Safety and Risk Management Authority Procedures - West Lafayette

ARTICLE I
Registrations

Section A: Functions to be Registered

Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association member chapters must register any and all social functions involving any guests of the organization and/or alcohol unless prohibited by their National Organization, no matter the time or place of the event. As defined in the Joint Social Policy a function is an event that involves alcohol, non-member guests, and/or co-sponsoring chapters. Any social function that is discovered to occur without registration, will be viewed as an unregistered function, and the member chapters involved will be sent to the appropriate Judicial Board. In addition, upon the discovery of any unregistered function, SARMA will send observers to the function in an effort to observe the function constant with the safety standards laid out in this document.

Section B: Policy

Member chapters must submit a function registration form through BoilerLink the Sunday before 5:00 p.m. prior to the date of the function being registered. If a chapter wishes to hold a function on a Sunday, they must submit a function registration form through Boilerlink the prior Sunday before 5:00 p.m. A $50 late fine will be applied to chapters who register late. All registrations are subject to the President or Co-Presidents of SARMA. The President and the Vice President of Administration of the Interfraternity Council have the authority to deny any function registrations that pose a risk to the community.

Section C: Function Times

All functions must be registered for a stated start time. There will be no registered function end time, however functions may only last six (6) hours. The following rules apply:
  1. The starting time of the function must correspond with the actual start time of the function.
  2. There can be a maximum of two (2) functions per day, excluding a function that ended late the previous evening.
  3. Functions cannot be registered to begin after 11:00 PM
  4. Functions involving alcohol must discontinue serving any alcohol by 1:30 AM of the following morning.
Interfraternity Council member fraternities and Panhellenic Association member sororities may register separate function start times if one will not partake in the function from the beginning of the registration time due to conflict or otherwise. Organizations who feel their membership will be leaving a registered function early may register a tentative predicted attendance time as well into BoilerLink. Observers will note organizational attendance upon every observance.

Section D: Sober Executives and Sober Workers

Sober executives for the chapter will be viewed as the main point of contact and person of authority over all risk management and safety matters at a function. The Sober Executive must be a member of the Chapter sponsoring the function. Sober Executives must be clearly distinguished from other guests.
Sober workers must be a member of the chapter sponsoring the function, and must be clearly distinguished for other guest in recognizable clothing.
Chapters may contract out security through a licensed third party vendor. The contracted security must be clearly marked with either uniforms, or some kind of visible marks to distinguish them from guests. Chapters must provide documentation of contracted security during the SARMA observation, and must submit the contracted security’s information when registering the function.
Sober Executives, workers, and contracted security must remain sober the entire night. They may not drink alcohol or use drugs the entire day before the function and during the function.

Section E: Violations

Any function that is viewed to be starting before the registered function start time, or continuing on after 2:00 AM will be considered an unregistered function, and the member chapters involved will be sent to the appropriate Fraternal Judicial Board.

ARTICLE II
Observations

Section A: Procedures

Observation procedures are strictly as follows for every observation made, regardless of the number of visits or the time of the event.
  1. SARMA observers will enter from the door that has been previously mentioned in the function registration form submitted.
  2. SARMA observers must present their SARMA ID Card, to gain entry.
  3. SARMA observers must come for the first time at least once within the first 2 (two) hours after the registered function start time. If they do not come within the first two hours they still have the right to check the function area. If there is no function presently taking place they will leave.
  4. SARMA observers must follow all the items and only the items on their SARMA observation forms.
  5. SARMA observers shall check all function areas and emergency exits within set function area and only those areas by entering in the designated check in and check out exit.
  6. SARMA observers must attend functions in no less than teams of two and the teams may not be composed solely of members from one organization.
  7. Observers may never observe their own organization’s registered functions.
  8. The observers will observe all assigned functions for the evening at least twice.
  9. Observers will take no shorter than ten (10) minutes per observation.
  10. The observers must record their findings on one, pre-provided written function report;
  11. Observers will disclose all information compiled within the report on second (2nd) degree violations to the Sober Executive of the sponsoring organizations before leaving and request the signature and printed name of the Sober Executives of said organizations on the report to validate their findings.
  12. Observers will contact the Sober Executive within five (5) minutes of leaving the function on first (1st) degree violations, in an effort to keep the observers safe.
  13. Observers will assist in educating the sober security team on found second (2nd) degree violations.
  14. SARMA observers will perform the same observation report and process for every visit made to the function and submit all the observation reports to the VPO. The overall function score will be determined by the last submitted observation report.
  15. If a first (1st) degree violation has occurred or if an organization has scored less than sixty percent (60%), observers will complete the function observance as normal and notify the VPO or anyone else on the executive board immediately.
  16. Observers will be on observations from 9 P.M until 2:00 AM all the while answering any calls to request additional observations from sober executives.

Section B: Rights of the Observers

  1. SARMA observers have the right to check any registered functions assigned to them and only the functions assigned to them. It is the chapter’s duty to provide a safe environment for SARMA observers.
  2. SARMA observers have the right to ask questions, comment, and voice their concerns to the members of the chapters they are observing.
  3. SARMA observers have the right to observe the function area at any time after the registered function start time until 2:00 AM.

