“Banning Beer at Hughes Solves Nothing”

“Beer. The cause of, and solution to, all life’s problems.” –

Homer Simpson.

Beer, liquid bread, manna of the gods, the devil’s juice,

whatever you call it, has been causing a ruckus here at jolly old

CSU. Apparently, the decree from on high is that $5 pints of 3.2

percent alcohol by volume beer at football games are bad. I

couldn’t agree more. Five bucks for a pint of 3.2 percent beer is

grand theft alcohol. But that act of larceny is the status quo at

every professional sports arena in the country. So, when the

huddled masses of CSU students wanted beer at football games, they

could simply put one on layaway and enjoy it next week. The system

worked.

But all is not well in Ramland. The powers that be think that $5

cups of 3.2 percent beer are so bad they just won’t sell them

anymore. So now, if students want to get a nice buzz while a team

named for a common rodent scores 30 points on the home team, they

will have to do it before they enter the friendly confines of Sonny

Lubick Field at Hughes Stadium. Is anyone out there charmingly

innocent enough to believe that not selling alcohol at Hughes will

keep people from drinking heavily? Right, and maybe Ralph Nader

will get elected if we all believe in ourselves and eat all our

vegetables.

College students will drink. Alcohol is ingrained in university

culture. Student drinking is not unique to CSU, or Colorado, or

America. Banning weak beer at one venue is not going to stem the

tide of liquor.

We have been tragically shown the results of binge drinking, and

I for one applaud the administration for trying to take some action

to curb this epidemic. But actions taken have to make sense. CSU

President Larry Penley recently told ABC news that, “We are sincere

in our desire to address the issue of substance abuse head on.” I

do not doubt his sincerity, and I’m glad that we have a president

who is willing to take action when action is needed. But head on?

Not even close.

For an example of a more direct action, look at the Greek

community. The student presidents voted to remove alcohol from the

few houses that still allowed it. Binge drinking can be especially

prevalent in big Greek houses, so this vote is a major step in the

right direction, especially if the Greek organizations make a real

commitment to keeping their houses dry. Only time will tell if all

the members of Greek life are sincere in their pledge to fight

alcohol abuse. I am cautiously optimistic that they are heading in

the right direction.

But back to Hughes. Who among us has the cash to actually get

drunk off of $5 cups of 3.2 percent beer? So whom, then, does this

ban really affect? Alumni and other fans with real jobs. How much

revenue will the university lose from selling beer? The official

line is less than six figures. But, according to last Thursday’s

Collegian, how will that loss be made up? Possibly in student fees.

It used to be that students who chose to could pay to drink at

games. Now, all students may have to pay to not drink at games.

College is expensive enough today. Why the university is cutting

off a source of revenue when times are so tight is beyond me.

Giving us the bill for that choice infuriates me. I urge everyone

to join the Associated Students of CSU in lobbying the

administration to makes its decision quickly, and bring the booze

back to Hughes.

 

Matt Hitt is a sophomore theatre major. His column runs in the

Collegian every other Monday.