Cabot House

At Cabot House, we hope that you learn a lot, work hard, and have fun. We recognize that parties can be a big part of this fun. In conjunction with the College, we have developed a set of party rules that we hope will allow all members of our community—maintenance workers, tutors, those who are studying or sleeping, guests, our neighbors around the quad, and party throwers—to relax, stay safe, and feel respect.

Party Dates

Registering a Party

• All parties (any gathering of more than 12 people) must be registered. People who have unregistered parties or who violate other party rules will not be allowed to have parties for the remainder of the semester.
• If you wish to host a party in your suite, you must fill out the “Private Event Registration” form (available in the sidebar of this page) and submit it directly to Beth Musser, the Assistant to the Resident Dean, by Thursday at 3pm. All members of the suite must make a concerted effort to talk with Beth while dropping off the form (feel free to plan a time to meet with her). Tutors cannot register or approve parties.  Beth will go over the Party Rules with you. Beth’s office is on the second floor of A-entryway. Feel free to email Beth (emusser@fas.harvard.edu) to set up an appointment.
• If you are hosting a registered party, you must get in touch with the on-call tutors at least 24 hours in advance. The schedule of on-call tutors will be posted on the Cabot House website; Beth will also tell you who the on-call tutors are when you register a party. The on-call tutors will meet with you before the party to remind you of the rules and exchange emergency contact information.
• Individuals and/or suites who consistently disobey any of these rules will lose party privileges and are subject to disciplinary action.

Rules of Respect

Timing

• Parties can only be held on Friday and Saturday nights
• Parties may not be held on nights before the LSAT or MCAT, during reading and exam periods, or over holidays, including Thanksgiving and spring break. If a student in your building has indicated that s/he is taking a GRE subject test, you will not be able to host a party the evening before the exam. Beth will inform you of these dates as they approach.
• For Fall 2012 these dates are: Thanksgiving break (11/21-25); the night before LSAT/MCAT exams (8/31, 10/5, and 11/30); the night before the GRE Subject test (10/12 and 11/9) and reading and exam period (12/5-12/21).
• Ending time for approved parties can be no later than 2am. This time has been negotiated with the city of Cambridge. The on-call tutors will come by at 2am to thank you for closing things down. If your party is still going on, the tutors will let you know what time it is and remind you to send your friends home. At 2:10am, they will call HUPD to end the party.
• Be aware of your noise level, and heed requests to lower the volume of your party. City of Cambridge residents will often call the city police if you are disturbing them.

Location

• No two rooms or suites on the same floor of the same building may host parties at the same time. If two rooms on the same floor hope to host an event, only the first to submit their registration will be allowed.
• Parties may not extend out into the hallway and must be confined to a suite.
• No single rooms can host parties.
• House common spaces may be used by Cabot students or recognized student groups with Cabot students to host private student parties if the host(s) abide by these rules.  Recognized student groups are subject to college-wide policy.

Responsibility

• Be certain that entry doors are kept locked and that non-Harvard guests are met downstairs.
• Guests cannot be on the fire escapes, and HUPD will immediately shut down a party if they see this.
• If a tutor feels that a party is getting out of control, s/he may shut it down. If you get worried at all about the size or the activities of your party, call the on-call tutors. They are there to help you. Be aware of party crashers, especially underage party crashers who might not use alcohol safely.
• Hosts are responsible for their guests and their behavior — whether the hosts are present or not.
• You and your guests must always be respectful of any Officers of the University (tutors, Resident Dean, etc.) who may visit your suite before, during, or after a party.
• Hosts should consider the maintenance and custodial staff of Cabot House and take responsibility for cleaning the floors, if necessary, and collecting and removing all trash, especially in public areas. Any damage should be reported to the Building Manager, Mike Russell. Use recycling bins for bottles, paper and other materials. You are responsible for recycling your cans, bottles, and paper products; this is a Cambridge City law.

