In its continuing attempt to test the waters of tolerance in the community it claims to serve, The GW Hatchet has once again acted in an intolerably irresponsible manner. For once, this act was not a written article or opinion. Instead, it was a glossy, color-filled pamphlet contained within the Jan. 17 edition advertising Lulu’s Club Mardi Gras. While certainly in the eyes of some a respectable business, The Hatchet has put its name on the line by supporting dangerously unhealthy and even deadly behaviors for its readers.

It would be difficult to object to an advertisement for Lulu’s, especially considering The Hatchet is an independent paper profiting off a hazardous substance. It is wrong to advertise a substance Mothers Against Drunk Drivers says costs too many lives and too much money. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says advertisements promoting drinking deals largely overshadow the social venue itself. Included in large bold print is a “Rush” session with free admission from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. and $1 drinks for an hour straight, encouraging extreme bingeing.

But that’s not all. Let’s not forget Midnight Madness, which allows students “Free Shooters” for 10 minutes. It’ll give the lucky winner $100, which The Hatchet would love to see redeemed to a person drunk enough to not realize they’re wearing 30 pounds in beads. At least they have the $100 to redeem for plenty of sobering drafts, rails and “Southern Comfort Hurricanes.”
-Pietro M. deVolpi
freshman