Beer and students. As far as the HAN is concerned, this is no longer a natural combination. So from now on, an hour later (at 4 pm) you can have a beer at for example Lokaal’99 on the HAN Campus Arnhem. How bad is that? And why an hour later at the drink? Omroep Gelderland and newspaper De Gelderlander investigated the matter and polled a number of reactions.

What is the reason?

Some 16 HAN students and student associations from Arnhem and Nijmegen started this petition last month. With this petition, the students want to make clear that they do not agree with the decision of the Board of Governors (BoG) of the HAN, which states that alcohol may not be served at 3 pm, but only at 4 pm.

What do the students want to achieve with the petition?

Students who signed the petition fear that the atmosphere on the campus will be less if alcohol is not allowed to be served. According to the petition, the students feel ‘encroached upon their own responsibility’. Moreover, the student cafes on the HAN campuses fear a drastic reduction in their turnover. That is why they would like to see the original serving time put back to 15 hours.

A spokesperson for the HAN has already announced that the serving time will not be turned back to 3 pm. “Our house rules, including serving times, were recently established. Moreover, we have good reasons to leave the serving time with one hour.”

The HAN also states that there has been consultation with the students. “The memorandum has been submitted to the participation council, which has a student section that has no comments on this memorandum. It has also been discussed with the student association Lokaal’99.”

What are the objections students have?

“Most classes end between 2 and 3 pm. Students are willing to wait half an hour, but an hour? That’s often too long and they go to town or home,” Jesse Hagen reasons. He is the initiator of the petition and chairman of Lokaal’99. According to Jesse, the measure that the tap on the Arnhem campus opens one hour later will save the student union 13% in turnover. “To bridge the time from 3 to 4 pm, we are currently holding an alcohol-free happy hour, but that doesn’t mean we won’t stick with it.”

So have times really changed?

HAN University of Applied Sciences says it wants to maintain a good name for itself when it comes to the study and working climate. That’s why the university adapted its house rules, because they were outdated, according to a spokesperson. “We believe it is important to offer our students a safe and healthy environment. We believe that alcohol consumption is not part of this, but we don’t want to prohibit it completely either. The HAN also has a responsibility towards its students and staff as long as it concerns the HAN premises. We have looked at other educational institutions. Most of them serve from 4 pm or 5 pm.”

Jesse says he partly understands this. “We are happy to discuss it, we can come to an agreement. What bothers us most is that this has been imposed from above. It doesn’t feel as if we’ve been consulted seriously. Moreover, drinking is the student’s own responsibility. And for the past five years, the serving time has started at 3 pm”.

Problematic alcohol consumption

Meanwhile, other noises can be heard that justify the BoG’s decision to amend the house regulations. “Colleges and universities have an important role in reducing alcohol problems”, says Rob Bovens. He is an addiction researcher at Tilburg University and was involved in the National Prevention Agreement in 2018. In that agreement, it was agreed that problematic alcohol use among young adults should be reduced by half by 2040.

Studying without alcohol?

“In principle, I am in favour of banning alcohol at universities and colleges,” says Bovens. “Because students drink more than their peers. The first years of your student life, meetings are very important and you want to have a good time with each other, but you can do that with a non-alcoholic beer, right?” Studying without consuming alcohol should be possible, thinks Bovens.

When he became a lecturer at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences in Zwolle, he did not know what he was looking at. “There was a pub next to the lecture hall. He then set up an alcohol policy for the college. “Slowly but surely, a mores to ban liquor emerged. At one point, there were no more drinks for sale in the canteen.”

A few beers, that should be possible, shouldn’t it?

Wim van Dalen, director of STAP, the Dutch Institute for Alcohol Policy, also thinks that alcohol does not belong in schools. “We have to get rid of the ingrained link between studying and drinking alcohol. Drinking during the day, while you still have to study the rest of the day, is bad for you.” That, Van Dalen thinks, is where the government comes in. “The unhealthy effects of alcohol consumption are not properly communicated.” Van Dalen notes that student associations have close ties with the alcohol industry. “That influences the opinion of students.”

According to Rob Bovens, a distinction is needed between what is leisure time and what is work and study time. “In the 1960s we drank half a glass of beer a day per capita. Now it is 2.5 glasses! Drinks are also increasingly available. What used to be a moment at the weekend, you now see during the week. At lunch we drink a glass of wine.”

Reaction National Students’ Union

Omroep Gelderland also checked with the Landelijke Studentenvakbond (National Students’ Union). President Ama Boahene of the National Students’ Union LSVB says he can imagine that educational institutions want to regulate alcohol consumption. “Many students drink more than their peers. If colleges and universities do not want to facilitate the drinking of alcohol or only from a later date, then I can understand that.”

Sources: Omroep Gelderland, De Gelderlander
Photography: Lokaal’99