Doubtless to the chagrin of many University students, the face of one of their most loved traditions may be about to change. After having their liquor license revoked by the Commonwealth on Jan. 31, J. Benjamin Dick and other Foxfield bigwigs have entered into a marriage of convenience with their traditional enemy, ABC, and the effects of this alliance promise to show at this year's event.
After years of unsuccessful attempts at thwarting Foxfield's efforts to obtain a liquor license, it seems that the ABC may have finally won a definitive battle in this war. A video of the orange spectator section of last year's races proved -- to the Commonwealth -- enough to merit the revocation of Foxfield's liquor license and the demand for a mandatory investigation, financed at Foxfield's expense. In the wake of these decisions and in an effort to preserve the event in its traditional format as much as possible, Foxfield officials have agreed to make efforts to combat the problem of heavy drinking -- especially underage -- that ABC alleges surrounds the annual horse races.
Many students will almost certainly express annoyance and even outrage at many of the new restrictions, but it is important for us all to step back and look at this situation objectively. It is very easy to assume a narrow and strictly personal view of these new policies, but the bottom line is that underage drinking and public disturbance laws are consistently ignored at Foxfield. In addition, due to the high levels of alcoholconsumed by many individuals at this event, it can become a potentially dangerous situation for many people. And, while there are many good and logical arguments which stand in favor of the new measures being taken, there are few -- if any -- against them.
Anyone who has ever been in the student section of the Foxfield races knows exactly what kind of blatant disregard for drinking laws and responsible behavior takes place. To argue that students should be entitled to a vacation from the law merely because "it is a University tradition," is simply asinine. Such absurd logic wouldn't fly in any court of law, and it shouldn't fly at our highly esteemed University.
In addition, those of us who remain dead-set on consuming a fifth of JD throughout the course of the day will be happy to hear that many of the reforms that have been passed seem to have suspiciously "formal" (wink, wink) tendencies. First of all, county police will still not be allowed within the gates of the races; they will have to remain outside. In their place, Foxfield-hired private guards will be keeping the peace in the midst of the action. One has to wonder exactly how active these guards will be, but should they take their ascribed duty seriously it could spell trouble for younger students, and the less -- ahem -- conservative individuals who are of legal drinking age.
These guards will have the authority to administer summonses and fines ranging anywhere from $100-1,000 dollars to individuals found to be drinking underage. Furthermore, those who are caught providing alcohol to minors could face 12 months in prison and/or fines up to $2,500. Not exactly the anarchic, carefree environment we upperclassmen are used to, but though some of these measures may seem severe, to imagine that Foxfield stands on the brink of martial law would be misguided. If Foxfield and Dick were actually serious about ruining the tradition, as students would say, then the county police would not remain excluded from the festivities.
These new measures, in conjunction with a new "containment area" for individuals disrupting the peace or needing medical attention, could actually serve to make Foxfield a better experience for everyone. There is little chance that the private guards are going to be harassing individuals who are not engaging in egregiously problematic behavior, and hopefully these new regulations will encourage individuals to think twice before taking that fifth shot of Jager in an hour. The new Foxfield policies will hopefully allow us to bypass the ugly parts of the races (does anyone actually enjoy seeing drunk people vomiting all over their pink dresses and polo-shirts?), without sacrificing the nature of the tradition overall. In addition, by providing incentive for spectators to behave more responsibly, these new measures could help to avoid medical problems such as alcohol poisoning that have a tendency to occur at the races.
For those of us who have grown to love the Foxfield races as they are, it may be hard to avoid jumping to their defense when we hear of what seem at first glance to be "meddlesome" regulations. However, we need to look logically at this situation and realize that, whether or not we may want to admit it, some sort of control of the races is necessary -- and overdue. Given the usual state of many students at the races, we have to be conscious of the fact that the measures could have been much worse. Instead of jumping to anger, we should be willing to recognize our own errors -- which are no less merely because they have been unofficially sanctioned in the past -- and be thankful for the fact that the Foxfield tradition has been preserved at all, not to mention quite possibly improved.
(Laura Parcells' column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at lparcells@cavalierdaily.com.)
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