The Umrathskeller, known to friends and well-wishers as “The Rat,” is dead this semester. The Rat was 26 years old.
Born in September 1975, the Rat had been the only bar on the Washington University campus. Located under Umrath Hall on main campus, the Rat was once a popular Thursday night party place for undergraduates; but no more. Raising the price of beer, using smaller beverage cups, and cracking down on the use of fake I.D.’s were all contributing factors to the death of the Rat.
Many people think Student Life killed the Rat last year. I do not know if the university giving the Rat flack for its supposed looseness was caused by the Student Life article or not. (I personally have nothing to do with that; I merely write articles every other week and do not sit on the editorial board or decide what news articles are to be written.)
“My friends couldn’t even go there for lunch the other day before the Activities’ Fair,” one senior said.
“No one goes there to hang out anymore,” sighed a disgruntled sophomore.
The sophomore seems to have taken a page out of a Yogi Berra quotation book: “Nobody goes there any more because it’s too crowded,” the Hall-of-Fame catcher once said. The long lines outside of the Rat in the early part of first semester, have deterred many from going there since. Why wait in line for thirty minutes in the cold to spend more money on less beer? That’s why we go to WU: we’re smart and realize that we have better things to do than stand and wait.
What made the Rat fun was the crowd of people, packed in so tight that you couldn’t move without running into a few pairs of black pants.
Don’t discount the future of the Rat-not yet. The Rat is a resilient creature; it has died many times before and will probably come alive once again.
For example, on Thursday night, March 26, 1998, agents from the Missouri Liquor Control Board entered the bar, packed with its once-regular Thursday night crowd, and cited four students with underage drinking and one with possession of a fake I.D.
All it would take to revitalize the Rat is one successful night: a night in which hundreds of people would be sure to attend. The only social organizations on campus that could produce that many people are fraternities and sororities. The Greeks should sponsor a Rat Night, and they should do it fast. Someone needs to save the bar before students realize they should open the books they bought in early January and read them.
It is fun to go to off-campus parties, but it is not fun to run from the University City police (uh, so I hear). The Rat is safer because it is on campus and has the potential to draw more people-who do not have to drive to get to a party (like WU students would walk all the way to Kingsbury in the cold)-than any other venue this side of Blueberry Hill.
Both last year, and first semester of this year, the bar was again packed with students who realized that Thursday night marks the beginning of the weekend in college. Unfortunately for upperclassmen, these things go in cycles. For now, the Rat is dead; but it may be back soon, especially if it becomes the Thursday night party.
So if don’t like the Rat this year, wait a while; it will be back. For many of us, though, it will be too late; we do not have that long to wait.
Just stopped by today to show my 3 kids where mommy and daddy met…and the rest is history; apparently much like The Rat. Bring it back!
Stopped by campus for the first time since ’86 today hoping to have lunch at the Rat. I didn’t know it had been closed for, like, 10 years. Back in the day it wasn’t overly busy, and was a great place to hide out as much as hang out, as it was a bit gothic and dark. I thought the pizza was pretty good, given that the only other on-campus option then was Wild Pizza, which was risky, since if someone there didn’t like you, you could get pencil shavings or other unsavorables in your pizza. The ‘help’ ruled the tv, even then, so there was always soaps on, which was annoying. Great place, great memories.
The Rat was an institution in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Like Holmes Lounge it was a compelling and inspiring place to go and commune with your fellow students. Getting a pitcher of light beer and a pizza for lunch at The Rat was like standing on some great rock and proclaiming your independence from home and family. “I am free to do what I want”. Albeit dad was ultimately paying the bill. Thursday night was certainly the time to be there. Anyone remember the low hanging pipe marked “Max Headroom”?