We all know by now that Morgantown is a big party town. Alcohol sales are booming, riots have formed, and a select number of students come here just to party and drink. However, West Virginia University continues to identify as a “dry campus” because they claim they don’t sell alcohol directly on campus. Two places that sell alcohol on campus prove that wrong. 
Harry Duffy, a freshman student worker at The Side Pocket in the Mountainlair, said he enjoys working at the restaurant, and likes the option to buy beer.
“Thursdays from 2:00-6:00pm is when the most students come,” said Duffy. “We’re allowed to sell liquor because of the liquor license.”
When asked how they could sell alcohol within the student union regardless of the license, he said,”I think that ‘dry campus’ refers to unauthorized usage,” said Duffy.
If the university is going to say that they are a dry campus but continue to sell alcohol on campus, then students are going to take it as a joke and continue to disagree with the rules and regulations.
Octane Coffee + Bar is the second spot on campus that sells alcohol.
Located on the fifth floor of Evansdale Crossing, this coffee bar is unique because after 5pm, they serve beer and wine. The bar has been a popular place for students to get work done and have a drink at the same time. Adam Demopolous, a sophomore at WVU, is a regular customer at the Octane bar.
“I think it is appropriate for them to sell homemade items made in West Virginia.” The bar serves many seasonal brews such as ales and stouts, as well as glasses of red and white wine. The drinks are fairly priced and the glasses are a good serving.
“They’re doing it to promote local breweries,” he said. One brewing company that is promoted highly at Octane, is Big Timber Brewing Company located in Elkins, WV.
Although the story behind Octane is interesting and they are doing breweries justice, it goes against what the university believes.
What do you think? Should these two places continue to sell alcohol on campus? Tweet your thoughts/concerns to @Pat_J_Clarke!
Morgantown Matters 
Interesting. I didn’t know WVU claimed to be a dry university. That’s just a load of crap. I think they should still sell the alcoholic items, but stop pretending to be something they are not. “Dry” does not refer to unauthorized usage. My hometown was a dry town until like 2010. No bars, no liquor stores, no alcohol sales. Having a license isn’t allowed in a dry town, period.
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Like Ashley, I had no idea that WVU is supposed to be a dry university. Since they have a bar in the student union building, obviously we know how long that lasted. I’ve always found Side Pocket to be a nice spot where it’s fun to drink, watch soccer and play pool, and I really have no issue with these places being on campus. But if WVU’s claiming to be a dry university, it better quit that ASAP.
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I had no clue that we were a dry campus. I like however that these places exist on campus. I go and bowl at the lair all the time, and love that we can drink down there. It doesn’t make much sense as to how we can be called a “dry campus” but I am glad that places serve beer anyways.
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I think it is comical that WVU claims to be a dry campus with the numerous options for alcohol consumption on campus or at university events. However, I do not have an issue with the option to order alcohol at certain campus locations. In fact, I actually think it helps foster a healthier environment for drinking. Students may choose a beer on campus over partying hard off campus.
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Like everyone commented, I think had no idea that WVU identified as a dry campus. I think it probably has something to do with wanting to advertise WVU as not being the party school that it is popular for being. I think that instead of fighting it so much that maybe, WVU should embrace that image and name that has been given to them and work with turning that into pleasing advertising for the university. Plus they are really shooting themselves in the foot by having places on campus that serve alcohol anyways so just embrace the image and get over it.
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This is very similar to WVU being a tobacco free campus, which is an even bigger crock of crap. It looks good to sponsors and people looking to come here, but in reality it is nearly impossible to correctly enforce. I would have liked to hear what a WVU official had to say about this.
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I agree. I tried to get in touch with a few officials over student life, however none replied 😦
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I find it interesting WVU claims to be a “dry campus,” but two of the campus’s restaurants/eateries sell alcohol. I would agree with the quote though about the “dry campus” label only referring to unauthorized use. I don’t really think these two places should stop selling alcohol. Many students at WVU are old enough to drink, so I think it’s somewhat better to have to university sponsored places serving alcohol. Seems these two places would be a bit more civilized than some of the bars and clubs downtown. Cool article!
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I find it interesting WVU claims to be a “dry campus,” but two of the campus’s restaurants/eateries sell alcohol. I would agree with the quote though about the “dry campus” label only referring to unauthorized use. I don’t really think these two places should stop selling alcohol. Many students at WVU are old enough to drink, so I think it’s somewhat better to have to university sponsored places serving alcohol. Seems these two places would be a bit more civilized than some of the bars and clubs downtown. Cool article!
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I had no idea that WVU considers themselves ‘dry’. They should just stop kidding themselves because it’s not that important to them if they just opened a new bar on Evansdale. I love that they have bars on campus though. There’s nothing better than going to get a beer after a long day of classes.
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I agree! Now that I recently turned 21, it’s nice to go to these places for a cold brew!
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Interesting concept! I honestly never really put two and two together but after reading this, it brings up a good point. I guess after being here for 4 years it’s something you become accustomed to but for me personally, as soon as I go home to Pennsylvania, I know that I have to go a little bit more out of my way because I can’t just run into the grocery store like you can here to pick up alcohol. One place that was a little bit more shocking to me was Octane. I was surprised this was allowed or even considered! Nonetheless, so cool. Great blog!
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