering whether to sell or serve alcohol at any event that involves use of an LSA facility or LSA faculty, staff, or students must comply with federal and state laws, University regulations, and specific building regulations and should be reviewed prior to deciding to serve alcohol.

(5) Rare instances where a cash bar or fee associated with the event (ticket, registration fee, donation, etc.) a special license “permit” must be approved and signed by the AVPFO, these special licenses issued to the University is strictly limited by the State.

(6) The U-M Guidelines for Serving Alcohol on University Property indicate that a special license is not required if certain conditions are met.

D. Advertising Guidelines

(1) Alcohol advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of events are discouraged, but particularly so when the anticipated audience is under the legal drinking age.

(2) Advertising should not associate alcohol consumption with better performance of tasks that require skilled reactions. Promotion of alcoholic beverages should not encourage any form of alcohol abuse or place emphasis on quantity or frequency of use.

(3) Advertising should not suggest that alcohol is the focus of an event. Alcohol sampling programs, for example, are discouraged.

General Counsel’s FAQ web page:

http://ogc.umich.edu/frequently-asked-questions/alcohol/