Student Page

If only it were this easy.

At UNL, violating campus policies, city ordinances or state laws is no game. Lincoln and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln police actively enforce alcohol laws and policies. Civic citations and judicial sanctions can railroad your academic and professional career plans. The good news is that you can make informed choices about alcohol by knowing ways to reduce your risks.

Drunk in Nebraska

It's not illegal to be drunk in Nebraska, as long as you're 21 or older. But if you look and act like you're out of control and a danger to yourself or others becuase you are drunk, then police can place you in "protective custody" at Cornhusker Place, Inc., the city's detoxification center. There, you'll be kept for up to 24 hours or until you have no more alcohol in your system or a responsible party asks to release you into their custody. But don't count on that as a sure-fire way to get out of Detox. The law allows personnel to reject anyone they wish and to hold you at Cornhusker Place for the full 24 hours. Ask any student who has been in detox about the experience, and they'll tell you why VERY few UNL students ever wind up there a second time.

Alcohol on campus

The UNL Student Code of Conduct prohibits "unlawful or unauthorized possession, use, distribution, dispensing, delivery, sale or consumption of any alcoholic beverage." UNL is a "permit-only" campus, meaning that alcohol is allowed on campus only through a special permit granted by the Vice-Chancellor for Student Affairs. There are strict guidelines for on-campus permits, so you won't see any permitted alcohol in places on campus where the majority of the people are underage, or where high-risk drinking is a possibility. Campus police are VERY strict about citing alcohol violations, especially in residence halls and Greek houses (all houses at UNL are dry). University parking lots are not safe havens, either -- UNLPD cite LOTS of students and visitors for drinking in parking lots as well.

Alcohol off campus

The city of Lincoln has a special unit, informally known as the "Party Patrol" that responds to complaints from area residents about wild parties in the neighborhoods around campus. During key times of the year, they'll have patrols out looking for these parties, and hundreds of students have been cited for everything from Minor In Possession to Maintaining a Disorderly House. In addition to city or county legal issues, three citations -- Maintaining a Disorderly House, Selling Alcohol Without a License, and Procuring Alcohol for a Minor -- are reported to UNL's Office of Student Judicial Affairs and can result in additional sanctions from the University for violating the Student Code of Conduct.

 

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