Kansas University administrators made the right decision by keeping the Kansas Union an alcohol-free zone.
Returning beer sales to the Kansas Union undoubtedly was a popular proposal among Kansas University students, but KU officials made the right decision last week by turning down the request.
Although the plan to sell beer in the Hawk's Nest lounge and the Jaybowl bowling alley had passed muster with the Student Senate and the Memorial Corporation Board, university administrators nixed the idea for a couple of good reasons.
First, serving 3.2 beer only to students 21 and older doesn't fit with the union's mission to serve all KU students. Much of the undergraduate population at KU cannot legally purchase or consume beer and would have to be excluded from that union activity and, perhaps, even that area of the union. KU administrators said the only way to reasonably ensure that only students over 21 were drinking beer at the union would be to ban students under 21 from areas where beer was being sold.
Students probably are disappointed, but there are plenty of other places in Lawrence for students over 21 to drink beer. A former student senator who had worked on the beer proposal said he and others had hoped the policy could have provided students and others a place for safe, responsible drinking and "an opportunity for us to teach responsible drinking habits and social norms."
There's a fine line between encouraging responsible drinking and simply providing another opportunity for irresponsible drinking. KU officials have made the right choice by preserving the student union as an alcohol-free environment.
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