Brian Foley, Contributing Writer
It doesn’t seem that long to me, but it was probably before your parents were born, that I was a freshman at the State University College at Oneonta.
As an adult, auditing student at S.U.N.Y. Oneonta in 2025, I can see many similarities to “back in the day,” but the differences stand out much more prominently to my jaded eye. This will address an issue that may not be as significant as others, but it might be more fun to explore —namely, alcohol on campus (or not, as it were.)
Most of the readers of the State Times will be underage as far as drinking. This wasn’t the case in the autumn of 1974. “Stoneonta” (as it was sometimes called, even back then) was not a particularly drug-use-heavy school. Marijuana was still totally illegal, and the draconian Rockefeller drug laws were still in effect. On the other hand, Oneonta was known to have only about twenty-two churches as compared to fifty-five bars, and students were very welcome in all but a few of them.
S.U.C.O. had a reputation for being a drinking school. Not just because of the downtown bars, but because drinking was allowed on campus. Not only allowed—let me tell you a little about the campus alcohol scene.
Pretty much every dorm room had a mini-fridge stocked with Bud, Coors, Genny Cream, (or Labatts, if you were lucky enough to have a roommate with a car to make forages into Canada.) Those brands don’t sound too good now, because of the craft beer revolution, but at least you could have them on campus, with no limits on the quantity. And you could get a six pack of Rolling Rock for under two bucks.
My roommates and I lived on the ground floor of Sherman Hall. On nice days we’d open the window, put some chairs outside, make some cocktails and have “veranda parties.”
At the time, the Student Association actually supplied free kegs of beer for dorm parties in the lounges. You read that right. Not only that, but they also sponsored beer-blast concerts at College Camp each semester, with such groups as The David Bromberg Band, NRBQ, Commander Cody, etc. Those concerts sometimes were accompanied by a hundred kegs of free beer.
Get this—there was a bar on campus. The Rathskeller was in the basement of the Hunt Union, looking out on the pond. It had a huge fireplace in the center, lots of tables, and a pizza oven where you could get some of the best pizza in town. They also served nickel beers and quarter pitchers. One of the things I think were actually beneficial about “The Rat” was that both students and professors would meet there. There were some great philosophical discussions around that fireplace.
Here’s a confession— I am not a drinker. I occasionally have a drink, but I don’t really enjoy the taste or the feeling of alcohol. I just wanted to document the scene at the time. Would I like to see the drinking age lowered and alcohol brought back to campus? No, not really. I don’t think it’d work anymore. There are better things to advocate for.
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