Devoted attendees of Jack Magee's Pub & Grill are wondering what has made the pub so popular this year. Since the pub opened for Thursday night entertainment on September 6, the establishment has drawn unprecedented crowds and long lines.
As reads a poster in Appleton Hall, "Everyone who's anyone is at the pub on Thursday nights."
Senior Krystle Allen has noticed the increased crowdedness.
"This is the first year there have been lines, probably because Thursdays have become bigger and more attended since my freshman year," she said. "Last year it was way too crowded, to the point of unpleasant, but this year is just crazy. I have been once and did not go back because it has been so busy and crowded."
One theory for why pub attendance has increased it that the entertainment has improved. The opening Thursday pub night featured an Afro-beat and funk theme, while last week DJs Hae-Min Gil '08, Hunain Khaleeli '08, and George Schlesinger '08 spun beats. Last night the pub featured a performance by The Smyrk, a rock group with tracks available on myspace.com.
Pub Entertainment Student Manager Alexandra Bassett '09 has set her sights on trying to bring a more varied group of acts on Thursdays.
"I'm trying to bring in a more diverse variety of genres," Bassett said.
"For example, we will be having a hip-hop group in November and a reggae rock group in October," she said.
The schedule also includes popular returning bands like Eclectic Collective, The Indefinite Article, and The Mathematicians, as well as new acts.
Manager of Cash Operations and Student Employment Tricia Gipson said that she has not noticed that the pub lines are any longer than they have been in previous years. She did mention, however, that efforts to control the length of these lines are necessary as safety regulations.
"We place [pub] staff outside of the pub checking I.D.s and putting wrist [bands] on people of legal age to drink," Gipson added.
"Their job is also to control the number of people who can enter so that we are complying with the fire code. Once the pub reaches fire code capacity, we can only let someone in when someone leaves," she added.
This policy may be what is frustrating many pub-goers, as students wait up to 30 minutes in line to enter, often having to get back in line if they use the restroom.
First year Nick Pisegna, who attended the pub last Thursday night, said he found the lines too long.
"I got to the pub last Thursday at 11 p.m. and nobody was there, so I left and came back at 11:45 and had to wait 25 minutes to get in," Pisegna said. "I was about to give up and go back to the dorm at one point, but I'm glad I didn't."
Director of Student Life and the Smith Union Allen Delong says tighter I.D. checks have contributed to longer lines, but have also made the pub a more enjoyable place.
"Several years ago, we would have as many as ten underage students evicted from the pub for drinking illegally on a given Thursday night," Delong said.
Underage drinking appears to have diminished since then, however.
"We have not had one underage drinking violation in the pub this semester," according to Delong. "I think tighter I.D. checks slow the line down a bit, but my hunch is that fewer underage drinkers also makes for a better experience for legal students."
According to the Security Report, compiled by Randy Nichols, an underage student was cited last Thursday for possession of alcohol.
Despite students concerns about pub lines, Bassett is looking forward to planning events in the future.
"We are thinking of having a dual DJ night until 3 a.m. with one DJ in the pub and another in the Union area," Basset said. Bassett also expects three scheduled nights this year for extended pub night hours in order to provide a place for students to continue partying in a safe environment after last call.