Students and members of the community voiced their opinions on the possible elimination of drink specials and other alcohol-abuse issues at an Alcohol Licensing and Review Committee public hearing Wednesday.
Ald. Kent Palmer, District 15, said he held the meeting to hear UW-Madison student and administration views, which have received little attention.
“We could hear more from the student population,” Palmer said. “There is an extremely large student population here, and in past meetings their opinion has not been sought.”
Some students said they feel the elimination of drink specials may help decrease the amount of reckless drinking on campus.
UW alum Jennifer Spector said drink specials encouraged her to binge-drink throughout most of the week when she was a freshman.
“When I came here I got a fake ID and went out every night,” Spector said. “And where we went was determined by drink specials.”
However, attorney Rick Petri said he believes that a law banning drink specials will fail to reduce drinking.
“I used to be the bad guy; I used to regulate these laws,” Petri said. “It seemed to make no difference, no matter what or wasn’t enforced.”
Other students expressed concerns that eliminating drink specials will lead students to drink in private and at house parties, which could lead to more sexual assaults and an increase in drunk driving.
Austin King, member of Men Opposed to Sexual Assault, said organizations seeking to eliminate risky drinking, such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, fail to realize that drinking is a cultural phenomenon and that raising the price of alcohol will not stop it.
“RWJ needs to recognize that student drinking is cultural, and not an economic thing,” King said. “We can’t talk about getting rid of drinking when we’re only talking about getting rid of drinking at bars. House-party drinking, assaults, and drunk driving will go up.”
Members of the community also said if drink-special bans are enforced, they will need to extend beyond the downtown Madison area to other bars.
“We need to be extremely careful in terms of solutions,” Petri said. “We need to consider changes in behavior. Economics will play a role, but many people may end up driving to Fitchburg or Middleton to drink.”
Some students also suggested it is not the role of the university to be involved in citywide drinking policy.
UW junior Dana Resop cited a UW list of ways to reduce student drinking and criticized the university for getting involved in the issue.
“I have lived in university housing for three years and I see the alcohol problems,” Resop said. “But it is not the university’s place to control taverns. UW should not trample on the rights of businesses.”
Special Assistant to the Chancellor LaMarr Billups said he feels the university should pay attention to alcohol issues in Madison because it is UW’s responsibility to keep students safe. The university often has to deal with the consequences of reckless drinking.
“I think we have a responsibility to be concerned about the safety of students and to protect it,” Billups said. “That’s why we are here to discuss it. We are the ones that have to take calls from angry parents and drive students to detox. Our purpose is to educate students.”
