Opening night at the Drake Knapp Center

[usc4valpo]

And they are now serving...yep...beer!

Time for Valpo join the millennium.

[wh]

Drake is not a dry campus. Thus, all they're doing is making available an additional permissible area for students to consume alcohol on campus.

Appendix A: Alcohol and Controlled Substance Use

https://www.drake.edu/studentlife/handbook-resources/handbook/appendices/appendixa/

[usc4valpo]

I think enjoying a beverage or 2 at a sporting event will not detriment Valpo's reputation.

The dry campus policy is way overkill.

[crusadermoe]

I suspect this horse was beaten on this board on another day.   

But can't they just get game day licenses and serve only people 25 and older or make a similar arrangement? 

[vu72]

I suspect this horse was beaten on this board on another day.   

But can't they just get game day licenses and serve only people 25 and older or make a similar arrangement? 

At the donor's room, they do serve alcohol.

[usc4valpo]

Why 25 and older? Is that Indiana law?

[wh]

My cynical side says Valpo went "dry" to better support it's strategy to grow student enrollment to 6000, most of which was to be accomplished (by the university's own admission) by tapping into the foreign student cash grab. For instance, 2 of Valpo's top 3 foreign student home countries are China and Saudi Arabia, where the consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited.

BTW I'm not criticizing it as a recruiting strategy. Promoting a dry campus to foreign governments with rigid social mores is a good value proposition.

[crusader05]

Valpo has been "dry" for ages. Dry just means that students cannot, per university policy, consume alcohol on campus. They have loosened their policy over the years to allow for alcohol to be sold in the union and at events but it's still not allowed for a fraternity to say have an event in the ballrooms with alcohol or for a 21 year old to have alcohol in their residence hall. However, the beer tent at Homecoming is open to all 21 and up including students and they seem to be more open to tailgating than in years past.

Very few campuses are entirely "Dry" outside of some of the more religious institutions, just like campuses that are "wet" can vary from allowing people who are 21+ to have restricted amounts and types of alcohol in their room to having an actual bar on campus grounds. My guess is that the reason valpo does not serve alcohol at the games is a combination of inertia, fear of over drinking, and the costs required to install drafts or the fridge space and licensed servers (right now students work the stands often) has not created a sense of priority for it to change. Maybe if we ever get that renovation or get a donor who creates an endowment to encourage enjoyment of certain libations across campus

[usc4valpo]

from Frommers:

Drinking Laws -- With the exception of some minor local regulations, there are no liquor laws in China. Alcohol can be bought in any convenience store, supermarket, restaurant, bar, hotel, or club, 7 days a week, and may be drunk anywhere you feel like drinking it.

btw - Tsingtao is really good beer! Cheers!

Valpo is not Liberty or BYU, and prohibing alcohol at a historicallly German Lutheran school does not sense. Responsible sales of beer at basketball events will not create the Delta House.

[zvillehaze]

Valpo is not Liberty or BYU, and prohibing alcohol at a historicallly German Lutheran school does not sense. Responsible sales of beer at basketball events will not create the Delta House.

Butler began selling alcohol last season and I've noticed little to no difference with the crowd.  I rarely even think about going to grab a drink because I don't enjoy standing in lines to spend $9 on a beer. 

My guess is people aren't making a go/stay home decision based on being able to buy a beer, but some may feel it improves their game day experience. 

[usc4valpo]

Is there something morally wrong with beer at basketball ball games? It was never said to be plasphemous based on my sophomore Sominex-esque Christian Ethics class. Just drink responsibly.

[justducky]

Just drink responsibly.

If it will ratchet up our average attendance then I am fine with it. Also our humiliating home loss to Missouri St. just sprang to mind and a limitless supply of alcohol might have helped me sleep a little better. That was the game where the full gravity of the Joe Burton loss finally sank in. 

[VU2014]

Selling alcohol at the ARC won't make attendance surge or fall, but it could enhance the gameday experience for some casuals (potential repeat customers). I don't think anyone is going to be wasted at games and students certainly won't be able to afford the expensive beer prices. I don't think there is anything morally wrong with selling alcohol. College arenas across the country are starting to change this policy. Back in college I went the bar with a few of my professors and enjoyed a drink with a few other students. I'm not sure why beer is "stigmatized" by some in 2018.

[crusader05]

most colleges limit alcohol not because of any moral reason but just because it's pretty consistent that the more alcohol that is available the more students drink recklessly. It's more of a harm reduction method than anything. That said, I do think the pendulum is shifting back towards understanding that more restricted ways to selling alcohol that help model responsible drinking can be helpful, such as beer at games, or 21 year old allowing alcohol in their dorm rooms.