Sober Monitors

If you're having a party at Stanford then a sober monitor is required, per Party Planning Guidelines, you have Sober Monitors present at your event.

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We Require Sober Monitors for a Few Reasons

To ensure you, as the host, have help managing your party
To help incase of an emergency
To intervene in potentially harmful situations
To create a safe and fun party for everyone

This FAQ and test are meant for you, as a host, to take in order to provide guidance for your Sober Monitors, but also for your Sober Monitors to take to give them a better understanding of their repsonsibilities. This guide is not meant to cover all possible scenarios but to give a broad overview and helpful strategies for Sober Monitors to use.

More About Sober Monitors

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What is a Sober Monitor?

Sober monitors are students who are part of the hosting group and designated to be sober for the entirety of the event to prevent problems and to be the “go-to” people in an emergency.

Sober Monitor Duties

During the event, Sober Monitors have a minimum of the following 4 core duties:

Door Person(s): These sobers should check Stanford IDs to ensure that all guests are Stanford students. There should be a sober at every open entrance/exit and a minimum of two sobers at the main entrance. These people should also make sure their guests don’t go outside with alcohol.
Stairway person(s): These sobers should be posted at stairways to ensure that guests do not go upstairs unless authorized by the people who live in the house. This will prevent roof access and ensure that personal property is not damaged or stolen.
Mingler(s): These sobers should be interspersed throughout the party. They should walk around, interact with guests casually, and manage any problems that come to their attention.
Beverage Service(s): Sobers stationed here should have a system for identifying members and guests who are of the legal drinking age (21+) and should only serve guests who are of age and who are not overly intoxicated. THIS SOBER MONITOR MUST BE 21 OR OLDER. If you have hired licensed bartenders then you do not need a sober monitor at each beverage station.
- Exceptions: If the party is off campus at a bar/club or space that already provides door people and bouncers, or license bartenders, your sober monitors are not responsible for those specific core duties. It IS the responsibility of the hosting group to specifically ask what professional personnel the venue provides ahead of time so they can plan accordingly. You will ALWAYS need to have minglers no matter what space you are in.
- After the event:
  - Rally your fellow hosts and clean up anything left in the front or backyard. Clean the house.
  - If something happens and 911 is called, make sure you email the row911 email list and follow up with your PM
  - Check-in with your staff and community leadership to discuss the event. What went well? What can you do better next time? Who can you reach out to for help planning the next one?

How many sober monitors do I need?

A minimum of two sober monitors are required for a registered party regardless of party size. Primary and/or secondary contacts may serve as sober monitors.
There must be one sober monitor per 25 expected guests.

Can our sober monitors have even just one drink if they are still sober enough to drive?

No! It is not okay for a sober monitor to have ANYTHING (even sips) to drink before or during an event. This includes use of other drugs as well. This is less about the ability to drive (in any emergency situation, you should be calling 911, NOT driving people to the hospital). This is more about the agreement that you set to be sober for your guests. If you don’t take that responsibility seriously, then guests won’t take you seriously and they won’t go to you if there is something wrong at your event. If someone were to witness or find out that one of the sober monitors was drinking before or during an event, it sets the tone that alcohol is more important than the safety and comfort of your guests.

Sober Monitor Responsibilities

What specifically is a sober monitor assigned to be a door person responsible for?

Door Person

The door person(s) are responsible for the following:

Checking Stanford IDs (and driver’s licenses if you are handing out wristbands to those over 21)-- If it’s not a Stanford student, do not let them into your party
Making sure people are not sneaking into the party who should not be there e.g. it’s a members only party but students from another program or group are sneaking in. ← The door people are the first stop gap to prevent this from happening.
Preventing overly intoxicated guests from entering the party.
If someone cannot walk on their own, they should not be allowed in the party
If someone is belligerent, they should not be allowed in the party
If someone is vomiting outside, they should not be let inside the party
Deciding a system ahead of time with the beverage service sober monitors to identify folks who are of legal drinking age (e.g. wristbands etc.). Wristbands should be placed tightly on the wrist such that they cannot be slipped off easily.
Being an active bystander:
- Call 911 for anyone that may need medical attention
- For those you are not letting into the party due to over intoxication but who do not need medical attention, suggest they visit the 5-SURE on foot table and encourage their friends to go with them.
- If someone is belligerent and is threatening the safety of others, call 911.
- If someone is about to walk out the door holding alcohol, remind them to put it down before they walk outside so they don’t get cited by police.
Responding to any event that guests bring to your attention and directing it to the appropriate sober monitor → e.g. a guest brings to your attention someone who is making other guests uncomfortable and making unwanted advances on others → the door sober monitor should text the groupme with a description of the guest and ask one of the minglers to intercept them and ask them to leave. In most cases, the door person should NOT leave their post to take care of a guest inside the party; however, ALWAYS use your best judgement. If the person is right there, you can take care of it.

What Specifically Is a Sober Monitor Assigned to Be a Stairway Person Responsible for?

The stairway person(s) are responsible for the following:

Post up by every stairway and ensure guests do not go outside of designated party areas. Stairways present a risk for intoxicated guests and unfortunately, every year, college students across the country die from falls down the stairs.
Preventing people from going up the stairs to gain roof access. Again, heights, and intoxicated guests do not mix. It is unsafe for anyone to be on a roof and having sober monitors at the stairway will preemptively prevent roof access in most spaces. If there are other places where the roof can be accessed, you should also post a sober monitor there.
Being an active bystander:
- Call 911 for anyone that may need medical attention
- For those who do not need medical attention but clearly should not be drinking anymore, suggest they get some water, or that they visit the 5-SURE on foot table and encourage their friends to stick with them.
- If someone is belligerent and is threatening the safety of others, call 911.
Responding to any event that guests bring to your attention and directing it to the appropriate sober monitor → e.g. a guest brings to your attention someone who is making other guests uncomfortable and making unwanted advances on others → the stairway sober monitor should text the groupme with a description of the guest and ask one of the minglers to intercept them and ask them to leave. In most cases, the staircase person should NOT leave their post to take care of a guest inside the party; however, ALWAYS use your best judgement. If the person is right there, you can take care of it.

What specifically is a sober monitor assigned to be one of the mingler(s) responsible for?

The mingler(s) are responsible for the following:

Mingling around the party to make sure guests are okay. The minglers should be interspersed throughout the party and should be walking around, interacting with guests casually and managing any problems that come to their attention.
Minglers are NOT babysitters nor are they “out to kick guests out” of the party, though at times they may need to do so. Their role is really to be a visible sign to guests that if something is going on that they need assistance with, they are there to help.
If you see something that looks off, or you are uncertain if a guest is okay, you should ALWAYS check in with them and just ask, “hey are you okay?”, “can I get you some water?”, “can I help you find your friends?” etc. If you approach with a culture of care, no one is going to get mad at you for asking if they need anything.
Being an active bystander:
- Call 911 for anyone that may need medical attention
- For those who do not need medical attention but clearly should not be drinking anymore, suggest they get some water, or that they visit the 5-SURE on foot table and encourage their friends to stick with them.
- If someone is belligerent and is threatening the safety of others, call 911.
Responding to any event that guests bring to your attention → e.g. a guest brings to your attention someone who is making other guests uncomfortable and making unwanted advances on others → as the mingler, you are most likely going to be the person responsible for intercepting them and asking them to leave. Even if you are the one responsible for acting on something, keep your other sobers updated and ask for backup if you need it!

What Specifically Is a Sober Monitor Assigned to Be On Beverage Service Responsible For?