Section C: Failing a Registered Function Observation

The following violations observed by a SARMA observer at any time of their observation are deemed first (1st) degree violations. They are deemed incredibly high risk and dangerous activities. Any deviations from these laid out standards show a clear organizational failure to adhere to SARMA’s mission and values. Breaking the following will be deemed a first degree violation and result in an automatic notification to the SARMA Executive Board.

  1. No hard alcohol of any kind, at any time on any premise, in any source where a function is taking place.
  2. No illegal drugs of any kind, at any time on any premise that a function is taking place
  3. No binge drinking paraphernalia. I.E funnels or beer bongs.
  4. No apparent consumption of alcohol outside of the function area.
  5. Admittance within three (3) minutes and escort into the function area upon first contact with a sponsoring organization’s visible security team member, regardless of presence of a Sober Executive.
  6. No hazing activity can be present. Hazing is defined by Purdue University Definition of Hazing: 
"Hazing" means any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a student, whether individually or in concert with other persons, against another student, and in which either of the following apply: The act is committed in connection with an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in any organization.
The act contributes to a substantial risk of potential physical injury, mental harm, or degradation, or causes physical injury, mental harm, or personal degradation.

"Hazing" means any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed by a student, whether individually or in concert with other persons, against another student, and in which either of the following apply: The act is committed in connection with an initiation into, an affiliation with, or the maintenance of membership in any organization. The act contributes to a substantial risk of potential physical injury, mental harm, or degradation, or causes physical injury, mental harm, or personal degradation.

The following are required or the chapter will suffer second (2nd) degree violations on their Observation Report. The sponsoring organizations must obtain an seventy percent (70%) passage rate on all second (2nd) degree violations on the final observation report of the evening or the function will be deemed a failure. If a second degree violation is observed twice in separate observations within the course of thirty (30) minutes the observation team will note ample time was not given to fully remedy the violations on their observation report. To avoid second degree violations, functions must have the following:

  1. A realistic function start time.
  2. General compliance with fire code and fire safety. This includes clear lanes of egress, no presence of tarps, no emergency exits are blocked, all exit signs are visible, no presence of highly combustible decorations (I.E. hay), and no smoke detectors are covered.

    *A direct discretionary report may be submitted to the SARMA Executive Board in the event of blatant and immediately dangerous fire code violations, regardless of Observation Report score. I.E. open flames or failing to evacuate during a fire alarm.

  3. Items necessary to maintain a safe environment such as abundant and edible sober snacks.
  4. Clean and abundant water is provided.
  5. Highlighting checked in guests on either an electronic or typed function list at the door.
  6. Sober security information posted visibly in an abundance of places including phone numbers.
  7. A single check in entrance and exit.
  8. Security being in distinct recognizable clothing.
  9. Glass containers remaining behind the bar and being disposed of immediately once a drink is poured into cups.
  10. Having a qualified and educated sober security team including a sober executive, patrols, door workers, drivers, and a bartender who is at least 21 years of age.


Section D: Passing an Observation:

Passing an observation entails having no first (1st) degree violations throughout the function and scoring an seventy percent (70%) passage rate on all possible second (2nd) degree violations on the final observation report.


Section E: Shutting down a function

Finding 1st degree violations results in an automatic and an immediate notification to either the VPO or anyone on the SARMA executive board. Only the Interfraternity Council’s President, Vice President of Administration, and Vice President of Risk Management are allowed to shutdown a function, granted the VPRM of IFC will also be either a Co-President or the sole President of SARMA. It will be the Interfraternity Council’s decision whether to shut down the function or not.

Failing a function because of second (2nd) degree violations will not merit an immediate notification to either the VPO or anyone on the SARMA executive board, unless the function scores less than sixty percent (60%) on secondary violations on any observation. However, chapters can expect follow up from the SARMA executive board requesting a meeting to explain and help amend the organizational failures.


Section F: Post-Observation

SARMA observers are required to show the sober executive the inspection form of second (2nd) degree violations and to request their signature and printed name to verify the accuracy of the inspection form. If they feel the report is inaccurate they should not sign it. At this point, the SARMA observer should also explain any second degree violations found on their inspection and assist in educating the sober executives or the sober security on how to resolve the violation. Sober executives should work to resolve any violations and in the event of another observation, the violation should be resolved. The SARMA observers are required to contact the Sober Executive within five (5) minutes of leaving the function to report any first (1st) degree violations found, in an effort to keep the observers safe.


Section G: Unregistered Functions

Any fraternity or sorority that is viewed by the Inerfraternity Council Executive Board for fraternities or Panhellenic Association Executive Board for sororities of hosting or co-sponsoring an unregistered function will have SARMA representatives sent to observe the event. In the event that an unregistered function is discovered they will request to observe the event as if it were a registered event. A report will then be filed by the respective council of the chapter in violation, indicating the hosting of an unregistered event, as well as the usual safety report. There shall be no automatic failure on the first (1st) observance due to second (2nd) degree violations. If a request for entrance is denied, this will be noted and included in the report. Unregistered functions would undermine the purpose of SARMA.

APPENDIX I
Document History

  1. Written by Cameron J. Tober, Interfraternity Council Executive Board Advisory Council Member 4/4/2016.
  2. Revised by Joseph R. Sinise, Interfraternity Council President.
  3. Voted into effect by the Interfraternity Council 4/6/2016.

Last modified: June 19, 2025