Editorial : Underage drinking would persist despite beer ban in Dome

Syracuse University will be among few members of the Atlantic Coast Conference to serve beer when SU leaves the Big East conference in 2014.

The sale of beer in the Carrier Dome is part of the culture of attending an SU sporting event, more so for older fans than for students. Banning beer in the Dome may have seemed of minor consequence to some. But it would have upset many who feel it is their right to drink legally and safely while enjoying a game.

Some have speculated that in the future after joining the ACC, SU will feel pressure to follow suit and restrict alcohol. But banning alcohol in the Dome would have barely affected underage drinking at games. The limited window for buying beer, the drink limit and strict identification policies discourage most underage students from buying from the Dome. Instead many of them drink heavily before the game and they would continue to do this regardless.

Banning alcohol certainly could have encouraged even upperclassmen and legal drinkers to drink heavily or unsafely before games. And as most of the undergraduates are underage anyways, banning alcohol would affect local fans, SU staff and returning alumni far more than students.

With all that’s changing for SU fans — the rivals, branding, paraphernalia, distance to away games — at least the culture of home games in the Dome will remain the same, for better or for worse.