This year, Colby College’s student government president, senior Catherine Welch, had an innovative idea for how to cut down on binge drinking: serve more booze! Administrators liked the idea, and now, every Friday at dinner, Colby, a small liberal arts college in Maine, serves up fine wines and brews to their of-age students.
Welch hoped the plan would get students to consume their alcoholic beverages in moderation. Students are limited to two cups of their drink of choice at a buck a cup. (Whether the plan has worked or not is unclear; Welch could not be reached for comment on Friday, probably due to an extra-long dinner.)
Despite the presence of alcohol, the Colby dining halls are far from Animal House—at least according to Varun Avasthi, the school’s director of dining services. “I don’t see what the big hoopla is about,” says Avasthi. “We don’t have a long line of people at the door, they have dinner and a drink. It’s a very low-key atmosphere.”
So how much longer before the Fun Czar transforms Harvard’s dining halls to modern day mead halls? Well, it’s hard to say, but Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS) isn’t entirely ruling Friday fun-night out. “I love a beer on Friday, so I’m not personally opposed to it,” says Jami Snyder, communication coordinator for HUDS. Snyder says that if a request for wet Fridays were sent to the relevant deans, it would be “reviewed.”
Weekly dinner ales just might not cut it at Harvard, however.
“Beer for breakfast would be great,” says Carmen E. James ’08.
Snyder better be taking notes.
