PARTY OBSERVATIONS

Intent & Methods:
Party observations commenced in Spring of 2006. A “party” is defined as a gathering of five or more students/peers in the south-campus area. Methods for finding observable parties differed based on the night of the week or proximity to a holiday or exams. Students kept in contact through their designated Student Field Coordinators (organizers for observation events) about parties heard about through word-of-mouth. Students were also instructed to continually review online forums like Facebook or Myspace for party announcements. Students go to parties at a minimum in pairs and are not allowed to consume alcohol during observations. Most party surveys have been conducted on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and holiday nights. Observations typically last a hour based on the circumstances of the location. Usually students will observe one party on a given occasion, but in the case of certain holidays (i.e. St Patrick’s Day, Halloween, and Mardi Gras) students may observe more than one party in a night.

During the observations, the student research team assesses: the number of people at the party, the behavior of party patrons, whether there was loud music, the type and volume of the alcohol provided, the accessibility of the alcohol to underage patrons, the presence of illicit drugs and whether there was police intervention. You can see our observation sheet here. Students conduct all observations in a non-intrusive manner, as all observations are anonymous (no specific addresses are noted) and often the party hosts are unaware that their party is being observed (in an effort to ensure fidelity).

Student safety is a primary concern for those participating in observation; all students are given contact cards that allow them to reach one another by cell phone at any event. In addition, the Berkeley Police patrolling the area as well as UC Police are familiar with our observation team and their activities. Party observations are ongoing by Students for a Safer Southside. We continue to collect data with the intention of tracking any changes in the negative impacts of parties in the south-campus community’s quality of life.

Party Observation Findings:
In 38 unique student observations of south-campus parties, 81.6% of observers reported that there was no regulation of alcohol distribution. Observers also noted that at 57.9% of parties, people demonstrated out-of-control behavior. 89.5% of the parties had intoxicated attendees, possibly due to the fact that 84.2% of the parties visited offered hard liquor, vodka being the alcohol of choice (74.2%). At 44.7% of the parties, observers found patrons displaying uninhibited sexual behavior. A report regarding our year one and year two findings is forthcoming.