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surrounding the football games and led to fewer drinking-related arrests. West Virginia's campus police department told The New York Times in October 2014 that there had been "sharp declines in incident reports and arrests on home football Saturdays from 2010 to 2014." Yet the same New York Times article quoted West Virginia's president, Gor- don Gee, about his concerns with the policy. You may recall that Gee earned the ire of Penn State fans in the late 1990s when he was president at Ohio State with a press box wisecrack mock- ing coach Joe Paterno after the Buckeyes had defeated Penn State at Ohio Sta- dium. Gee, a Mormon who doesn't drink, said he reluctantly approved the WVU policy: "I'm sometimes conflicted about it because I do believe one of the main issues confronting universities is alcohol abuse – binge drinking." I'd like to see more research before ac- cepting the contention that arrests and unruliness decline in and around stadi- ums when alcohol is so accessible on game day. Back to Penn State's new policy. Beaver Stadium is the natural starting place because the 40 private suites on the east side and the 4,000-seat Mount Nit- tany Club in the south end zone are iso- lated from the general seating sections. The Pegula Arena has a similar suite and club situation with limited accessibility in its 6,000-seat complex, and one can be sure that alcohol will be available there this coming hockey season. The other athletic facilities have differ- ent circumstances to deal with, depend- ing on their structure. The Bryce Jordan Center already has suites, and a room could easily be set up somewhere in the building for a new private club. Rec Hall would need some major construction for suites or a club in the seating area that would replace the running track, but a temporary private club room nearby could be in operation this school year. There are major logistics involved in the operation, and even sales in Beaver Stadium will start off slowly in Septem- ber. Alcohol has been permitted in the suites since the 2001 stadium expansion but with a major restriction: Suite- holders are allowed to stock their cabi- nets and small refrigerators Friday afternoon before game day but, by con- tract, are not permitted to serve alcohol until 20 minutes after the game. Ha, ha, ha, ha! Of course, cheating has gone on. How- ever, my sources tell me there has been only one major incident, which occurred a few years ago when an inebriated guest threw up out the window of a suite onto the student section. The owner almost had to forfeit the suite, and word spread quickly to police your suites or else. Under the new policy, suite-holders will no longer be allowed their personal cache of alcohol but will instead have to purchase it by the drink from vendor bars set up in the hallways. Some offi- cials claim this should make it easier to keep track of the more motivated drinkers. Uh huh. And does anyone think the people who pay for those pre- mium boxes are going to be happy not to have alcohol available for themselves and their guests after the game is over? One of the primary motives for the new policy is to give the athletic department the opportunity to host non-Penn State sports events at Beaver Stadium and its other venues. Athletic director Sandy Barbour talked about a possible Winter Classic hockey game between the Pitts- burgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. A professional soccer game or a concert inside the Beav also are possibilities, and maybe an NBA game in the Jordan Cen- ter. Barbour said such events could result in millions of dollars in revenue. I'm OK with that part of the policy, as long as there are strict regulations for the student population. But I don't under- stand why those outside events with alco- hol sales can't be done anyway, without involving all of Penn State's football, bas- ketball and wrestling game days. Sure, with tight enforcement of the rules, the golf course also could have alcohol, and so could Nittany Lion baseball games at Lu- brano Park, where beer is already sold for minor league games. I just wonder where the lust for money is taking Penn State. What's next? Gambling casinos? ■ A new Penn State football book by Lou Prato with a forward by Adam Taliaferro The Remarkable Journey of the 2012 Nittany Lions Price: $14.95 plus shipping Published by Triumph Books (soft cover) Autographed copies available via louprato@comcast.net or through Lou Prato & Associates at 814-954-5171 Autographed copies of Lou's book We Are Penn State: The Remarkable Journey of the 2012 Nittany Lions are still available via louprato@comcast.net or through Lou Prato & Associates at 814-954-5171. Price: $19.95 plus tax where applicable and shipping

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