Students Drink Less Towards End of the Year
Morgan Modjeski, staff
Alcohol sales drop towards the end of the school year at Wise Guys on Campus, according to general manager, Ron Cable. The student bar has been serving the U of M for the last 13 years.
“During exams [business decreases] big time. We sell more food than alcohol,” said Cable.
“What we do find is a lot of groups and larger tables like tables of 10,15, 20 people. It’s usually the last time they can get together . . . for the year.”
When asked about whether or not Wise Guys had a positive or negative effect on campus, Cable said, “[Most] of the students are all adults and adults, as you know, have the choice to make whether they’re going to have a cocktail and socialize,” he said. “There is a line to be drawn.”
Wise Guys was operated by the University of Manitoba Student Union (UMSU) as B52’s until 1995 when it was shut down because of building debt. It remained vacant for a year until it was taken over by Wise Guys in 1996.
Lynn Smith, director of student services and student affairs, said that having a bar on campus is one of the many parts of the university that make it a community.
“Generally, I think having a bar on campus aside is probably a good idea — what we’re trying to do is have the University of Manitoba be more like a community. I think having a pharmacy, having a bookstore, having a post-office, hav[ing] the amenities that student and staff might like to use is a good idea.”
Smith said it is up to the university to make sure it is used responsibly.
“We as members of the community have to make sure there is safe use of all of our facilities.”
Cable said that Wise Guys is a safe location and that security personnel are trained professionally by a private security co-ordinator.
He also said that, because Wise Guys is a private club, it is one of the safer bars within the city. Roughly 3,000 students own Wise Guys memberships, 300-400 of which are residence students.
Donald Stewart, director of the university’s student counselling and career centre, said that they do not have a large number of students who go to them for help with alcohol abuse.
Stewart would not give his opinion about having a pub on campus. But he did say that it is rare for students to come to the office with drinking issues.
“In terms of statistics each year, the number of students who are presenting with drinking as a presenting issue is a very, very small proportion of our clientele.”
