Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan approves of Bar Crawl, the senior class council approves of Bar Crawl and the students approve of Bar Crawl, but there is one man standing in the way of letting your $8-mug live up to its potential: SUNY Chancellor John Ryan.

Chancellor Ryan has done everything in his power to stop you from celebrating your hard work as a student. He has very publicly pressured SUNY Binghamton and city officials to prevent Bar Crawl from happening. He has nearly put an end to the Fountain Day tradition at SUNY Albany, and hopes to have similar success at Binghamton.

Bar Crawl is a non-University sanctioned event for seniors who are of legal drinking age. We were born in 1984/1985, and since New York state thinks we are old enough to handle the dangers of alcohol, who is Chancellor Ryan to tell us what we can and cannot do?

Chancellor Ryan’s interests in this matter are strictly personal. He is concerned only with the opinions of alumni, state officials and the U.S. World News and Report, but not those of the students. Looking good in the public eye by taking a stand and pretending to care about the students’ interests is preventing over 2,000 seniors from coming together in celebration. Ryan’s own personal interests are an inconvenience for everyone involved.

In an effort to appease the chancellor, the University has called in State Liquor officials to ensure that no underage drinking occurs. Mayor Ryan has instated an increased police presence Downtown on May 17, but has said that he is well aware that Bar Crawl cannot be stopped. Now we will be faced with a police force that does not want to protect the student population, but the officers will instead be out to write open container fines until their hands bleed. Who really gets helped out in this situation, besides the chancellor’s ego?

I have news for you, Mr. Chancellor. Drinking occurs all the time on every campus across America; SUNY Binghamton is not the exception to the rule. State Street is packed every weekend, mostly with underage drinkers. We seniors are so tired of the ‘Downtown scene’ that we prefer to stay home and drink with friends instead of trying to contend with crowds for a $4-Bud Light. Do not make yourself out to be a crusader because you tried to single-handedly demolish Bar Crawl, an event for people of legal age. You cannot stop Bar Crawl from happening. All you are doing is making it less enjoyable for the students who deserve to reward themselves for four years of hard work. Let us celebrate our achievements. It is not illegal, and we are just trying to have a good time. I am sure you like to kick back and have some wine every once in a while, so why is it so difficult for you to afford us the same privilege?

Countless universities pride themselves in their deep-seated traditions. What does Binghamton have? We lack a slope like Cornell, a fountain like Albany and football games at which to tailgate; all we have is State Street. There is not much that we pride ourselves on at this University. Students have little if any interest in our sports teams and I do not even need my entire right hand to count the number of students who know the alma mater song. There is, however, a certain culture that exists on our campus, and Bar Crawl is a huge part of it. It is one of the events, if not the only one, that truly has the power to unite the student body. Don’t take away one of the few things that we can call our own.

‘ Erica Fritz is a senior psychology and pre-med major. On May 17, she will be sure to raise her glass to toast John Ryan and will then proceed to chug it.