Although no policy forbade the Office of International Student Programs and Services from keeping alcohol in its building, UA officials are advising university departments and programs to not use building space to store alcohol.
Administrators are asking faculty and staff to use common sense.
"They should use good judgment and good principles because you don't use your agency or department on state property for (alcohol) storage," said Saundra Taylor, executive vice president for Campus Life. "I would certainly want every department on campus to be very careful about what is stored that could be misused or abused."
Debate arose last week when Rawya Hafez, office specialist for ISPS, claimed she was fired after reporting to Provost George Davis that the office had been storing alcohol in an adviser's closet for nearly two months.
Hafez said the alcohol was accessible to underage student employees in the office, and she figured it was against UA policy to keep the cases of beer and wine in an unlocked closet.
Joanne Lagassˇ-Long, director of ISPS, said the provost had told her there was no policy against storing alcohol in the building.
After Hafez sent an e-mail to Davis alerting him to the situation two weeks ago, Davis called Kirk Simmons, the executive director of the Division of International Affairs, and told him to get rid of the alcohol that had been left over from a November reception.
"I have no idea why it was stored in the building. I am surprised it was not removed directly after the reception," Davis said.
Melissa McGee, the harm and risk reduction coordinator for Campus Health Services, said she would be concerned about the health and safety of the students in the office.
"If they got a hold of the alcohol, it could be a huge liability issue for those storing the alcohol. They might be held responsible for supplying alcohol to minors. Just in terms of liability, (it's) not a good idea for faculty and staff to store alcohol," McGee said.
Arizona state law prohibits selling or distributing alcohol to minors. If it were determined that an underage student drank alcohol that had been stored on campus, the owner of the alcohol could be liable.
Sgt. Eugene Mejia, UAPD spokesman, also warned campus departments and programs not to store alcohol in UA buildings.
"Whoever maintains custody of the alcohol in the department would be liable if it was accessible and got into hands of minors," Mejia said.
The UA Code of Conduct does not allow students under the age of 21 to possess or consume alcohol on university property.
"My initial reaction is that there should be serious caution around the storage of alcohol, particularly if the area is not secured," said Melissa Vito, dean of students.
A number of UA officials were unaware there was not a policy that forbids departments or programs from storing alcohol.
"I was unaware that we didn't have a policy. We have policies about consuming alcohol on state premises, and we probably have had more focus on breaking laws in that sense," Taylor said.