A new party policy requires that registered parties have someone to fill the new role of Alcohol Beverage Server (ABS) in addition to the previously required role of Primary Host, or the “sober host.”

The sober host must live in the space where the party is being held, while the ABS must only be of legal drinking age. Both of these students must meet with a member of the Department of Community Living before their registered party.

The ABS has similar responsibilities to the Primary Host. “The ABS is not responsible for pouring or measuring drinks, but should the ABS see that someone is having their third or fourth drink in an hour, it is the hope the ABS would intervene,” said Dayshawn J. Simmons, area coordinator for Charles River and the Foster Mods in an email to The Brandeis Hoot.

Simmons expressed hope that in the event of a medical emergency “the primary host and/or Alcohol Beverage Server (ABS) will contact emergency services for assistance.” Simmons added “we also hope that between the primary host and ABS, underage students are not consuming alcohol at registered events.”

The new policy seems unreasonable to a senior, who requested to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the issue. The senior, who served as the ABS at a party she hosted last weekend, had to call Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps (BEMCo) for a guest.

The student was nervous about “harsh consequences” due to her role as ABS, but said she was “never reluctant” to call BEMCo to help the student because she “knew it needed to be done.” The student added, though, that in her role as ABS she felt she was expected “to monitor everyone to an unrealistic expectation.”

According to the email with Simmons, no decline in party registration has occurred and “the level of responsibility for those responsible for hosting a registered event have not changed” since the implementation of the ABS policy.