Recently, Clemson Dining announced their plans to open a full bar in Schilletter dining hall, expected to be completed following construction in 2023. With plans to expand Schillatter into Hendrix, it’s not the craziest addition to be made.
Ellen Ham, the Clemson Dining administrator, made a comment to The Kitten: “We believe that students can handle the responsibility of having alcohol on campus. We have state-of-the-art scanning technology and have no worries about this new privilege being abused.”
This naïve stance towards students who are underage is sobering. Clemson does not understand its young crowd and having an open bar in Schiletter will prove hard to regulate.
The money will be going toward updating Tiger Steps’ facilities and programs. The University commented that they intend to revamp the program.
“We believe that by not only revamping Tiger Steps but also encouraging responsible drinking on campus, we will drastically curb the underage consumption of alcohol.”
They will likely try to use the campus bar to catch underage students with fake IDs. They claim to have both ID scanners and a directory of students who are eligible to drink. This, along with the bartenders on-staff, gives the University enough confidence to implement this new program. This program will feature at least two full-time bartending students and will highlight Clemson’s new mixology minor.
The system would work on a first come, first serve basis, as South Carolina laws limit the sale of alcohol in certain locations, like campus dining halls. You would be entitled to one drink per meal swipe under the proposed plan, and drinks would be at most the equivalent of a glass of red wine.
Schilleter has seen a recent decline in popularity among students; a popular nickname for the dining hall being “shitter” only adds to the point. This move by the University is likely to increase the esteem of the lesser dining hall. In the past, an ice cream bar was added, but it seems as though the University is resorting to drastic measures.
Not only is adding a bar to Schilletere going to create many legal issues, but it is inviting trouble from students. Another level of scrutiny would call out that the profits from this facility going to Tiger Steps as inappropriate. Why would the profits of an alcoholic bar go towards the education of students about the dangers of alcohol? I think that this bar may have alternative reasons for existing, though the prospect of having a bar on campus is intriguing.
However, good things may come from this unexpected addition. Upperclassmen may see a high incentive to return to dining halls or to purchase a meal plan. This incentive will provide the food and dining administration at Clemson with more funding and allow them to expand current progress and, potentially, get better food. With the addition of a light drink to your Shillette pizza, who wouldn’t want to get a meal plan?
Overall, I think that this addition has its pros and cons. I think that while expanding Clemson services to include alcoholic drinks in dining halls is creative and trendsetting to say the least, it also brings forth many problems.