Following the alcohol-related deaths of three students at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, the school went on a crusade to make the campus a safer place for students. The changes SMU wants to make include opening an on-campus pub to discourage drunk driving, according to The Dallas Morning News.
According to UB Campus Police, there were no alcohol-related deaths reported last year on campus. However, DUIs and DWI arrests are common incidents in the Safety Report. A bar on campus would provide a safe place for students to booze and schmooze, without having to leave school grounds.
Just as there used to be smoking lounges in high schools, there used to be bars on both UB campuses in the 1970s. UB ran the bars, and campus police patrolled them to make sure alcohol was kept away from minors. The bars were popular hangouts for students of all ages, even though there were bars within walking distance of South Campus.
When the drinking age changed from 18 to 21, the bars were speculated to have closed for economic reasons, since there were fewer students of age to drink. With an increase in construction projects and enrollment due to UB 2020 programs, re-opening a bar on campus sounds more and more like a good idea.
SA was on the right track by providing a beer tent at Fall Fest. There is a need to provide students with safe outlets for drinking. If there's no alternative, students can and will load up at shady bars or strangers' parties. If students pre-game before they go out, they run the risk of driving drunk, or riding with someone who's had one too many.
Having a bar on campus won't turn UB into a party school or all the students into alcoholics. On the contrary, it would discourage drunk driving by providing a safer, on-campus outlet for Oktoberfest (or Friday nights). If administrators at UB were interested in reviving the speakeasy, perhaps the next step would be grabbing the UB2020 blueprints and penciling in room for a place where everybody knows your name.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
