On Jan. 22 the University of North Georgia declared the implementation of a new alcohol policy for tailgates and campus events. The new Alcohol and Other Drugs Policy allows for the possession and consumption of alcohol at any university-sponsored event.

Multiple factors led to this decision by the university such as the inconsistency that arose from past use of alcohol at some approved campus events. Alyson Paul, Interim Vice President of Student Affairs, spoke on these inconsistencies and pointed out that there have been instances where alcohol has been approved for events for external organizations or alumni organizations, but not for students. “Part of our desire was to make that policy a little more consistent and applying to all,” said Paul.

The university also expressed a desire to allow students to have a better sense of real-world responsibility through this policy.

“If we are trying to teach students to be responsible but we’re not giving them any parameters that parallel the experience they will have in the real world, we may not be preparing them the way we need to be.”- Alyson Paul, Interim Vice President of Student Affairs

Another factor that played into this decision was the promotion of more on campus involvement from students such as Greek organizations. According to Paul, the idea is to create a better sense of connection between the school and these organizations that were previously forced to hold events off campus if they wanted to have alcohol present.

Upon this decision, the university has also created the Tailgating Policy which allows students to host tailgates on permitted lots around campus. Students must be in these posted areas and can only use these spaces four hours prior to any scheduled sporting event and stay up until two hours after.

The university continues to review these policies and plans to allow alcohol inside UNG sporting venues soon. Paul said, “We were looking to roll that out with the current changes, but we needed a little bit more time to work through the licensing component to it… but I think you will see that in the future.”