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Abstract: 

Heavy alcohol consumption on college campuses and the negative decisions made by intoxicated students have resulted in more colleges and universities becoming targets of tort lawsuits seeking to lay responsibility for the problem at the feet of institutions, administrative staff, and the state. In a higher education setting, a case involving tort liability usually includes allegations that the higher education institution, or one of its agents, owed a duty to a student to behave according to a set standard of care, that the duty of care was breached, and that the breach of duty caused injury to the student. This article reviews a number of important, precedent-setting cases—some well known, other less so—that have shaped the legal environment for institutions with respect to the conduct and consequences of students who drink to excess.

Keywords: alcohol enforcement policy; academic performance; high-risk behaviors; Gott v. Berea College; Dixon v. Alabama State Board of Education; Orzech v. Fairleigh Dickinson University, 411 N.J. Super. 198 (2009); Smith v. Delta Tau Delta, 988 N.E.2d at 337

Affiliations:  1: Old Dominion University; 2: Old Dominion University.