Simon Poitrimolt / McGill Tribune

Over the last year, Bar des Arts (BdA), run by the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS), has seen a series of changes in policy that have frustrated many students. 

Founded in 2007, BdA is a staple service of the AUS, open Thursdays from 4:00 to 9:00 p.m. The fall semester has seen a standardization of the bar’s atmosphere, notably with the introduction of cup regulations. These changes have come with a crackdown by the administration on alcohol-serving institutions at McGill. 

In September, BdA, in conjunction with Gerts, implemented a new plan that grants free entry to the campus bar’s Thursday events after students get their hands stamped at BdA. BdA’s staff now dress all in black, and they serve beer behind a row of bottle openers attached by a few planks of wood, all in front of a redesigned BdA poster emblazoned with the bar’s new logo.

Other changes, including the bar’s new cup regulations, have inconvenienced some students. Under the new rules, students are encouraged to bring reusable plastic cups, or can buy disposable Boreal cups for $1.50, up from one dollar last year. The bar has always banned glass cups, but has only just begun enforcing the rule. Rachel Lanphear, BdA’s Publicity Manager, explained that the changes were made to ensure that the bar will be around for future students to enjoy.

“Everything that we have been doing, in terms of changes, had to happen because the administration is really cracking down on all alcoholic institutions on campus,” Lanphear said. 

“Last year, [the bar’s staff] did not crack down as hard, which is probably why people are reacting more this year,” she added. 

“Being a server, there are a lot of issues with the kind of cups that people bring in,” Jason Karmody, AUS’s VP Events, said.  

Some students come with disposable cups and are forced to throw these out only to purchase new cups from the bar. One student, Ben Kurzius, U3 arts, had his red beer cup taken at the door and had to buy one from BdA.

“It’s unfair that I have to buy a cup for a dollar fifty,” he said. “It’s another way to profit-monger.”

Though they caused some frustration, the bar’s managers are confident that the new policies have positive implications for the future.

“We are not making a profit, at all,” said Lanphear. “We are just trying to break even so that we can keep going.”