Walking into a bar earlier this semester, I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of Hillsdale administrators enjoying drinks with their spouses. As they got up to leave Broad Street Downtown Market and Tavern later that night, I walked over to shake hands and say “hello” in an attempt to be polite. Following a bit of small talk, I asked the administrators if they would join us in singing “Happy Birthday” to a fellow student who had just turned 21.
This brief encounter never would have happened on campus. But because of where we were, the small talk flowed, as did the jokes. I connected with college staff in a way that campus does not normally facilitate. So how can the college foster this sort of community? The school needs to open an on-campus bar. It would bring students and faculty together, promote healthy alcohol consumption, and promote community on campus. Imagine Dr. Arnn asking you “What is the good?” over a glass of scotch.
I will forget about Monday’s biology lecture, but I won’t forget about that time I sang “Happy Birthday” to a friend at the bar alongside college administrators.
The college obviously does not want to encourage alcohol consumption, but college students will drink alcohol for as long as the earth keeps spinning. So the next best alternative is advocating for moderate and responsible alcohol consumption and activities, all while promoting community on-campus.
For all the fun of jazz night at the Underground or karaoke night at Here’s To You Pub-N-Grub, these venues are too far away for most students, and often times someone is required to drive. Removing the need of a car eliminates one of the major risks associated with drinking.
If a bar is located on campus, the risk of DUIs and the dangers that go along with drunk driving would decrease. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimates more than 3.3 million students between the ages 18 and 24 drive under the influence of alcohol each year. So taking away the need for a car takes the possibility of anyone getting behind the wheel of a car inebriated away as well.
Another health and safety benefit of having a bar on campus would be the college’s ability to monitor student alcohol consumption. The college would be more careful than a local bar at making sure not to over-serve a student. Also, sitting down the bar from a professor or an administrator provides a bit of positive social pressure to moderate one’s drinking.
Schools from Berkley to Georgetown have on-campus bars, and school-run pubs are very common in the United Kingdom. Even at Hillsdale the idea has been floated around and tried in a temporary manner in the past. In 1997, a Delta Sigma Phi representative to Student Federation proposed to start a committee tasked with opening a beer stand located outside of the student union. His proposal failed to gain any momentum then.
In 2009, Associate Dean of Women Rebekah Dell, who at the time was the Student Activities director, brought the first “Charger Bar” to campus. For one night, SAB converted Curtiss Dining Hall into a lounge style bar, to “supplement activities for students on campus.” Currently, alcohol is now served at SAB events like karaoke night and Centralhallapalooza.
The College also already offers a course on the making of beer. If the college teaches it, it might as well serve it. Along with that, the bar could give entrepreneurship, marketing, and business students an opportunity to put what they have learned into practice. Along with the academics of serving alcohol, an on-campus bar can provide for hands-on vocational training for students interested in bartending.
The location of the bar is very important to its success and the benefits it would have for students. The on-campus bar would need to be as central as possible. Ideally, the college should convert the under-used formal lounge in the Grewcock Student Union into a bar. Or make some minor renovations to the Old Snack Bar and make it a permanent “Charger Bar.”
Providing safe drinking activities for students is another benefit of having an on-campus bar, as it would bring students together from all corners of campus life, similar to the dining hall. Rather than student-professor tea, students and faculty could mingle over a glass of wine or a cold beer.
Hopefully next semester, along with your professors listing their office hours on the syllabus, they will also offer what hours you can find them at the bar.
