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Today, a policy change was announced at the business school:
A number of reports have reached the administration about a small number of students being disruptive in class, in ways that involve the consumption of alcoholic beverages. After consulting with University authorities, the GSB henceforth will adhere to the following rule:
The consumption of alcoholic beverages in class is prohibited, except when done at the initiation of the instructor for a specific pedagogical purpose. Students who are so inebriated that they are unable to participate appropriately in classroom activities should not come to class; instructors may insist that inebriated students or students who are consuming alcohol leave class.
While this rule permits the consumption of alcoholic beverages for pedagogical purposes, we ask that instructors who are intending to do this think carefully whether the use of alcoholic beverages is necessary.
Students will, on occasion, receive from class visitors gifts of alcoholic beverages. These gifts should not be imbibed during class periods; neither should students seek permission to imbibe these gifts during class periods. If proscribed behavior persists, we will reluctantly ask the visitors who bring these gifts to refrain from doing so.
Not soon after our dean had sent out this email, funny remarks came streaming into my inbox from all over Stanford University. Apparently, this email had made its rounds quickly and had made the GSB the laughing stock of the rest of the university. Remarks were in good humor. Most of them were requests to be invited to class if a professor handed out alcohol for pedagogical purposes.
Feuerzangenbowle all over again. (In case anyone thought there would be no fun in graduate student life.) I guess it is of relevance to know here that Gordon and Biersch of the Gordon Biersch brewing company show up in class whenever their case is being taught, and typically they bring boatloads of beer. Recently, their case has been taught multiple times.
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