A student government committee met Monday to discuss upcoming plans for expanding entertainment options on campus for the 18+ crowd.
The Associated Students of Madison Legislative Affairs Committee will work to improve entertainment options on campus for those between 18 and 20, following the results of a survey conducted earlier this year.
According to ASM Press Director David Gardner, the survey asked students if they felt there were enough venues on campus catering toward the 18-20 age range and many respondents said there were not.
“A significant amount of students said that there was really no option they felt was available for them because a lot of the places they could go to were 21+ or they were too far off campus,” Gardner said.
Gardner said as a result of these findings, committee members want to collaborate with the city to explore possible options to fill this void.
Legislative Affairs Committee Vice Chair Rachel Lepak said results from the ASM student survey reinforce the importance of the 18+ Campaign’s goals as 91 percent of those surveyed believe that entertainment on this campus is targeted to those 21 and over.
“As a student representative, this affects half of our campus,” Lepak said. “We want to give students alternate activities.”
Lepak, who is spearheading the campaign, reported to the committee on her recent meetings with Alds. Scott Resnick, Dist. 8, and Mike Verveer, Dist. 4, as well as City Food and Alcohol Policy Coordinator Mark Woulf, saying they advise the campaign to target new businesses because older businesses might be concerned about changing their customer base and losing customers.
According to Gardner, the next step in the campaign will be for Legislative Affairs Committee members to lobby city officials at the next Alcohol Licensing Review Committee meeting Nov. 26.
