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| Broken promises, shattered dreams |
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| Written by J.R. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, 30 August 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||
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During the fall semester of 2004, UI was thrown into a state of shock following the alcohol-related deaths of three students. After mourning for Jason Yearout, Jack Shannon and Nicholas Curcuru, ASUI went about discussing measures to ensure deaths due to alcohol were limited in the future. Debate centered on how to curb drunken driving accidents permeated campus life for the rest of the semester, but few clear solutions were presented. The one productive idea coming from this discussion was the addition of an on-campus pub. At an ASUI meeting last April, senate hopeful Chris Sermon told ASUI that colleges with a campus bar have seen minor-in-possession tickets and drunken driving problems lessen. A university bar would allow students to drink in an atmosphere a quick walk from the dorms and Greek houses. If walking was the only option, and car traffic was forbidden, the pub would certainly contribute to the desired solution. The proposal of a pub at UI seemed like such a problem-solver that politicians such as sen. Travis Shofner included construction of a facility in their election platforms. This idea was so good ASUI President Autumn Hansen decided to make the issue prominent during her run for office. Not surprisingly, Shofner and Hansen were elected. The only problem with the pub is that it will never come to fruition. In the months coming up to the election, Hansen said the pub would be a good idea. Now she’s telling students it was all a lie. Both Shofner and Hansen are backpedaling, telling The Argonaut that it’s not the right time to focus on this issue. Hansen may have known there would never be a pub, but in the interest of furthering her political career, she told a tiny lie. Who can blame Hansen? Even someone who has never taken any political science courses or can’t name the three branches of government can probably figure out that some politicians get ahead by lying. Numerous presidents, congressmen, mayors, aldermen and the like have told untruths ranging from small fibs to impossibly heinous lies to get what they want. Hansen wanted to get elected, so she broke her promise. The situation is akin to a high school senior promising the student body during a lunchtime lecture that more pop machines will magically appear if the senior is elected to office. Hansen probably assumed — just like the high-schooler — that it would be possible to initiate plans for a campus building that supplies alcohol to students. It could have happened, but it wasn’t likely. To clean up her mess, Hansen has initiated a series of free concerts using money that may have been earmarked for exploration of the on-campus pub. While even she acknowledges that these events won’t reduce drinking, support is given to the concerts because they give bored students something to do. Hansen’s reasoning may be that bored students drink and drive, but involved students get drunk and walk. This philosophy is flawed, and the concerts are a shoddy fix to a huge problem. The Argonaut editorial board accepts that Hansen and Shofner simply want viable political experience, because that is what ASUI is all about. This is fine, but at least have the decency to tell students the truth. Will there be a pub on campus? Was there ever going to be one? It took Marion Barry a while to tell the world about his crack binges, but at least he finally came clean. Hansen owes students the truth. J.R.  Add as favorites (34) | Views: 1481
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