Keep the pub open

If measured by popularity, the first and only Pub Night was a resounding success. We understand that since then, campus bar trial nights have been hindered by legal and technical problems regarding the use of licenses. We urge the Borough Council, however, to support what many members of the University community — students and professors alike — view as a worthwhile campus addition. Support for both Pub Nights and a campus pub is not limited to a few undergraduates giddy for greater access to alcohol. Rather, some of the University's best and brightest minds gave us their reactions to the Pub Nights and the prospect of a campus bar.

For Princeton's Vice President for Campus Life Janet Dickerson, the first Pub Night brought together the disparate elements of the University community. "Faculty, post-docs, graduate students, undergrads in clubs, independent undergrads, staff and administration all currently tend to socialize in separate spheres," she wrote. "Our 'Pub' project ... demonstrated that there is enthusiastic interest in the idea of having people come together to enjoy good music, stimulating conversation, and quality food and beverages."

Princeton's current bar and club scene provides limited opportunities for nighttime socializing for professors and pressures even reluctant students into spending time at the eating clubs. Sarah Whiting, assistant professor of architecture, noted that with the closing of the Annex, the need for a campus pub is ever more marked."

Chair of the economics department Bo Honoré argued that a campus bar might even facilitate research. "When I give seminars at other institutions," Honoré said, "I am often invited for a drink with a small group of faculty member and students. This frequently generates interesting discussions about work. It would be nice to be able to do something similar here."

Unsafe drinking that occurs in dormitories and eating clubs often results from the lack of a controlled drinking environment. Rather than contributing to a culture of alcoholism, the campus bar would provide professors and students over the age of 21 with a safe and controlled environment to converse over a drink.

Luckily, we still have time for at least one more trial night. As President Tilghman noted, "The University would like to have the opportunity to try other ideas, so that if we go forward with an application for a license, we do so with the most effective plan."

If the Council is as serious about fighting dangerous and excessive alcohol consumption by undergraduates as it claims to be, then it should seize the opportunity to create a healthy social environment and curb dangerous drinking. An on-campus bar fulfills the roles of a laid-back meeting spot, a place to learn drinking etiquette and an eating club alternative all at once. It is to the Borough Council's advantage and ours that the University have free reign to transform a campus bar into a successfully reality.