It’s been rumored that Chapman University is planning on opening a bar on campus for student and professor enjoyment, alike. Although most people are excited to have a new hangout on campus, others are worrying about the consequences of having an alcohol-providing establishment so open for students to utilize.
So what are the pros and cons of having a bar on campus?
The pros line up like 99 bottles of beer on the wall:
1. It would provide easy access to alcohol for anyone 21+ on campus.
2. The open space would lead to less violent acts caused by heavy alcohol consumption.
3. It could be a safe place to drink for those students who aren’t into partying.
4. It gives the responsibility to those who are old enough to drink.
Sure, you can go in and grab a few beers at 9pm on a Monday, but you know you’ll be frustrated with yourself when you have a splitting headache sitting under the bright lights of that lecture class you have on Tuesday morning. No one is going to stop drinking, no matter how many statistics we see, but letting students experience a communal area in which to drink allows them to experiment with alcohol and have a good time in a safe space. This could actually lower binge-drinking levels of a university!
5. It’s more fun!
How cool would it be to say “We’re all meeting at the pub tonight!” and have everyone know what you mean and actually be excited to go?
The cons are a little scarier, but mostly because they are dangerously true:
1. Anyone 21+ who can come on campus can potentially enter the bar.
2. No one can guarantee that people will drink responsibly.
3. People under 21 could potentially still get in.
Fake IDs can be difficult to identify and there are some pretty convincing fakes out there.
4. Most students 21+ live off-campus so they would be more likely to drink and drive.
Those statistics are high enough, with 1,825 students dying every year from alcohol-related incidents.
5. This cumulatively creates more work for the officers working for the university.
They try to keep the peace, but a bar can invite certain levels of extra chaos.
With all this in mind, there are also many different kinds of bars and variations therein.
Types of drinking establishments generally go as follows:
1. Bar: ranging from dive bars to night clubs, this is where the alcohol is served and the music is played
2. Pub: serves alcohol, but also almost always serves food as well (also associated with European pubs across the UK)
3. Tavern: place of business where food and alcohol is served, and the drinkers are called guests and treated as such
4. Brewpub: beer is brewed on-site
5. Beer hall: large pub that specializes in beer
6. Speakeasy: most common during the Prohibition, this kind of bar serves alcohol illegally.
With the right restrictions, like regulating operating hours and alcohol serving hours depending on the establishment and/or having people checked at the door for proof of age and student IDs, bars can be a successful collegiate endeavor.
And while objectively I have to ask why college students need another excuse to drink, as a current college student I know that we don’t really need one, but that won’t stop us!
