For one afternoon only, engineering students and alumni will be able to return to Clark Hall Pub the Friday of Homecoming weekend.
“We’ve been in continuous communication with alumni throughout the process and the feedback we’d got is that they’d really, really appreciate it if [Clark] could be open for one afternoon,” said Rob MacNamara, Engineering Society vice-president (operations).
The pub, including the patio, will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Homecoming Friday only.
Because the pub is still technically closed and therefore without staff, security services or use of the University’s liquor licence, the event will be catered by The Harbour, the Kingston-based company that catered Science Formal last year and will cater the event again this year.
Student Constables will supervise the event.
MacNamara said EngSoc has left most of the communication with alumni up to the applied science office of advancement.
“We’ve been working with the office of advancement to make sure the alumni are being taken care of in an appropriate manner,” he said, adding that the office of advancement is keeping alumni up to date on the pub’s status.
After Homecoming Ritual, MacNamara said, EngSoc members may be joining the volunteers on Aberdeen Street the following night.
“We’ll be opening it only for the afternoon then we’ll be throwing on our red hats and helping out the volunteers,” he said. “We’re going to be talking about it as an exec but right now I don’t see why we wouldn’t.”
Adam Zabrodski, EngSoc vice-president (academic) and the event’s organizer, said he hopes it will help remind people of the pub’s positive history.
“We’re just trying to use it as a turning point, looking to where Clark will go in the future,” he said. “It’s to bring attention to the fact that we are trying to rebuild it and reopen. … We’ve got a lot of negative feedback and negative publicity in the past. We’re sort of turning that around.”
Zabrodski said using a catering company was the only option available.
“We currently don’t have any staff, so bringing in a catering company that provides their own staff, their own equipment, they take care of everything related to alcohol.”
Maddie Watt, Sci ’09, will attend Ritual with a group of engineering friends.
“I think that everybody’s pretty excited that they were able to get it opened up,” she said. “I think we’re sort of looking at it as a good way to get Clark back eventually.”
Zabrodski and MacNamara discussed the event with Bruce Griffiths, director of residence and hospitality services.
Griffiths said the decision to hold the event using a third-party liquor licence required very little discussion because of EngSoc’s previous experience with the company.
“I think there was a certain comfort level around that.”
He said the University is confident The Harbour will send experienced staff and management.
Catering companies such as The Harbour have a catering endorsement on their liquor licences to allow them to cater at venues that aren’t otherwise licenced.
“You’re basically bringing your license to different venues,” Griffiths said.
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.