I would think Penn State needs all the spare cash to pay the lawsuits from the Jerry Sandusky bone smuggling ring.
“Pennsylvania State University's board of trustees has authorized payment of roughly $60 million to settle about two dozen personal-injury claims by men who say they were sexually abused by former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, according to people familiar with the matter.”
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324263404578612244100607524
I guess that 300k is a mere drop in the bucket compared to 60 million. But IMO the 300k to pay taverns to stay closed is a complete waste of money that could be better spent on more important things.
I’m not advocating for massive public drunkenness by college kids on St. Patrick’ Day or at any other time of the year (Cinco de Mayo, New Years Eve, the week after final exams, the week leading up to graduation, pledge week, homecoming, celebrating a football or basketball champion ship, etc.), considering all the problems it causes, but in reality paying establishments to close on this one day a year isn’t going to do anything to cure the problem of alcohol abuse among some college students. If they want to get drunk out of their minds, this isn’t going to stop them. And I think it sends absolutely the wrong message to the young adults, those who are 21 years old and over who might just want to responsibly go out and have a beer or two with some friends - it tells them that they aren’t really responsible for their own actions, rather it is the legal establishments who are at fault if they get out of hand.
FWIW, back in the late ‘80’s I went to a Penn State football game with my husband and his good friend from work who was a Penn State graduate who got us tickets for a Penn State – Notre Dame game. I was amazed by the tailgating and partying by the adult Penn State alumni, a lot of them big time donors and boosters and many of them the parents of students. My husband’s friend took us around the parking lot and not only were we treated to some really great food, we were also given all sorts of alcohol at every stop; mimosas, bloody Mary’s, hot toddies, spiked cider, mulled wine, beer, shots; if I had even partaken in a ¼ of what I was offered that morning, at 10:00 AM, I would have been too drunk to walk from the parking lot to our seats at the stadium. Of course my husband and I didn’t imbibe to that sort of extreme but we did see more than our share of very drunken adults. If Penn State wants to really take a stand about public drunkenness, they might want to do something about the tailgating at football games. But of course, they won’t. There is too much of an income stream coming in to do that.