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Preventing Minors in Possession

As you have seen, keeping minors from acquiring alcohol at your event is an important responsibility and can protect minors, your student organization, and you from legal action resulting from underage drinking. The maximum penalty for MIP is $1000 fine, 1 year in jail and possible loss of driving privileges.


Procuring Alcohol for a Minor

It's illegal for minors to drink on the premises of your event regardless of how they received it. If you do allow minors in to your event, you’ll need to take precautions to ensure that they do not drink. As a social host, you need to be aware of the various ways minors will try to obtain alcohol:

1. Minors might try to acquire alcohol themselves from a staff member
2. They might ask older guests to give them alcohol
3. They may try to share drinks with a friend who is over 21 who brought their own alcohol
4. Or, they may try to use a fake ID

You need to be alert. If you allow alcohol consumption by a minor, you are at risk for civil or criminal liability.

One way to fight this is to place visible markings on minors or guests older than 21. Some examples are wrist bands for adults or marking an "M" on the minor's hand.

What's the most common way minors procure alcohol?

Unfortunately, some guests who are old enough to legally drink break the law and provide alcohol to minors. If you observe this you should act immediately.

If you see a guest acting suspiciously by always looking around, trying to pass their friends a drink, etc., make sure any other hosts, servers or security are aware of the problem. It is important that they know who is acting suspiciously and if anyone needs to be asked to leave.

Take these precautions seriously and you’ll ensure that you, your organization and your guests are much less likely to experience legal problems related to your event.