Face-off: Risks too high

By By Anne Weltmer (Contact)

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

The KU Administration made a wise, if not popular, decision to maintain the ban on alcohol sales in the Kansas Union.

While bowling with beer may be more popular than without it, the possible risks of reinstating alcohol sales and consumption on KU property are too high.

In 1997, alcohol was banned from the Union because KU students were part of a car accident involving alcohol, even though the alcohol was not sold by the Union. Since then, KU has maintained a strict dry campus policy. While this has not been popular with all students, it does protect KU from being blamed for any other alcohol-related accidents and show the public its zero tolerance stand on irresponsible drinking.

While irresponsible drinking is abundant among KU students, at least the university has made it clear it do not condone such behavior. Selling alcohol in Jaybowl might send the message that KU has changed its opinion, because there is no other reason to resume alcohol sales on campus.

Selling beer in the Union might also lead to other questions of alcohol on campus because it would officially lift the title of “dry campus” off KU. Soon students might be questioning why they couldn’t bring alcohol into student housing as long as they were 21.

It may be convenient to be able to buy a beer while bowling at Jaybowl, but the amount of revenue generated would not be enough to risk the public relations nightmare of reinstating alcohol on campus and having an accident related to it. Students can already go to Royal Crest Lanes and drink while they bowl, and the Union is not a place where many students hang out on nights and weekends anyway. It is doubtful that the number of students that decided to bowl at Jaybowl because of the beer would increase significantly enough to make a substantial sum of money to justify the sales.

Another possible risk is that underage drinking would occur, which would look terrible for KU. Students who work at Jaybowl might serve beer to their underage friends, or not be able to recognize fake I.D.s.

In the instance that underage drinking or drunk driving occurs, the KU Police would have increased responsibilities on campus that could be prevented, and the university could be viewed as liable for accidents, not the Student Senate, who backed the bill to get beer back to the Union.

In the end, the KU Administration was smart to reject the proposal for beer in the Union. It keeps the university out of trouble and in a good light in the public eye. It also shows students who drink on campus that KU does not condone the misuse of alcohol and that the best prevention is not to drink.

Face-off: Let them drink beer

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