Here’s a shocker for everyone: college students like to drink, always have, always will. That’s why the Student Senate recommended a resolution to the Charleston City Council asking for a six month trial period where local bar hours would be extended by one hour on the weekends. To the dismay of many bar goers on Eastern’s campus, the council shot down the resolution last week by a 3-2 vote.

There were more reasons than college students liking to drink for the resolution. Student safety and an effort to cooperate with the city to reduce off-campus house parties were two of the driving forces behind the resolution’s recommendation.

The resolution was not an example of trying to keep up with other college towns like Champaign-Urbana, which extended its bar hours recently, although the other towns did provide a nice precedent.

Keeping students in Charleston was one of the biggest arguments for the resolution. The Student Senate argued it would be good for the local economy. President Lou Hencken said he wouldn’t have to worry about students driving back from Champaign-Urbana after a night at the bars.

City officials were concerned about reducing the number of house parties. The ones that supported the resolution were probably using the logic that if the bars were open an extra hour, all the kids would wear themselves out at the bars instead of going to a house party to drink for an extra hour or two.

That’s probably not the way it will work. Students will probably just change their drinking habits.

Hencken attributed the desire to extend bar hours to a changing culture on Eastern’s campus.

“Students’ habits have changed,” Hencken said. “It seems like they’re going out later.”

If the habits of students have already evolved to drinking later, what’s to say they won’t continue to push back their time to drink after a change in bar hours?

Although the intent in the proposed change was to make an attempt to reduce house parties, “It would have helped, but it would not completely eliminate them,” Hencken said. “Would it be the solution to the house party situation? No.”

Student Body President Caleb Judy said the resolution was an effort to make a change.

“You don’t really know (what effect it will have) unless you try it out,” Judy said. “It has something to do with trying to do something positive and it’s what the students want.”

City council member Lorelei Sims had a different solution to the house party solution. Why not lower the bar entry age to 19.

Woo Hoo! I’m 19 and I’m hanging out at a bar. This is great except for one thing. All I got in my cup is a stupid kiddy cocktail! Screw this. I’m going to a house party and getting me some jungle juice.

I’m sorry, but if underage students want to drink, they’re not going to go to the bar to do it. They will go to a place where someone isn’t going to card them. Some place like a house party, perhaps?

Again it comes back to trying to keep students at Eastern. Since Champaign-Urbana allows 19 year olds in the bar, why not Charleston. Hencken said it would just be one less reason for students to leave Charleston on the weekends.

Judy said changing the entry age would have a bigger impact then changing the bar hours.

“(Changing the entry age) would make a much bigger difference,” Judy said. “Changing the hours is a smaller step, but still a good step in the right direction.

How much of a difference will changing the bar entry age really have on the amount of house parties? If you’re not aware, Charleston used to have a bar entry age of 19, but in the early ’90s, the city council changed it to 21. Hencken said things really weren’t that different when the entry age was 21.

“We had house parties before the bar entry age was 19,” Hencken said. “Do we have more now? I don’t have statistics to prove that.”

House parties are here to stay, but the situation isn’t helpless. What will have the biggest effect on house parties is the behavior of those that attend, not the hours of the bars or the entry age. Students have to take responsibility for their actions and try not to embarrass themselves and their peers.