My Updated Thoughts Regarding the Pub Controversy

Hey Readers,

A little less than a week ago, I published a post about my college's decision to turn our multicultural house (MCH) into a pub. This was largely in response to one student's op-ed in the school newspaper, in which he heavily criticized the decision. Since the time of my blog post, an entire student movement has cropped up calling for the college to reverse its decision, keep the multicultural house as-is, and put the pub somewhere else. I will openly admit that my opinions can change based on changing facts and events, and this blog post is one such change. This post reflects not only my own opinions, but also some of the opinions I heard when I posed the following open question on Facebook: If the pub should not be in the multicultural house, where should it go?

First, a few things that have not really changed in my mind. I still support the idea of a pub/coffeehouse on campus, which I will go into detail about later. I also still believe that, as of right now, the multicultural house has been the best space for a pub as proposed so far. By this, I mean a couple of things:

1) The movement to keep the MCH as it is would be a lot stronger if it would actually work with the college if it proposed other options for pub space. "Build it there instead of here" is a much more constructive argument than "Don't build it here." This goes back to one of my earliest posts, about discussing multiple solutions rather than merely eliminating the one you don't like.

2) A lot of the options proposed in response to my question on Facebook would not really work, at least not right now. For example, putting the pub in the dining room above the school's cafeteria would be a poor choice: the cafeteria would need to stay open until midnight or 2 AM instead of 8 PM as it currently does, with no real way to separate the dining room/pub from the main cafeteria; the room is on the small size for an informal social space; and the school would need to find another place for the dining room, as it is currently the only space for formal dinners (e.g. for visiting speakers) that do not require an entire banquet hall. Others suggested renovating the laundry building or constructing a new building entirely. These are better options and will likely be adopted in the long run, but right now we are looking for a short-term space on campus, as a full renovation or new building will likely take at least a year to complete.

3) There is nothing saying that the space will never again be the MCH- if it becomes the "temporary space" for the year or so it takes to renovate the laundry or build a new building, it could easily revert to being the MCH next year. This is hardly an ideal solution but no MCH for a year is a lot easier to accept than no MCH ever again.

Those points (especially #1 and #2) aside, as much as I would like a pub, I do not think it is worth angering half the student body to create one. I have two main thoughts based on the new events and comments - one about group space on campus, and another about drinking culture.

I do not think our campus "needs" a multicultural house - before anyone brands me as a racist, let me explain. We ought to be a multicultural college, and I think the idea that cultural clubs all meet in a special house, far removed from the student union, kind of goes against that idea. Admittedly, I do not think that the office space being offered in the union is an appropriate substitute either. According to my college's buildings director, when the student union was originally created, it was meant to be an entirely social space where both formal clubs and informal groups could meet. Twelve years later, and we have ruined that original purpose - many of the meeting rooms specifically designed for groups, from the Organization of Latin American Students to Food Club to Bridge Club, regularly sit empty, and students organize petitions to keep people from playing the piano so they may study (the union was never supposed to become a study location, unless you like studying in a noisy place). These meeting rooms lack the couches and comfy chairs that the MCH offers, but they are still designed for all clubs to use them and enjoy them equally. A lot of people seem to have forgotten about this space, and while I admit the MCH is a popular place for both informal and formal group meetings, if it becomes a pub/coffeehouse, multicultural groups will still not only have a place to go, but they will have a place to go designed to fit the needs of student groups. That said, I still understand that a lot of student groups really like the MCH, and it does seem rather odd to choose to change the purpose of one of the newest and most popular spaces on campus.

Why do we need a pub/coffeehouse in the first place, one might ask. Right now, the drinking culture on campus is deeply flawed. As a student of legal drinking age, I have roughly three options - drink in my room/apartment, but with less than 14 other people and keeping quiet so as not to upset my neighbors; go to a fraternity party; or go to a bar off-campus. If I want to drink socially in a relaxed but not closed-off environment without leaving campus, there is no option for me. When I turned 21 last year, I chose to drink in my room, sometimes with a friend or two, but because the majority of my friends were either still underage, willfully substance-free, or preferred to socialize with a fraternity, this option felt, at times, rather antisocial. A pub/coffeehouse combo fills this gap - my friends and I could chat in a social environment other than a fraternity party (where not much conversation happens anyway), and those who cannot or do not want to drink could have coffee, soda, or some other non-alcoholic option. Right now, we have 21-year-old night, which does offer that kind of environment once a week, but with the caveat that you need to be 21 or older to even enter the room, restricting the people to most seniors and some juniors, although the number grows larger as the year goes on.

However, the off-campus option is worth exploring, and the best argument someone made in response to my question made a great case for this. An on-campus pub just keeps us in the bubble, while going to an off-campus bar teaches us to drink in the real world, like real people. More importantly, it provides a social space that isn't on campus - this argument may not make sense given what I've said earlier, but social variety is a good thing to have. Underage people can go to these places too - like the pub/coffeehouse option, they can easily order something other than beer, wine, or a cocktail. I have happy memories of going to England as a child, and when my family would go to bars, my dad would order a beer or a glass of wine "and a coke for my friend here." Obviously, as college students, we're all adults, but the point is not everyone in the group needs to drink for everyone to enjoy themselves. There are a number of great bars/restaurants with bars in my town, almost all of which have prices well within a college student's budget - we ought to patronize those places more.

Perhaps the most relevant time to use this closing phrase:

Cheers!

