Associated Student Government’s Executive Board announced Wednesday night it has received preliminary approval to open a bar in the basement of Norris University Center by the end of Winter Quarter.
ASG Executive Vice President Nicole Mash and Student Services Vice President Mike Fong received confirmation from administrators last week to go ahead with the plan, which they have been working on since late October.
Both said they hope the new bar will enhance Northwestern’s social scene. The area will be open to all students and faculty at least 18 years of age.
Mash said ASG hopes to open the bar in one or two weeks, and Fong said Norris officials were handling the liquor license.
“Students complain about not having enough social outlets,” said Mash, a Weinberg senior. “The sole intention is for it to be a social initiative. Everyone can go.”
Norris featured a bar for students 21 and over, but it closed in the mid-1990s due to a lack of interest.
The plans for restructuring Norris Underground include rearranging the game room, adding more sources of entertainment and providing alcohol to students 21 years and older.
ASG leaders said letting in everyone 18 and older would bring students together in a casual setting on campus.
“It’s going to build a lot of community,” said Fong, a Weinberg junior.
Vice President for Student Affairs William Banis and Norris Director Bill Johnston have approved plans for the project, Mash and Fong said.
Fong said students have expressed interest in adding a bar to Norris since for years. He said ASG received student feedback on the idea from informal conversations and a recently created online forum.
Students said they were excited about the prospect of having a bar in the student center and seeing the updated underground.
“It would probably be something I’d go to on Tuesday or Wednesday when I needed a break,” said Kate Smith, a Weinberg freshman.
Others said putting a bar in Norris would lead to more responsible drinking than at an off-campus venue.
“Think of it as a responsibility issue: If people are going to drink, they will,” said Elizabeth Bakos, a Music and Weinberg freshman. “I think it’s a great idea.”
In addition to the announcement, senators voted to make changes to proposed election guidelines.
ASG’s Rules Committee called for an end to paper campaigning and monetary expenditures during elections, but senators voted against those proposals, keeping the same rules that governed the elections in previous years.
Senators sent the remaining guidelines back to the Rules Committee for further review. Committee members will discuss Judicial Board policies and their enforcement of the current rules Tuesday.
Some senators said the elections would run more smoothly if the Judicial Board took a more proactive role in enforcing the current regulations.
“It’s not a problem with the guidelines, it’s a problem with the Judicial Board,” said Bryan Tolles, a fraternity senator and Weinberg sophomore.
Some senators in favor of ending paper campaigning argued it takes the focus off issues and places it on catchy slogans, appealing advertisements and endorsements.
“What makes an election arbitrary is if you step over one person’s name more than the others,” said Eileen Keeley, the Public Affairs Residential College senator who ran an unsuccessful campaign for student services vice president last year. “We’ll make the campaign about real issues. (Students) will vote for you not because your slogan was cuter.”
Also at the Senate meeting, Mash announced the results of last weekend’s annual student groups review. The Executive Committee voted to derecognize five B-status student groups: ACLU, Campus Alliance to End Gun Violence, Globe, NU Brand and Nugget.
The groups either dissolved themselves, did not turn in their applications on time or did not have adequate yearly programming, Mash said.
ASG Financial Vice President Le’Jamiel Goodall announced the demotions of Alternative Spring Break, Studio 22 and Arts and Performance Magazine from A-status to B-status.
In addition, senators presented two new bills, one calling on Counseling and Psychological Services to increase the presence of staff members at freshman programs during New Student Week and another establishing a Middle Eastern studies major.
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Rhiannon Schayer/The Daily Northwestern
The Game Room in the Norris Underground is the site ASG proposed Wednesday night for a new bar. Norris had a bar, but it closed in the mid-1990s due to lack of student interest.
