Hotung's two-drink maximum for alcoholic beverages may be upped to three after the dining area and balcony reopen in November, according to Director of Dining Services Patricia Klos. This change could also be accompanied by a lengthening of the caf?©'s hours.
The proposal to change the limit came out of a meeting earlier this month between Tufts Community Union (TCU) senators, Dining Services, the Office of Student Activities and Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman.
While the proposal has not been finalized, Tufts Community Union (TCU) President Neil DiBiase said he's "confident" that it will become policy, "barring any major alcohol-related incidents in Hotung this semester."
But according to Klos, it is unlikely that any change will take effect until next semester. It could not happen before this semester, she said, because ongoing construction presents problems.
The caf?©'s liquor license requires that students consume alcohol on location, but with the dining area closed, Klos said that it is harder to regulate where students take their purchases.
"The fact that there's no dining room for the guests to sit in means we can't make any changes to our policies," she said. "We have to be able to control where the alcohol goes in the building as a condition of our license."
She also said that the proposal is not in the free and clear yet. Since most students only spend 30 to 45 minutes per visit in Hotung, she said that to raise the limit to three "could be viewed as encouraging binge drinking."
The plan to up the limit has gotten a positive response from many students.
"Two just feels like they're not really letting you enjoy yourself," senior Josh Wolf said. "At the same time, I understand why they can't make it more than three because it's a university campus."
He also said that the raise will create a better social environment that might help prevent Hotung from playing second fiddle to local bars.
"If someone's going out to a bar for the social atmosphere, three just seems like a reasonable amount that they're going want to buy," he said, noting that students can instead go to Hotung if the policy is implemented.
Junior Anton Zabludovsky agreed that an increase to three would help create a more social atmosphere.
"Two drinks might limit how much time people sit there," he said.
This theme of improving the social scene has been key for administrators involved with the Hotung construction and the addition of alcohol to its menu.
"We who helped in creating the program for the facility hope that it is going to be a popular place that's a destination area that people come to and stay a while," Reitman said.
But while some students are gunning for more drinks, others respect the university for its precautions.
"It doesn't seem like it's unfair or anything. It seems like a legitimate move," senior Ezra Furman said. "I think Hotung, even though they're serving drinks there, they're not really like a bar."
Still others, like senior Dmitriy Doroshenko, feel that the matter is really a moot point. "At some level, I don't think it'd matter [if they raise the limit]. I just can't picture people going to Hotung to sit around and drink," he said.
The revision of the alcohol policy was not the only change discussed at the meeting earlier this month, as participants also talked about extending Hotung's hours starting next semester.
Currently, the caf?© is on a staggered schedule, but the latest it stays open is midnight, with the last call for alcohol at 11:30 p.m.
If new hours are enacted, Hotung would be open until 3 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. Food would be sold until 2 a.m., and the last call for alcohol would be at 12:30 a.m.
But the combined effect of raising the limit and extending the hours could put some strains on Hotung's alcohol supply.
"We currently have the capacity for the demand. [It's] hard to predict how that might change," Klos said.
-Giovanni Russonello and Rob Silverblatt contributed reporting to this article.