TL;DR: I like the idea of a pub, but let's not upset half the student body to get one. We should find a new place for the pub to be temporarily housed, but more importantly look at off-campus options where we can socialize and drink (whether drinking alcohol or not).

Pub Controversy

When I was in Ireland, I discovered that I really liked pubs. I do not like drinking to excess or any of the stupid stereotypes about college drinking, but rather I enjoy a casual place where I can grab a pint of Guinness (or whatever) with a friend, maybe get some food too, and chat or listen to a live band. So, I was understandably happy to learn that my college has decided to create a pub on campus as soon as possible. They have decided to house this pub (which will also be a coffeehouse, to create a welcoming environment for all students, whether or not they are 21) in the campus's Multicultural House, and to move the Multicultural House's functions to the student union.

I was somewhat less happy to see that almost immediately after this decision, there were students dissatisfied with the change. Now, I promote the free and open exchange of ideas, and I believe that the author of the particular op-ed piece that appeared in the college's newspaper has the right to be dissatisfied. However, his argument for why we should be dissatisfied is flawed for a variety of reasons.

What irks me most about the author's argument is that he does not bother to suggest even one alternative. Personally, I believe any argument improves when one says not just "this is bad" but "this is bad, and here is a better solution." In this case, the author is upset because the pub displaces the Multicultural House's interior space, which is admittedly in high demand, and moves it to the student union, in a newly created but not necessarily better place. I understand his frustration at this level. The question I would ask is "where else would you put the pub?" I have not heard anybody oppose the idea of a pub, but the issue is that, until a space can be found and a new building constructed, the pub has to go somewhere. Putting it in a dorm or an academic building makes no practical sense, and the student union lacks any space with a "pub atmosphere," or at least any space that could be given such an atmosphere without a large-scale renovation. Coincidentally, the student union just did have such a renovation, and part of that renovation was to give Multicultural Affairs more office and meeting space. The author of the op-ed piece welcomed this addition to Multicultural Affairs, but does not believe it is an appropriate substitute for the Multicultural House. At the same time, he does not suggest why any other building should be chosen for the pub space. 

At this point, he expresses concern that there was a lack of student input into the pub plan. However, as the article explaining the change mentions, students were consulted, and while there was not an internet survey or other method that considered every student's opinion, the results of those surveyed was unanimous - taking a fraternity house or the current late-night dining option on campus and simply redressing it would not be enough to create the "pub atmosphere." I have been inside the Multicultural House many times, and it does have a relaxed yet social atmosphere much like many pubs or coffeehouses. At the same time, I am not sure what makes the house particularly "multicultural," other than the Multicultural Affairs director's office, which is being relocated to the student union as part of the existing renovation plan. Certainly, some multicultural groups hold meetings there, but an equal number of people use it for group studying or non-multicultural meetings. The meeting rooms in the student union are (arguably) a better place for meeting - yes, they lack the couches of the Multicultural house, but they have room for large groups to meet, as well as all of the necessary equipment to plan an event, show a movie, or just have a group discussion. The current late-night eatery on campus is being repurposed too - the food will move into the pub/coffeehouse, while the space will become available as a multi-purpose for groups. Multicultural groups will not have preferential treatment when it comes to reserving this space, but true equality means that no group has an advantage like that over any other.

In addition, the author believes, "This move seems to be a temporary solution for the pub, but a permanent move for Multicultural Affairs." Even if the pub gets a new space in the future, Multicultural Affairs will remain in the student union because the college believes that's where it ought to be from now on, and they would not backtrack on that stance. This view is impractical. If the pub moves, will the space sit empty? Highly unlikely - and it would be a prime option for it to become the Multicultural House again. It is also important to remember that this whole idea is kind of an experiment - I believe in the pub, and think it will stay, but if everyone suddenly realizes that the Multicultural Affairs center in the student union is not working as expected (i.e. the previous arrangement was clearly better), there is no reason why they would not start looking for another solution.

Setting the larger argument aside, there's nothing wrong with the college "encouraging the consumption of alcohol" in a setting like this. Right now, the campus lacks a relaxed, public space where students can responsibly meet up and drink if they want to - either you drink in your room or you go to the senior apartments or frat houses, neither of which really balances relaxed but social. Particularly, as I mentioned in an op-ed last fall, if you do not belong to a fraternity, finding a social space where you and your (legal) friends can drink is incredibly difficult right now.

Furthermore, the consumption of alcohol is not, in and of itself, irresponsible. While the college has been holding numerous discussions and debates about "alcohol culture," particularly avoiding a society where the options are either binge drink or don't drink at all, my friends and I found that when we turned 21, we had no interest in the beer-chugging, shot-downing world, but we still liked to enjoy a glass or two of wine with dinner or a couple of beers at the end of the day while talking with each other. This is how most responsible adults enjoy alcohol, and a pub goes a long way towards promoting this kind of culture. It tells students that we don't have to go off-campus to socialize at a bar, nor do we have to hide in our rooms as if enjoying a drink or two with your friends is something to be hidden away. At a pub, the bartender can and will cut you off if you've had too much to drink, and the atmosphere of every single pub or bar that I've been to promotes casual socializing, not hardcore drinking. We ought to celebrate that the college is giving us a space like that, instead of irrationally worrying that it will suddenly and improbably turn into a spot for underaged students to get drunk.

TL;DR: The space for a new pub on campus is a good idea - there will still be space for students to meet, and it will create the kind of casual space that our campus needs.

Cheers!