In an era of increasingly strict enforcement of alcohol polices, and corresponding binge drinking behind closed doors, there remains one island of sane alcohol policy and consumption on campus: Happy Hour.
Put on by the Campus Programming Council for at least the last decade, Happy Hour is a place where students (of legal drinking age) can responsibly enjoy beer and relax on Thursday afternoons in the Gargoyle. For many, it’s is the symbolic start to the weekend. Given the attendance, spending $5,850 on beer is wholly reasonable; the CPC has spent another $1,895 on beer for other events, including special Happy Hours.
One of the special Happy Hours this year was an absolutely genius event. Following the presidential election, CPC put on a Happy Hour with a TV tuned to the news. As the networks announced the winner, Bush supporters celebrated victory with a drink. For Kerry backers, well, the beer was at least a temporary relief from their pain.
Happy Hour proves that alcohol can be present at social functions without troubling incidents and without being the focus of the event. There, alcohol is merely a social lubricant, not an end in itself. It’s worth remembering that much of the problem with alcohol comes when alcohol stops just enhancing the fun and starts being the fun.
With administrators increasingly concerned about alcohol abuse on campus, Happy Hour’s success at promoting moderate alcohol consumption is definitely praiseworthy. In every respect, Happy Hour is the gold standard for social programming with alcohol on campus. CPC only serves beer, which is much more difficult to get drunk off of than harder alcohol; they offer plenty of alcohol-absorbing pizza; and they have non-alcoholic drinks so that all students can enjoy Happy Hour regardless of whether they’re drinking or not.
Other groups would be wise to copy CPC’s practices: alcohol consumption would be safer, and the administration would be more at ease with the type of drinking that happens during Happy Hour than the binge drinking that happens elsewhere.