The EMU hosted Pub Night in The Buzz Thursday night, offering students and faculty a unique opportunity to drink beer and wine on campus without breaking any rules for the first time in almost 20 years.
Approximately 40 people showed up to the kickoff event. The University is planning to add more late-night events to keep more students on campus, and the EMU will host three more late nights during spring term. The night was organized by the EMU Committee.
The Break also offered activities for underage students, including free games. The Buzz manager Shelly Pruitt@@http://emu.uoregon.edu/staff.php@@ was instrumental in bringing the event to campus.
“We are adding more opportunities to give students what they want in a controlled scenario,” she said. “Showing drinking in moderation; we have been working on this night for months.”
The goal of EMU nights is to give students what they want on campus, to teach students responsibility about drinking, and offering something historic on campus, Pruitt said.
Albert Jung@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Albert+Jung@@, a senior communication studies major, sipped on pinot noir while listening to the live music. He attended the event to support a friend who organized it and to support drinking on campus.
“I think it should become a wet campus,” he said. “If things are in the open it’s easier to control. It is no secret people drink on campus, even in the dorms. It would be better to have a place to drink on campus. It would be more community-based.”
Derek Brown, who works at The Buzz,@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Derek+Brown@@ worked the event serving wine. It featured local wine from Umpqua Valley @@http://www.umpquavalleywineries.org/@@and a local chardonnay. Brown also serves on the EMU board and helped plan the event.
“The goal is to do this every two weeks or so, and possibly do it every night in this location or another location at some point down the road,” Brown said.