Students lose rag over booze ban

STUDENTS at Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) face the driest rag week in history after college bosses ordered that no alcohol be served on campus until after 6pm all this week.

The Dome bar WIT has been ordered not to serve alcohol before 6pm in a move by the college's director to promote its alcohol awareness campaign during what is typically a week of student revelry.

Director Prof Kieran R Byrne defended the move, saying it was part of ongoing efforts to raise awareness among students of the dangers associated with the excessive consumption of alcohol.

"While the institute has not experienced particular problems in this regard and the bar here is very well-staffed and supervised, study after study has shown that young people are drinking more and getting drunk more often.

"Binge-drinking of the type that can unfortunately be associated with events like rag week is a particularly worrying phenomenon and we at Waterford Institute of Technology would be failing in our duty of care to students if we did not recognise this and act accordingly," Prof Byrne said.

The students' union, which represents the college's 6,000 undergraduates, has criticised the directive, saying it strips them of their right of choice and will simply push drinking into town.

The manager of the bar says he's left with 30 staff who can't pull pints all day. The bar has been open for 12 years and there have been no major incidents over that time.

"This announcement sends out a bad signal that the students of Waterford Institute of Technology are not responsible enough to control their drinking during rag week," said students' union deputy president Bryan Sweeney.

"Rag week isn't all about drinking. It's about raising money for charity. Banning drink until after 6pm is taking responsibility out of the hands of students.

We'd planned loads of entertainment in the bar right across rag week including comedians, bands and DJs. This move will effectively drive students off campus, into town."

Bar manager Jerry Whelan is furious. He said the move comes in the wake of complaints from some of the academic staff about the behaviour of some students off campus in the wake of the Christmas party in early December.

"The students now are being denied drink. They are now going into pubs off campus and we don't know how much they are drinking."