Do you remember the “fan cans”? Those evil cans of beer branded with collegiate color schemes that caused such a raucous back in September also raised a valid question: Where should the line be drawn between universities, college athletics and alcohol?

Where is beer’s place in college football? This decision, as far as the NCAA is concerned, is left to the individual institutions to decide. Each school is allowed to decide where, when and how alcohol is served during university events. This leaves each school open to do as they please: Some restrict it to luxury boxes, some serve it only in the first half and others ban it entirely. Some schools, like Yale, even mandate that tailgaters clear out by halftime.

Is this “decide on your own” policy a productive one? Implementation of a tailgate restriction at Iowa State would likely result in a mob brandishing pitchforks and torches. So, obviously, tailgating is an integral part of the experience, and, even though it’s evident that 100 percent of tailgaters aren’t drinking, it’s still very prevalent. This is not inherently a bad thing. In fact, Iowa State does a commendable job of keeping enough stadium staff, police officers and security guards around to make sure fans have a positive experience without getting out of control. Basically, our campus culture evolved into an environment that makes it easy to follow the rules we get to dictate.

Good job NCAA, you’re officially in the clear — at least for now — because your non-committal pick-your-own policy isn’t such a terrible idea. Turns out, it’s Iowa State that needs a sound talking to.

We allow tailgating, yet we do not serve alcohol in our stadium. This sends a message, unintentional or not, that the school supports alcohol as long as it’s outside the stadium, where individuals can be trusted with their own decisions; but as soon as they enter the stadium, it’s Cy’s way or the highway. This double-standard should be met with skepticism, especially by those of you who thought the “fan cans” were a sinister ploy to nab underage drinkers. Why trust someone in your parking lot, but not in a seat?

Ideally, Iowa State would either consistently support or chastise alcohol consumption. However, countless blurry gray areas exist on the issue. I-State-branded shot glasses, can koozies, coolers and, in some ways, the act of tailgating itself imply the university is not adamantly opposed to drinking.

Then the 180-degree turn: “fan cans” send the wrong message. Where, exactly, does the university stand on consumption, then? It isn’t entirely clear. The trend seems to be it’s acceptable when dollars and cents are involved, but it’s evil when something unapproved appears.

Add to the complexity the $7 beers sold to ISU fans in Arrowhead, which sold like hotcakes. Despite the huge amount of money at stake, athletics apparently won’t cross the line and sell alcohol at home games, even for $7 a cup.

The editorial board is officially stumped.

Not to beat the “fan can” horse to death, but it seems logical that Anheuser-Busch wouldn’t have bothered with the “fan can” promotion if alcohol was available for sale in college stadiums. Anheuser-Busch, Miller and countless other brewers would be competing to win lucrative in-stadium sales. The “fan cans” were a way to specifically target fervent tailgaters that comprise a huge portion of college football fans who cannot drink after kickoff.

So far, this may seem like thinking in circles, but that is the nature of this issue. Hypocrisy is a difficult thing to dissect, and now it’s time to piece all of this together. The NCAA doesn’t want to deal with alcohol, and neither does Iowa State. Frankly, drunks are a liability in a stadium with a 30-foot drop. The line between athletics and alcohol has been drawn, after all — it’s at the gate. Despite the monetary possibilities, Jack Trice remains dry, and the double-standard will likely remain unaddressed.

After all, it’s so convenient to retain plausible deniability in all situations. Taking a consistent stance on alcohol, for or against, is inconvenient, while blurry gray is easy and cheap. Should tailgating be banned? Absolutely not. Should Jack Trice remain dry? It’d be nice to hear someone saying, “Maybe not.” We’re not requesting a stadium full of booze-hounds, as there are obvious rules and issues that would need hammering out, but we are questioning the double standards discussed earlier.

Do we really need alcohol to have a good time at Iowa State? We might, but nobody knows for sure.