News in Brief: Valhalla announces reopening

By Catherine Bratic     10/2/08 7:00pm

After being shut down by Student Judicial Programs for violating a temporary dry campus policy in effect during Hurricane Ike, Valhalla has announced it will reopen following the completion of renovations. Valhalla manager John Stanley said that he expects the pub to be able to reopen next Friday.These renovations include the installation of a new refrigeration system and the repair of a broken pipe, Valhalla Bartender Tim Friedman said. These projects were interrupted when Rice University Police discovered the pub serving alcohol during the period of Hurricane Ike, and subsequently changed the locks to Valhalla.

Rice Student Judicial Affairs is continuing its investigations regarding the students responsible for misconduct, Dean of Student Judicial Programs Don Ostdiek said.

Graduate students contested the closing of Valhalla, arguing that the the policy was not communicated to them. Graduate Student Association Parliamentarian Kristjan Stone said it was unreasonable to punish all the graduate students for the mistakes of a few during the dry campus spell by closing Valhalla.

---

---

"It helps if you think of Valhalla as a department," Stone said. "If a professor or a student in that department screws up, you don't shut down the entire department.

---