When students wake up earlier than their first weekday class to tailgate for the noon football game against Oregon State on Saturday, they can grab breakfast at select dining halls.
In a joint effort, University Dining and Central Student Government will open dining halls earlier on game days with the aim of curbing dangerous alcohol intake.
While dining halls open at 10:30 a.m. on most weekends, this semester the South Quad, Bursley and Hill dining centers will offer full breakfast service beginning at 9 a.m. on football Saturdays with noon games. South Quad will also open three and half hours earlier with a continental breakfast of bagels and fruit at 7 a.m.
The initiative strives for students are more likely to eat breakfast before tailgating. There are two noon games scheduled this season, plus a matchup against Ohio State University, which is traditionally a noon game.
CSG President Cooper Charlton, an LSA senior, said this is one of the first initiatives to be piloted this semester as part of CSG’s efforts to curb drinking culture on campus.
“We know that drinking culture doesn’t change overnight and we know that it’s going to be more than a one-year battle,” Charlton said. “That being said, we want to meet students where they’re at and we know students start drinking very early in the mornings for game days, and especially for game days that start at noon.”
Along with opening dining halls earlier, Charlton said the new CSG government has a strategic plan to associated with many projects to improve campus safety, including the establishment of more off-campus lighting and the promotion of a companion app, which allows students to report when they feel unsafe on campus. CSG will unveil a number of commissions dedicated to improving student safety later this week.
“We need to make sure students feel safe all the time,” Charlton said. “If we don’t feel safe we can’t be expected to excel in the classroom or excel on the field or excel in a student org if we’re worried about something that we believe at central student government, is a basic human feeling to feel safe.”
Charlton said CSG is working closely with administration to promote campus safety and reduce excessive drinking on campus. He said walking with University President Mark Schlissel to the New Student Convocation last Friday provided an opportunity for the two to get on the same page and discuss what they feel is best for the student body.
Schlissel’s administration unveiled several other initiatives last week to curb alcohol abuse, including an effort to alert the parents of first-year students who commit multiple alcohol violations and plans to expand the Division of Public Safety and Security’s presence off campus.
“With Welcome Week over, with this new dining hall opportunity and game days around the corner, we’re preparing a united front to really tackle drinking culture,” Charlton said. “The next thing that needs to happen is that student leaders on campus need to be comfortable standing up and speaking out against excessive drinking.”