OPINION & EDITORIAL
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by Badger Herald Editorial Board
Wednesday, March 6, 2002
Evidence of the city’s backwards student-drinking policy was rampant last night when the city council considered Kimia Lounge’s application for a liquor license.
Kimia received its liquor license, but only after pledging to do everything it could to dissuade student patrons. And with good reason: This place sounds great.
The new Mifflin Street bar will feature a lounge, a dining room and a secluded vista, with an ancient Chinese, Roman and Persian theme. (No word on what a Chinese-Roman-Persian decor incorporates.)
The City Council was right to grant Kimia a liquor license, but the city’s preoccupation with limiting students’ weekend options is wrongheaded. First, it’s unrealistic — students can (and do) get just as drunk off martinis and wine as they do off beer and mixed drinks.
Second, lots of campus-area bars do not simultaneously compel students to drink too much. The truth is that adding diversity to downtown entertainment options — including different kinds of bars — can only encourage more responsible, supervised entertainment.
As students, we welcome Kimia to the neighborhood. As much as we enjoy the Plaza’s draft Point, an occasional foray into the world of champagne and caviar can only help UW’s otherwise monotonous (albeit world-famous) nightlife.
Rather than try to further limit students’ nightlife options, city officials should encourage more venues that provide an alternative to the prevalent State Street alcohol troughs. The Kimia Lounge will do just that.
