Students to protest outdoor liquor ban

Some students are planning to protest new restrictions on outdoor alcohol at the Palladium today, even though a calm seems to have settled over both administrators and the proprietor, who were making waves last week over the issue. Over the past week, Palladium co-owner Roger Harman has been involved in negotiations and discussions with administrators over the University's recent imposition of alcohol restrictions on the restaurant's popular Locust Walk terrace. "We do have to try to be a good neighbor," Harman said last night. But students may not be as willing to compromise. Word on the Walk has it that a demonstration in support of alcohol on the terrace will be held at 1 p.m. today at the Palladium. According to College senior David Boyer, there are no leaders to this planned small-scale uprising. "I think people will show up if the word is out," Boyer said. "I think people generally think it sucks. Seniors think that they're completely being screwed." Students are passing along the word to come to the protest with "some form of beverage contained in a brown paper bag," Boyer said. Harman, however, is not particularly looking forward to hearing the people's voice. "I'm not sure I'm thrilled with having a guerrilla action on our terrace tomorrow afternoon," he said last night. And while the students want to make a point, the point may just go unseen. "I'm not going to be in town tomorrow," said Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson, who was involved in eliminating outdoor liquor on the Palladium's terrace. Harman said that he still opposes what he considers to be the singling out of the Palladium. "This is not part of the University's alcohol policy," Harman said last night. "You really have to stretch a point to say that it covers the outdoor terrace." Morrisson said yesterday that she still believes the decision to keep the restaurant's University-leased terrace dry is well within the context of the University's alcohol policy. "The basis on which I have supported the University's decision to do this is that it is a consistent application of University policy and that hasn't changed," Morrisson said. But Harman said he thinks there should be exceptions to the rule. "I have a feeling that there may be a possibility for trying to persuade people to give a little bit in terms of special events, like graduation . . . but I'm not too optimistic about during the school year," he said. And Harman said he is trying to negotiate for a reprieve of sorts with regards to lunch hours, and that he feels this is a "perfectly reasonable request." Harman's voice previously had been marked by a note of frustration with the University, but last night he spoke in conciliatory tones. "I know it's frustrating from a student's point of view," Harman said. "From the administrators' point of view, though, it's a potential problem."

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