An Edmonton bar attracts students with a new incentive ( Photo: Lasia Kretzel )

Thanks to new legislation in Alberta that limits the minimum price to legally sell alcohol, an Edmonton bar is taking an interesting and controversial way to continue attracting new customers.

Union Hall, a bar in Edmonton near the University of Alberta campus, has decided to instigate student night.  Every Thursday, students who show up before 10 p.m. with valid school ID receive $20, no strings attached. 

The recently-renovated club found a creative way to keep customers wanting more.  Instead of being able to offer cheap drinks, such as 25-cent highballs, an old promotion of the bar, Union Hall has decided to lure students in with cold hard cash.

As of Aug. 1, 2008 liquor-selling establishments in Alberta had to abide by new, stricter laws concerning the minimum price to sell liquor.  A bottle of beer or a cooler cannot be sold for less than $2.75, and a pint of beer cannot be sold for less than $3.20. 

In offering students cash, Union Hall has found a way to attract students who want a deal, and still maintain the legal price of alcohol.

This new promotion has received lots of attention, and not all of it good.  The Edmonton chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has made its position against the bar’s new policy very clear.  A MADD Edmonton spokeswoman, Joan Macleod, has said to other news sources “I think it’s the stupidest idea I have heard of in a long time,” arguing that any promotion that encourages students to drink is a bad one. 

 However, Kirsty Vogelesang, a University of Alberta student, doesn’t have any problems with being paid for going out on the town. 

“I have been contemplating going to [Union Hall] since seeing the ad,” said Vogelesang.  “In our student agenda there are ads that advertise [cash for students].”

An interesting loophole in the promotion is that anyone who wants to take the money and leave, is more than welcome to do so.  But the lure of staying and having a good time can often outweigh the desire for a quick buck. 

“I’d make a night out of it,” said Vogelesang, “I’d probably use the money for drinks, which is what I assume the money is intended for, in a backwards sort of way.”