Breeze Perspectives: Three cheers! We need a pub on JMU’s campus
We all know that college sutdents and alcohol mix; it is time to realize college education and alcohol can mix, too
By Mason Miller, contributing writer
Posted on September 18, 2006

We all wish for things that we know will never come true. For some, it’s getting an A in GSCI. For others, it’s that their longtime crush will finally break up with their boyfriend/girlfriend just so they can be with them and start a torrid love affair for the ages. In the movies, the little kid asks for a pony for Christmas. For me, it was yearning for a younger sibling (my dad’s vasectomy prevented this reality, but in the end, being an only child proved to have more than its fair share of perks). Just because these wishes will never come to fruition doesn’t mean we can’t, or should, stop dreaming of what it would be like if they did. That’s why I want to share with you my latest wish: a pub on campus.

Now before you get all “No way, no how! That’ll happen when parking on campus is free!” on me, let me present my case. Let’s start with the logistics of how this could be made a refreshing, rewarding reality. In the JMU Student Handbook, there is a section called “Conditions for Approval of Events Where Alcohol Is Served.” To obtain an ABC license, the event has to meet several requirements. The big ones are no “drinking contests,” no alcohol served to underage persons, no entering or exiting with alcohol, nonalcoholic beverages must be available, food must be served for as long as alcohol is flowing, and the focus of the event is not limited to just drinking. All these can be easily met.

First, drinking contests, age verification, and entering or exiting the pub with alcohol can be controlled by security. Second, of course there will be nonalcoholic beverages, because Coke is delicious — with or without whiskey. Next, there’s got to be food. “Pub grub” is an essential part of any pub. People will get hungry while they drink, and having a menu of easily prepared foods that go down smooth with one’s favorite lager or ale will not only satisfy the customers, but it will also bring in more revenue (are you listening now, you lovers-of-the-bottom-line?).

The last requirement, that the “focus of the event is not limited to alcohol consumption” is truly where my point lies. My vision of our campus pub is of a place where everyone with ties to JMU can interact in a casual, on-campus environment that incorporates the ideas and values of our university like no Harrisonburg bar can; there’d be no “interesting” townies for one thing. Imagine you’re an alumnus, and you come back one weekend and have a Guinness on draft while looking out at the vast expanses of the campus and the Shenandoah Valley, reflecting upon the best four or five years of your life. Or you’re a professor, and after class you and some of your 21-and-up students go down to the pub for a round of drinks and some lively banter on Middle-Eastern politics, for one of the main shortcomings of colleges today is that academic discussions seem to stop the minute students exit the classroom.

I realize that only around half of current JMU students would be old enough to go to the pub. However, this would keep it less crowded and would also make the pub a privilege for older students to enjoy, and something for younger students to look forward to.

There are a few more issues that would need to be addressed to appease JMU administrators. Having one of the many buses stop in front of the pub could alleviate drunk driving. Over-consumption could be curtailed by operating limited hours, to say Thursday to Sunday, 6 to 11 p.m. The pub would be an evening intellectual oasis, not a late-night dive bar or rave club.

For those worried about it promoting drinking, let me say that the last time I walked into Mr. Chips, I saw both cigarettes and condoms for sale. The school is already profiting on promoting tobacco and sex (safe sex is still sex), so having a pub wouldn’t be anything new or risky.

Finally, our pub needs a cool name, because “The Pub” is already taken. In true JMU fashion, why not have a contest for that? As long as it is not a drinking contest, of course.

Mason Miller is a senior SMAD major.