MSU alcohol incidents prompt community action

In response to several highly-publicized incidents involving alcohol at Michigan State University, owners of two East Lansing restaurants are forming a council aimed at curbing excessive drinking.

"The goal is to discourage binge drinking among young people in this community," said Vaugh Schneider, owner of Small Planet Food and Spirit. "We're trying to say, 'drinking 'til you can't walk isn't cool.'"

The council, a joint effort of Schneider and Joe Bell of the Peanut Barrel Restaurant, will promote more responsible advertising of drink specials like $1 pitchers and quarter drafts. Their rationale is that students will drink less in one sitting if they have to pay more, Schneider said, adding that slashed prices encourage "drinking to get drunk."

"We're not saying they shouldn't run drink specials," Schneider said. "It's about encouraging the restaurants and bars to advertise responsibly."

PHOTOG/Daily Plymouth resident Brian Bieda drinks a cold beer last night at the Brown Jug located on South University Avenue with Eastern Michigan University student Ana Plein.

So far, their colleagues have been receptive. Schneider said the council sent information to all of East Lansing's liquor licensees, asking for support. As of Friday, he said, about 20 had returned letters of support to the council.

"We discussed the possibility of making this a county-wide thing," Schneider said, to discourage students from being able to simply travel outside East Lansing to get cheap drinks.

Many students choose to drink because "a lot of times it's cheaper to go to the bar rather than do something else on campus," said Geralyn Lasher, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Community Health.

Alcohol problems have plagued the MSU campus this academic year. The university's Greek system is currently under a 30-day self-imposed suspension of all social events. On Feb. 10, Detroit's WJBK television station showed hidden-camera footage of students who had admitted to drinking underage at an MSU fraternity house.

Bradley McCue, a junior at MSU, died in November after celebrating his 21st birthday by drinking 24 shots in 90 minutes. Rick's American Cafe in East Lansing, where McCue drank the night of his death, is serving a 30-day suspension for violating state liquor laws.

Nate Smith-Tyge, chair of MSU's student government, said the council has asked students on the assembly to participate on the council.

"It shows the need for restauranteurs and bar owners to put together responsible hospitality," Smith-Tyge said. "People are sort of learning their lesson from what happened at Rick's with Bradley McCue."

Lasher said "the majority of bars and restaurants do handle this responsibly" and added that East Lansing liquor licensees who did not support the council would appear conspicuous.

"I think the community would look at the ones who say they won't join in and ask what their priorities are," Lasher said.

Reducing drink specials would not cause a decline in business, Lasher said, comparing the idea to anti-smoking ordinances placed on California bars last year.

"In a lot of those places their business actually went up," Lasher said.

Scott Stanton, a manager at Touchdown Cafe in Ann Arbor, said the problem of binge drinking lies not in the price of alcohol but in people's mindset when they go to bars.

"I don't think that it's necessarily the drink specials that cause people to come out and drink," Stanton said. Raising prices "would change people's bar habits but it wouldn't curb drinking."

Jim Paron, an owner of the Brown Jug Restaurant, said the burden is on restaurant and bar owners to properly educate their staff.

"The essence of the problem doesn't have to do with the cost of the alcohol," Paron said. "The problem has to do with the need for responsible service."

But each individual makes the choice to get drunk and drink prices do not factor into that decision, Paron said.

"Making a rule that would prohibit those kinds of deals will not correct the situation.," Paron said. "If somebody's intentions are to get drunk ... they can go to a convenience store and get cheap beer there."

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