Re: “The Bland Duck Pub,” November 11, 2019.
Dear Editor,
I read your editorial last week regarding the Blind Duck Pub’s need to modernize, and for the most part I agreed with the premises of the piece. The interior of the building is disheartening and “drab,” the furniture ugly and uncomfortable, and the food is lacking. The expectation you lay out for the Blind Duck to be a lively, fun place for students to relax and hang out with friends is warranted—and one that is woefully ignored by the by the Blind Duck management.
However, while the piece does hit many solid points as to why the pub sucks and how it should reform, the piece also touches on the belief that the pub should be a place where students can get drunk with their friends. This raises one particular issue, which is the fact that not all students should be trusted with alcohol. Sexual assault is a major issue on university campuses, and alcohol has a notorious role to play in the number of assaults that occur and the severity of such cases. Drunk driving is another serious problem that comes with drunkenness and poor decision making, especially since there is rarely much oversight in the parking lots on campus or the roadways that surround the area.
The central issue then, regarding the Blind Duck Pub, is how it goes about reforming itself to be the hub for student life. Especially, when it comes to how it would handle alcohol consumption on campus. If that is to become a central feature of the pub, it cannot be without proper oversight and attention to all the complications that accompany drunkenness.
