USG makes proposal for bar

Members of the USG met with administrators last week to discuss opening an establishment to sell alcoholic beverages to all members of the University community above drinking age — including undergraduate students. But Vice President for Campus Life Janet Dickerson said that planning is still in the most preliminary stages.

Students have been lobbying for such an establishment since Chancellor Green — and the pub it housed — closed for renovations in 2000. Now, thanks in part to the success of the wine-tasting event organized by U-Councillor Xiuhui Lim '05 last month in Chancellor Green, the idea has been getting more attention from administrators and the USG.

Unlike the Debasement Bar ("D-Bar") — the only bar on campus — the establishment would welcome undergraduate students and could serve as an alternative social option to the eating clubs, U-Councillor Sandy Gibson '06 said.

Lim and Gibson met with Dickerson, Director of Dining Services Stuart Orefice and other administrators Feb. 28 to discuss the idea.

"[The meeting] went really well," Gibson said. "There are many students that would like to see this idea become a reality, and even the administration seems to be interested."

But Dickerson said in an email, "There is not, at this time, a proposal under consideration for an undergraduate bar. The idea for using Chancellor Green Café as an evening social venue is at a very early conceptual stage, and no action is likely in the near future."

The administration is looking into the legal issues of the idea, Lim said. If it were to become a reality, the University would have to acquire a license for the establishment to serve alcoholic beverages.

"Nobody disliked the proposal," Lim said. "There is nothing holding us back, except for the technicality of getting the license."

Gibson said that if the student body and the USG show interest, the proposal could "move along pretty quickly — perhaps even a year or two."

USG President Leslie-Bernard Joseph '06 was similarly enthusiastic about the idea. "I think the idea is great," he said in an email. "As students, we are constantly being encouraged to drink responsibly even though we are rarely given the resources and venues to consume alcohol like responsible adults ."

Citing the wine-tasting event, Gibson said such occasions could bring diverse students together, which the administration would like to encourage.

"It would bring people together," he said. "Students recognize the need for a more neutral social scene than the eating clubs. The eating clubs are loud and, in general, the atmosphere is not conducive to long conversations the way a pub could be."