Under Connecticut State law, a person under the age of 21 can be fined up to $500 for purchasing or attempting to purchase alcohol. If the alcohol is found in the possession of someone under age, the fine ranges from $200 to $500.
The Quinnipiac University Policy states that “students who are of legal drinking age who choose to consume alcoholic beverages in the residence halls or university owned or leased residences are expected to do so in moderation…”
In the Alcohol Policy, the university also points out that even though a person is drinking, that person should still act responsibly and will be accountable for his or her actions.
On campus, alcoholic beverages are only allowed to be served, possessed or consumed by someone who is 21 years or older, and only in the privacy of one’s room. Guests must also be 21 or over. The University Policy defines an illegal party as “any gathering of persons whose numbers double the occupancy of any university-owned of leased residences where alcohol is present, possessed, consumed or served.”
This means that if a student lives in a room or a campus house with four people in it, you are not allowed to have more than four people over and serve alcohol, whether the student is 21 or not, because it will be considered an illegal party.
Any student who consumes alcohol in public, meaning anywhere on campus except for one’s room, whether 21 years of age or not, will be subject to a warning, a fine and community service. However, for the person under 21, the fine will be higher.
Quinnipiac recently changed the rules for what kind of alcohol is allowed on campus. Kegs, beer balls and punch bowls are no longer allowed anywhere on campus or in the campus owned houses. The amount of alcohol that is allowed in a 21 year old person’s possession are 24 bottles or cans or beer, one bottle of hard liquor or three bottles of wine (even though there is a typo in the Student Handbook where the word “and” was substituted for the word “or”).