To not agree with moves to ban alcohol in a University as it may be best for Muslim beliefs

[HalfPastWine]

[[http://www.metro.co.uk/news/896031-london-university-believes-bar-on-bars-may-be-best-for-muslim-beliefs Here]

Surely, if you don't agree with alcohol consumption you keep away from such establishments? The campus has lots of facilities to accommodate everyone including cafes.

Is this just taking things too far?

Prof Gillies told a conference, adding he was "not a great fan of alchol on campus".

Firstly it's a shame that the Telegraph doesn't spell check, but also, it's sounds as though he has his own agenda to push, as well as that of a good proportion of the students.

So the change is wanted by all sectors of the uni.

Has anyone actually complained??

I can't imagine anyone thinking 'I'm offended' when walking past a pub!

I'm laughing at the typo here

If you look at the comments below it seems there have been aero complaints about the bar from Muslim students

So that's alcohol and chocolate they want to mess with

HalfPastWine - yes it is all about attracting more Muslim students and most especially from overseas. Frankly, university should broaden the mind. The danger with this at the extreme is that some universities will be effectively condoning segregation of race, sex and religion.

It is not a good move and I have some experience of it happening at another university where Muslim students go around in groups and rarely mix with other student groups. Muslim girls in particular very obviously do not mix with anyone but other Muslim girls.

It doesn't sound like a 'ban' - just some places not selling alcohol.

I'm far more concerned by 'Many of its female Muslim students "can only really go to university within four miles of home and have to be delivered and picked up by a close male relative", he said.

Surely students are all over 18? So, some of these young women may be happy with this arrangement, but is there any organisation (and funding) to help those who are trapped in this misogynist culture to escape it?

why shouldnt students have their own bars ?????????

plenty of other sections of the population have their own places to meet,whether a place of worship,sports club,the list is endless

i do realise that these placec dont regard drink,but still you go to a certain place to meet like minded people isnt the basis the same

I wonder if the House of Commons will ban alcohol in their bars to encourage more Muslim MPs?

Yeah right.....

The article says the vice chancellor is mulling it over - presumably as part of an equality and diversity initiative. It doesn't say a decision has been made. Those sorts of minutes on a website might encourage more international muslim students though at a time when universities are desperate to raise revenue and to be honest London Metropolitan isn't going to do it on the basis of its academic reputation.

It's wrong to ban bars from universities on the basis of muslim beliefs but I'm not sure it's wrong to ban them especially if the ban were effective during the day time, say before 6pm. That isn't a culture which is supportive of educational standards.

Are student bars still subsidised? One of the links implied it. Not sure that's a good idea nowadays. When I was a student, we had grants but they were just enough to live on and there were no loans so even with cheap beer I don't think people could afford too much. Nowadays presumably some will run up debt and liver failure.

I think reducing the emphasis on drinking in English universities is probably a good thing.

You shouldn't need to drink to take part in Freshers' Week etc.

A lot of the people of my acquaintance who went to university in England seem to have spent an inordinate amount of time (and money) getting plastered on a regular basis.

It does seem a bit of a shame if your college years are mostly about cheap booze and recovering from hangovers.

why can't students just go to the pub though?

ds has zero interest in boozing (unlike his mother) and i think he's now quite the norm amongst the young

don't see the problem myself

my objection is the whole PC thing really,im sick to the back teeth of things constantly being tinkered with

but change is part of life

I dont think it's bad. I think that alcahol is almost as damaging as smoking and THAT'S banned everywhere. Only thing is that drinking is more sociably accepted.

I didn't mean ALCAHOL I meant alcohol.

I agree that there are drinking issues that need to be addressed in this country but this is not the way to do it.

I think the Vice Chancellor has certainly cocked up on this occasion. If his concern is the drinking culture he should have addressed it as such but by raising it as a religious belief/cultural issue then he is just causing media hype and attractive negative attention towards the Muslim community.

• attracting negative attention

Its mental, you can't have tolerance only one way!

If there were no bars at the uni and no bars in the vicinity, then I could understand the objection from those who enjoy a drink, but do not understand why it is so bad to have one place on campus with a bar, and another one without.

Secondly, I think it is a decision made by the University to attract more foreign students and generate revenue. We have to remember that there are many cultures (not just muslim) around the world that do not agree with alcohol being so readily available to its upcoming generation

Its mental, you can't have tolerance only one way!

If you look at this BBC item from earlier this week, the alcohol-free zone idea looks a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on a sinking ship.

what squeegle said

it wont happen, no way! but nice media muslim bash IMO

defuse Just because alcohol is readily available it doesn't mean you have to drink it.

I could agree to not having alcohol in cafes on campus but not the complete ban of alcohol on campus. That would be unfair.

Its a shite uni anyway.