By Greg Audley
It hardly seems fair that the Den is closing an hour early due to recent problems with drunken patrons. The Students’ Union put a lot of money into building the Den, saving students from the drab environment forced on them at Max Café. The whole point of a Students’ Union-run bar is as a source of revenue for the SU which, directly or indirectly, benefits all students. It is essentially a voluntary tax on students.
I question how legitimate it is for Campus Security to be lobbying the liquor board for reduced drinking hours based on this very new trend in violence.
The SU invested capital in the Den and they must now work towards making enough profit to pay for programs they have commitments to. Now we are faced with the current problem of reduced hours and with the fact that the situation will be reviewed in the near future. It is interesting to note that all the violent patrons being referred to are non-students.
That’s funny, I always thought campus bars were supposed to be a gathering place for students.
The Den’s popularity is well known in Calgary and this definitely contributes to the unbearable lines on its most popular nights. This in turn means that many U of C students are turned away from their own bar or simply don’t show up because of the inevitable lines. Taking the places of U of C students at the Den are those kids from the Math 24 or Social 33 classes in high school who you were never really sure what happened to.
So, fill in the blanks-they’re the people kicking the crap out of our security guards. Their constant presence at some of Calgary’s other fine establishments has bored them and the Den is just the newest fad in their bar-oriented lives. Big bar nights give these people a sense of actualization, it really is a chance for these bar rats to shine. Maybe they can show off their latest catch from the local high school or try to start a fight over an alcohol-induced accusation.
Two major problems really exist. Number one: our university bar is overrun by people we laugh at during high school reunions. Number two: because of these same people our enjoyment is being reduced, directly affecting SU profits.
The solution is simple: Student ID for admission and a $10 cover for non-students. Original opposition towards a cover at the Den probably came from the fact that the SU wished to fill the bar to capacity and a cover would reduce attendance. The fact is the Den can easily be filled on its popular nights with students alone, and a cover for non-students will discourage their attendance.
Of course there will be some non-students who will wish to attend, and they are more than welcome to, they will just have to pay.
Now I am not against non-students attending our bar based on any elitist attitudes I may or may not hold, but non-students are negatively affecting the quality of the bar. The atmosphere of a student establishment is being taken away, and their poor drunken behavior has forced hours of operation to be reduced. U of C students can be just as drunk and just as disruptive but the difference is that students are accountable for their actions on campus; non-student patrons, for the most part, are not.
Let’s make the Den a student bar again and make non-student patrons contribute to the Students’ Union with a cover charge. If the cover charge doesn’t deter violent non-students, raise the cover. If this also fails, I guess they are just going to have to wait until their high school upgrades are complete before they can party with us.
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