Student Assembly

Based off of the Dartmouth’s Green Team Training Manual 2011

What is Cayuga’s Watchers?

Cayuga’s Watchers is a student run SOCIAL AWARENESS campaign meant to curb high risk drinking and the issues associated with it on our campus. Adapted from Haverford’s Quaker Bouncer Program and Dartmouth’s Green Team, teams of four students or less will be present at parties to help monitor the safety of students from a non-confrontational, peer standpoint.

This is not your “usual” sober monitoring program- instead this is a way for students to change how we perceive and respond to drinking. All Cayuga’s Watchers are trained to recognize and help respond to high risk situations, without standing out in the crowd. While traditional Sober Monitors at fraternity parties come with a lot of responsibilities, such as checking whether or not the door to upstairs is closed, whether the party’s not too loud, whether there is beer at the bars (among many other things), ‘Watchers’ are there looking out solely for well-being of other party-goers.

Why should we have Cayuga’s Watchers at our party?

• This is a purely OPT-IN system, but there are a lot of benefits:
• It’s FREE.
• As a student organization or Greek house president, you will have support at social events - RELIEVING YOUR BURDEN.
• Also, they guarantee complete CONFIDENTIALITY - this is not the administration trying to keep tabs on parties. These are students - often friends - that are making sure students are not in trouble from a health and safety point of view.
• Watchers come with the guarantee that there is NO ADDED LIABILITY for your organization - they are just extra sets of eyes for the student organization or Greek house.
• REDUCE MEDICAL TRANSPORTS and keep students healthier and safer.
• REDUCE NEGATIVE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTS (i.e. if someone had too much to drink a Watcher will alert one of their friends or find someone to take care of them; a Watcher will notice if someone is damaging property; a Watcher can reduce instances of sexual assault and keep your social event safe).

Why should you be a Cayuga’s Watcher?

• Every watcher will be paid $10 AN HOUR to attend regular social events ($40-$50 on a Thursday to go to a party?! Awesome!)
• You don’t have to wear anything special. While presidents, social chairs and organization leadership will know who the Watchers on any given night, Watchers will not be clearly marked in any way. This is to ensure that when they approach other students they are SEEN AS PEERS trying to help rather than as someone trying to end a student’s night. If Watchers want to tell people they are “on duty,” that is completely up to them.
• WATCHING OUT FOR FRIENDS: everyone has had a friend who has drank too much or become sick and even gone to the hospital - make sure your friends are safe and healthy.

Community Collaboration

• Interfraternity Council

• Panhellenic Council

• CUEMS

• Undergraduate Council for Alcohol Safety (newly-created student organization)

• Consent-Ed

• Women’s Resource Center

• Slope Day Programming Board

• Cornell Concert Commission

• Order of Omega Greek Honor Society