The beverage service sober monitors are responsible for the following:

Ensuring a single point of access for all of the alcohol at the party. There should be a designated place where you are serving alcohol.
Ensuring that everyone receiving alcohol at the party is of age (you can do this by giving out wristbands to guests 21 and over at the bar or at the door – work this out with your door people)
Ensuring that guests who are overly intoxicated do not get served. This is extremely important from both an ethic of care perspective AND a legal perspective. You are legally liable if a guest drinks too much and they are injured or sent to the hospital. Ways to ensure you don’t overserve guests include:
- Pour drinks as people order them. Do NOT pour a bunch of drinks and allow guests to grab them from the bar as they walk by.
- Use standard drink measurements so guests know how much they are drinking –OAPE cups are free and were made to help with this! All you need to do is ask for them!
- Do NOT leave the alcohol unattended for guests to serve themselves. The signs of intoxication can look unclear sometimes. Know that if someone is stumbling or slurring words, they should not be served more alcohol.
- Set a threshold e.g. if someone is slurring their words, it’s time to cut them off.
- Set a 1:1 rule - that a single guest can only get 1 drink at a time from the bar (every guest needs to go up and get their own drink and can only get 1 at a time)
Being an active bystander:
- Call 911 for anyone that may need medical attention
- For those who do not need medical attention but clearly should not be drinking anymore, suggest they get some water, or that they visit the 5-SURE on foot table and encourage their friends to stick with them.
- If someone is belligerent and is threatening the safety of others, call 911.
- Responding to any event that guests bring to your attention and directing it to the appropriate sober monitor → e.g. a guest brings to your attention someone who is making other guests uncomfortable and making unwanted advances on others → the beverage service sober monitor should text the groupme with a description of the guest and ask one of the minglers to intercept them and ask them to leave. The beverage service sober monitor should NOT leave the bar. Again always use your best judgement. If a student passes out right in front of the bar, the beverage service sober monitor should absolutely be the first to respond and call 911. But they should also immediately text the other sober monitors to get back up.

Emergencies

What constitutes an emergency that requires a 911 call?

Calling 911

A sober monitor should call 911 for any of the following reasons:

Alcohol Poisoning (any of the following symptoms, call 911 immediately):
- Vomiting repeatedly
- Passed out and not easily roused
- Unresponsive
- Slowed irregular breathing, gasping for air, or hyperventilating
If someone falls and doesn’t get up (either due to lack of consciousness or inability to move)
- Call 911 immediately, and do not move them. This person could have a spinal cord injury, and if it is not set properly, they could have paralysis.
Head injury
- If someone falls and hits their head and is unconscious for ANY period of time (even just a few seconds), they need to be assessed by a medical professional. They could have a concussion or a subdermal hemorrhage that is life-threatening.
Guest threatening the safety of others
- If a guest is threatening violence or appears to be getting aggressive with other guests, staff or sober monitors, call 911.
- Sober monitors are NOT responsible for breaking up fights, or putting themselves in danger.

What Do I Do After 911 Has Been Called and We Are Waiting for Emergency Services to Arrive?

The most important thing to do while you are waiting for 911 is crowd control. Ensure that EMTs or other emergency personnel have space to move quickly in and out. You should alert your group (which should have your staff included!), and you should begin shutting the party down. There are two universal signs that a party is over (lights turned up all the way, and music turned off). Minglers should help file people away from the scene and lead them out the exits. Stairway people should also help file people out too. Bar service sobers should put away all alcohol. Door people should look out for EMS and direct them.

Alert the relevant ResEd staffs (e.g. your PM, the RD on Call etc.) as soon as possible. For life-threatening emergencies, it is always the first priority to call 911, but your first call after that should be to your ResEd staff. They need to be in the know so that they can help you.

Sober Monitor Test

Follow the instructions below to complete the process:

Go to the Sober Monitor Test. Once you have entered your information, you will be asked 20 questions (each worth 5 points) about being a Sober Monitor and the online guide. We strongly encourage you to read the guide in its entirety before taking the test. It should only take you about 10 minutes to complete the test. You must get an 80/100 to pass, but you may take it over until that score is reached.

There is information covered in the guide that may be relevant to your responsibilities but is not covered in the test.

Sober Monitor Test