Establishing Safety

For all parties—public and private—the hosts of the party must know and obey the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the rules of Harvard University:

• Providing alcohol to anyone under 21 is illegal.
• If alcohol is served, food and non-alcoholic beverages must also be served. If the food and/or non-alcoholic beverages run out, alcohol service must cease.
• Hosts of private events where alcohol is to be served must be 21 and must be residents of the suite.
• In suites of mixed ages where at least one person who lives in the suite is over 21, parties may have alcohol on a provisional basis with permission of the Resident Dean.  A 21-year-old must be the official host and meet with Beth in these cases.
• Hosts are responsible for checking IDs and monitoring the activities of guests.
• • Activities that promote high-risk drinking, including excessive and/or rapid consumption of alcohol, particularly of a competitive nature, are not permitted.

Remember Harvard’s Amnesty Policy “Students may bring an intoxicated or drug-impaired friend to University Health Services or to a hospital, or seek assistance from College residential life staff or HUPD, and by doing this, neither they nor the friend will face disciplinary action from the College for having used or provided alcohol or drugs.” In other words, if anyone at your party is sick and in need of medical attention, do not hesitate to seek help.

Students should always feel free to use tutors, the Resident Dean, and HUPD as resources if they have any questions or concerns. We all want you to have fun, and we all want you to be safe!

Tips to Minimize High-Risk Behavior at Your Party

• Having a dance party? Be sure to provide lots of drinks like water and Powerade to stay hydrated on the dance floor.
• Food runs out fast at parties…be sure to stock up.
• If you choose to drink, know what’s in your drink and how strong it is.
• Know some interesting non-alcoholic beverages to drink, too. “Non-alcoholic Recipes.” Drinks Mixer. AtomicOnline, LLC.  http://www.drinksmixer.com/cat/8/
.
• Best way to cure a hangover? Stop it before it starts by drinking lots of water while partying and avoid acetaminophen in the morning.
• If you are concerned that someone has had too much to drink, remember Harvard’s amnesty policy and take action [for example, offer them water, contact the on-call tutor, or take the person to UHS]. 

Tips for pacing yourself at a party

 

• Whatever you are drinking, drink it slowly. Avoiding an empty glass means that your drink won’t be refilled by someone else.
• Get excited to go out, be ridiculous, and have fun. Just because you’re not drunk doesn’t mean you’re not fun. Look for more tips here: Daley, Jessica. “Party Girl’s Guide to Being Sober.” Thought Catalog. http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/party-girls-guide-to-being-sober/.

 

Tips for looking after your friends at a party

 

• Watch for signs of alcohol poisoning—confusion, vomiting, seizures, slow or irregular breathing, and hypothermia—and remember the amnesty policy—get help.
• Don’t leave a friend behind. Arrive together and leave together.
• You may wish to make up code words or hand motions to communicate discreetly with your friends. These can be used to make it clear that you need to leave now or that you need to be saved from unwanted advances.
• If someone seems too tipsy, start filling their glass with water or other non-alcoholic drinks.

 

Environmental Impact

• Recycle all SOLO CUPS, cans and bottles (i.e. plastic, aluminum, and glass). Remember to empty all containers and leave the caps off (but still recycle the caps).
•  Encourage attendees to bring their own cup or mug—some of your friends may find it useful to have a Sippy cup. Alternatively, try to have people just use one cup and buy cups made of recycled material. Have a marker so people can label their cups.
• Strategically place bins or bags for collection. It usually helps to have trash and recycling next to each other, but clearly labeled (even with samples of what goes in) to save you time sorting later.
• Buy items in bulk rather than individually wrapped.
• Buy local and/or organic food. Look for recycled content plates and napkins.
• Serve finger food -pre-sliced fruit, cake, etc so people can just grab and go without needing plates/knives etc.

Resources for Your Party

On Call #:  617-512-6088

HUPD emergency line: 617-495-1212

HUHS 24-hour Urgent Care: 617-495-5711

Operations Center: 617-495-5560  (please also inform tutor if anything is broken)

Cabot Security Su-Fr 4PM -8AM: 617 496-2344

“Harvard College Alcohol and Drug Policy.” Havard University. http://handbook.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do?keyword=k88702&pageid=icb.page516340