The city of Stevens Point once had an ordinance that didn’t allow taverns to open until noon on Sunday.
The intent, I guess, was to keep people at the communion rail instead of the bar rail. Instead, it boosted business at saloons just outside the city limits, where there were no noon-opening rules.
The ordinance was repealed when Bill Zenoff, owner of the city’s original Holiday Inn, wanted to offer a Sunday champagne brunch and felt it wasn’t feasible if the bottles couldn’t be uncorked until noon.
I bring this up in connection with the possibility that the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point will ban alcohol on campus.
There’s no denying a drinking problem exists at the university (as well as the rest of society), and that it led to the drowning of a student.
The proposed alcohol ban would be an attempt to correct the problem, but the question is, would it work or would it just move it off campus, where the problem mainly lies even now?
A campus alcohol ban might not be the solution. However, keep on looking.
