I’m writing this letter in response to Nicolai Brown’s Jan. 23 column, “GSB involvement helped pass keg ordinance.” In it, he chastises the Government of the Student Body for weak language in a resolution regarding the keg ordinance, saying “power doesn’t work that way – it gives only when it must.” He also implies that the $1.5 million budget GSB controls should give it power regarding the issue.

This is a misconception. The vast majority of that $1.5 million is allocated to student organizations. GSB’s political power is not derived from controlling purse strings, but by being recognized as the representatives of the student body. As such, it must rely on the persuasiveness of its arguments when dealing with most political issues, not an ability to bully others into submission.

Regarding the keg ordinance specifically, I believe that some important revisions were made as a result of the efforts of GSB and concerned individuals. As a GSB senator last school year and a concerned community member, I spent a lot of time dealing with the ordinance being proposed at that time and had three specific qualms with it, two of which have been addressed.

The new version of the ordinance requires law enforcement to wait 24 hours before viewing the registration records. This helps prevent the logs from being used as party registration. It also provides keg buyers with more privacy than they had previously, since all keg sellers kept information that was previously accessible to law enforcement at any time.

The new version of the ordinance also decriminalizes not returning a keg within 60 days. The only penalty for not doing so now is the loss of the keg buyer’s deposit. Those of you who want those stylish keg grills and furniture will no longer be criminals.

I still question whether the ordinance will have the desired effects of reducing underage drinking and holding accountable those who purchase for minors. GSB also attempted to address this complaint, however, by calling for a sunset clause and a study to look into the results of the ordinance.

Despite the fact that a keg ordinance has now been passed, the efforts of GSB, its members and others were able to cause significant changes to what had been a very poorly constructed ordinance.

Kyle Krause

Alumnus

Ames