On the heels of its official announcement that the Hotung Caf?© will serve alcohol when it reopens this spring, the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate plans to conduct a survey on Thursday to determine what kinds of beer will be served.
Senate Historian Neil DiBiase said that he plans to survey seniors as they get onto the bus to attend senior pub night.
But the survey will only take place if enough people attend the event. If less than half of the class buys tickets, DiBiase said that he will delay the survey for another week. "The goal is to get the most number of students surveyed," he said.
The seniors will be allowed to vote for beers in three categories: regular domestic, light domestic and premium. The top vote-getter from each category will be served.
Although there is a tentative list with beers like Bud Light and Coors, DiBiase said that the field is pretty much "wide open" and that "whatever three beers win the survey we can get."
According to TCU President Mitch Robinson, this effort to get the Tufts community directly involved is an integral part of the ideology of the current Senate. "One thing we always push for is input from the community. We felt it would be a good chance to get the seniors involved in something that really affects them," he said.
The addition of beer to the menu at Hotung is part of a larger attempt to make it more socially inviting. The servery side will open after spring break, and along with beer it will also provide new options from three different serving stations: a coffee bar, a smoothie counter and a Mediterranean kitchen.
The rest of the ongoing renovations should "hopefully be done by the fall," DiBiase said.
He said that a revamped Hotung will greatly change the lives of the average Tufts student. "[It] will create a new social dynamic, a new place to hang out and relax. It will provide a new way to look at the social life at Tufts," he said.
Robinson also has high hopes for the new caf?© and the impact it will have on the social life of the Tufts community. "This is a first step forward of many steps towards making the campus a more social environment," he said.
As a senior, Robinson will have a say in the beers chosen, but he said he will be happy with whatever decision is made. "Whatever my senior class feels like, I will go with. I am only one vote," he said.
Also on Thursday, Senator Corey Briskin, a freshman, will be selling pizza and water to the pub-goers as they get off the bus at the end of the night. Several local pizza places will donate food for the event.
The profits from the sales will go towards sending a group of Hillel students to Honduras over spring break.
