From now on, the ubiquitous "red cups" will no longer be permitted to be given out at campus events, as Pomona College plans this semester to begin enforcing a two-year-old rule mandating that alcohol given out at registered events is to be served only in clear cups. The new enforcement is part of an effort to ensure adherence to the alcohol policy by preventing students from removing alcohol from school events.

"We have had difficulty with alcohol leaving events in red cups," said Assistant Director of the Campus Center Dave Swenson. "Clear cups make it much easier for event organizers and Campus Safety to prevent this. The servers also prefer the clear cups because it allows them to see what they are pouring and avoid giving out cups of foam." Servers have been told not to dispense alcohol into any container that is not clear.

RAs and leaders of student organizations were notified of the change upon return from winter break. According to Swenson, the delay in enforcement of the policy was due to the school’s efforts to identify affordable sources of the clear cups. "Should organizations need clear cups due to some sort of mix up," he said, "we have and will continue to have for the next few weeks, a supply of clear cups that groups can pickup from the Smith Campus Center building managers."

As in the past, alcohol is not permitted to be brought into registered events. The clear cup rule, however, applies only to registered events and not to all alcohol on campus.

Ryan Hattersley ’01, president of the Kappa Delta fraternity, stated that he found out about the change in policy from Swenson’s memo, which he received upon return from winter break. He added that he felt the change in policy would have no bearing at all on his organization’s events.

In addition to the change from red cups to clear cups, Pomona has also issued an announcement stating servers are only to accept 5-C IDs. Swenson said that the enforcement of both policies is "just an effort on the part of our office to help maintain the safety of the campus community," and not part of a larger plan to crack down on alcohol use on campus. He also said that there were no other plans to begin enforcement of existing unenforced rules.