Lawson and Cornwall are executive members of UCLA’s Brewin’ Club.
By Daniel Lawson and Scott Cornwall
A bar on campus? A bar that serves cold, bubbly goodness comprised of wheat, barley and hops in a pint glass? Is it possible, could it be true? There is a revival brewing on campus among those who feel that a pub is the solution to bringing together the ever-growing community of Bruins who search for the center of campus daily.
As a new club on campus, the Brewin’ Club has certainly been trying to find it’s niche. We represent the overwhelming voice of the student population that would like to see the university open it’s eyes to the fact that students do drink socially and most of us are not raging, thoughtless alcoholics. We simply want to exercise our right to consume the products we know and love. To believe that access to condoms increases students’ propensity to engage in sex is the same logic that dictates that the mere presence of alcohol on campus will make us all turn to alcoholism. The reality is that students do drink and most do it with an air of responsibility.
There are those who would have you believe that a pub on campus would encourage students to ditch class or show up drunk with their underwear outside their pants, wearing a lampshade on their head acting very much like Homer Simpson. The fact is that students will do these things with or without a pub on campus.
Our campus deserves the right to have the same atmosphere as other campuses in the state and around the nation – an atmosphere that promotes a comfortable meeting place on campus that could well become another needed centerpiece for UCLA campus society.
Having been to other college campuses within California, such as UCI, San Jose State, Sonoma State and San Diego State, we have seen the light cast off a freshly poured pint sitting on a bar countertop – and we like it. These bars provide a social place for students who want to unwind after a long day of lectures or midterms, or for those who simply sleep through class and now need to meet with someone to get their lecture notes. We have seen how other bars on campus can contribute positively to the atmosphere already under way on college campuses.
If ASUCLA is concerned with securing profitable establishments on campus, a bar or restaurant that serves alcohol would be a gainful move that would certainly endure in the long run. Initially, the appearance of a bar on campus will have every of-age student moving like they were in the House of Pain video for “Jump Around,” but it will be more than just a phenomenon. A pub will endure, because wouldn’t it be nice to have a pint or two and unwind after taking two finals in the same day?
Perhaps you can’t find tickets to the big game but still want to watch it with other Bruins? Wouldn’t you like to go to a place where everybody knows your name? Why not stop off at the Bruin Brewery, see some friends, have some suds and catch your favorite Bruins on TV?
The bottom line remains that there is a desire, need and availability for an establishment on campus which serves alcoholic beverages and the Brewin’ Club supports the move.