A new student event management system is being implemented to assist students and student-led organizations in organizing social events.
Starting in November of 2017, several University of Maine faculty were tasked with creating a new online form to streamline the process of registering a party where alcohol is be present. The form can be found at the Student Wellness Resource Center for UMaine website and has several reasons for being upgraded.
Lauri Sidelko, the director of the Student Wellness and Resource Center described the previous form as a “cumbersome process.” Robert Dana, the vice president for student affairs and dean of students, felt there was a need for a system that allowed students who wanted to have a social event to be able to abide by the law. This form does exactly that.
The form consists of several required sections such as basic event information, numbers of attendees, location, entrance details, sober monitors and security and details about food and contact information.
“Part of the problem that we have had with some parties is that people don’t have a risk management system in place,” Sidelko said. “Alcohol is always going to be the unknown factor.”
Although many groups decide to use a third party vendor, any school organization that hosts a formal event will need to use this form to go through the proper channels.
Fraternities and sororities at UMaine are groups that will almost definitely be participating in this new project. Although Sidelko says this form is a work in progress, it is expected to be an improvement to the process.
“I think it’s good that the University is attempting to streamline the process of registering events and working to better communicate with not just Greek life but all student organizations who are part of this campus,” said Charles Zachau, chapter president of Alpha Tau Omega at the University of UMaine.
The purpose of this new event management form is to make sure everybody on campus who needs to be aware of an event is informed correctly and promptly. Stakeholders range from facilities management to catering services.
The policy as a whole represents a way for student organizations to have a safe environment for an event with alcohol present and obey the law.
Eric Wiater, the chapter vice president of Kappa Sigma at UMaine is confident in the possibilities this new process offers.
“I think it can be a good thing for fraternities and the school to communicate and work together,” Wiater said. “It makes it so people can have a safe environment to have fun. It can also keep fraternities from getting in trouble with underage drinking.”
Joshua Stanhope, the assistant director of fraternity and sorority life has a similar outlook.
“I think that the form is a great way for student organizations to partner with the departments at the University to plan well thought out and safe events,” he said.
