Drinking at Midd past and present

Author: Derek C. Schlickeisen

It's no secret that there is a lot of drinking at Middlebury: every Monday morning, Busch Light cans litter the sidewalks and fill trash bags that pile up outside the supposedly dry first-year residence halls. But is drinking really becoming more prevalent? From 1972 until 1986, Vermont lowered its drinking age to 18, creating a social atmosphere at Middlebury unlike anything seen today. From those free and easy times to the crack-down of the Vermont State Liquor Inspector, The Middlebury Campus examines how changes in state drinking laws have influenced life at the College.

As the Vietnam War dragged on into the 70s, the nation saw a great deal of social change. As reported by the U.S. Government, college campuses were no exception: between 1970 and 1975, 30 states lowered their legal drinking age to either 18 or 19, creating for the first time a situation on campuses in which the vast majority of students could legally drink. "The logic was that if you can fight and die for your country at 18, then you ought to be able to buy a beer as well," explained Dean of Advising Karl Lindholm '67. "Especially since thousands of young people actually were fighting and dying during that time period."

When the state of Vermont joined the growing 18-and-older trend in 1972, the result, according to Lindholm, was an explosion of businesses in the town of Middlebury that drew students with alcohol-themed events. "Campus was organized around fraternity parties prior to the lowering of the drinking age," said Lindholm, referring to a time when the college had 11 fraternities and several non-residential sororities. "When the drinking age was lowered, establishments in town really absorbed the social life of the campus."

In addition to current establishments like Mister Up's and Two Brothers, the town used to offer a wide variety of options to compete with Greek parties on campus. Housed in the building now called "Starr Mill" was the "Alibi," a night club with live music, pool tables and a bowling alley. Less than one block away was the Rosebud Café, which accommodated a saloon in its basement. Said Lindholm, "Because of capitalism and entrepreneurship, the social life was downtown because businesses wanted to attract students. And almost every single student could drink." Of particular interest to many students was the Friday Afternoon Drinking Club, which saw dozens of students head to the Rosebud's saloon after class. "You used to see FADC bumper stickers," said Lindholm.

Since drinking was a very public activity during these years, a frequent aspect of getting to know one's professors included socializing over drinks. "We used to have departmental receptions at the end of each semester for all of our majors," said President Emeritus John M. McCardell. "There wasn't excessive drinking that went on there - it was an adult event that allowed us to engage in adult conversation with adult beverages."

In 1984, however, President Ronald Reagan pushed legislation through Congress denying federal highway funds to states with legal drinking ages under 21. In two years, the state of Vermont felt the crunch and decided to make the change. The result, according to Lindholm, was that "the drinking life came back on campus." By this time, after years of losing members to downtown Middlebury's vibrant drinking scene, only six fraternities - and no sororities - remained on campus. With the bars no longer serving them, however, most students looked to the Greeks for something to do on a Saturday night. Even though fraternity membership remained lower than it had been before the drinking age was lowered, weekend fraternity parties became more popular than ever.

The fraternities delivered: while bars and night clubs in town were suddenly fearful of serving alcohol to minors, the law did not allow for intrusive inspections inside the frat houses. "The long-standing rule was that fraternities were considered domiciles, so the police wouldn't enter the party without a complaint," explained Lindholm. "And even then, there was usually only one police officer on duty, and he wouldn't like to go into parties where there were 200 or 300 revelers."

After a 1988 incident at the Delta Upsilon house, however, the Greek system came under attack. That night, fraternity members hung a bloody, dismembered female mannequin out of a window, sparking outrage among those who claimed the fraternity system promoted sexist behavior. Following the incident, a task force on social life recommended turning fraternities into social houses and setting up the commons system now in place. "The tension created by drinking coming back on campus helped create the situation that led to the abolishment of fraternities at Middlebury," said Lindholm.

Despite the many complaints about the new liquor inspector and the stricter interpretation of state drinking laws, there are signs that the pendulum may swing back in the other direction. While McCardell and others are publicly calling for a re-examination of drinking laws, Vermont state legislators have introduced a bill that would reinstate the lower drinking age of the 70s and early 80s. Said McCardell of the current age restriction, "It is a law that is easily circumvented and capriciously enforced and it breeds nothing but disrespect for law in general. It encourages students to do dishonest and illegal things like coming up with fake IDs, and those aren't lessons that laws should be communicating."