News in Brief: Valhalla closed indefinitely

9/18/08 7:00pm

Valhalla, Rice's graduate student pub, is closed indefinitely because of noncompliance with the dry campus policy that took effect during Hurricane Ike. Rice University Police Department Sergeant Carla Barnette said the pub violated alcohol restrictions that applied to the entire campus, which includes all graduate student institutions. Valhalla manager David Fortunato said he could not comment on the matter, but that the official story was that the pub was closed for renovation.

The no-alcohol mandate began last Friday in preparation for Hurricane Ike and ended at noon Monday. The case is currently under review by the university, and the pub will remain closed until further notice, Barnette said.

Physics and astronomy graduate student Aramis Martinez said he was not aware Valhalla was closed or that Rice was declared a dry campus.

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"As far as I know, there was no announcement on the [Graduate Student Association] listserv (about the alcohol restriction), so it would imply that no one knew," Martinez said.

Martinez considers Valhalla to be the central location for graduate students to socialize, acting as the equivalent to the undergraduate's use of the college commons.

"It would be a bad idea for it to remain closed for long because Valhalla is the main social center for grad students," Martinez said.

Rachel Carlson, Catherine Bratic, Cindy Dinh & Ariel Shnitzer

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