Northwestern Students in the 40s get their drank on. And by drank we mean glasses of Pepsi-Cola.
Photo: Northwestern Photo Archives
Listen up Willardites: you’re the reason Evanston is so sober. Or at least the reason it used to be. Oh, who are we kidding? We all know college students gravitate towards inebriants like Mary-Kate to Ashley. Northwestern students have always found their way around the rules—even that pesky Prohibition. Check out our timeline after the jump to see how Evanston set rules for NU students to break.
THE DEVIL’S FIRE WATER (1855)
Northwestern’s Methodist founders pass an amendment to the school’s charter prohibiting the sale of alcohol, otherwise known as “the devil’s fire water,” within four miles of the university. This four-mile dry radius attracts advocates of Prohibition to the town of Evanston, and the dry spell lasts for over 120 years.
FRANCES WILLARD INITIATES PROHIBITION (1874)
Much beloved by the ill-informed Willardites, Frances Willard, dean of the Women’s College at Northwestern and a devout Methodist, founds the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. The union seeks to rid the nation of said “fire water.”
CIRCUMVENTING PROHIBITION (1920-1933)
While the entire country follows Evanston’s example, NU students find ways to imbibe. Imports from Canada arrive in Wilmette, deliveries come by boat south of Evanston, and students fill out prescriptions for booze under the guise of “research.”
POST-PROHIBITION: EVANSTON BEHIND THE CURVE (1934)
As the 21st Amendment brings prohibition to a close and taverns open in Chicago and Skokie, Evanston and Northwestern still remain dry. However, some restaurants and private clubs implement BYOB policies and “blind pig” speakeasies are accessible in nearby towns.
STUDENT PLEAS FOR BOOZE DENIED (1967)
The Council on Undergraduate Life submits a liquor-on-campus proposal which is vetoed by Northwestern President Dr. J. Roscoe Miller. A survey shows that, not surprisingly, students are disappointed by the veto.
EVANSTON GIVES IN TO PEER PRESSURE (1972)
The Evanston City Council finally approves the sale of liquor in the town, arguing that businesses like restaurants and hotels would benefit from liquor licenses.
NU STUDENTS VICTORIOUS (1975)
After the state of Illinois allows alcohol to be sold to those 19 and older, Northwestern students demand a bar in Norris University Center and file a lawsuit to Cook County Circuit Court seeking to repeal the four-mile charter ban on the sale of liquor. The students are successful and alcohol becomes available legally on campus for the first time in over 120 years.
EVANSTON FIRST BECOMES EVANSTON’S FINEST (1987)
While it may be a major shit hole, EV1 is the first store in Evanston to secure a liquor license to sell exclusively liquor. It gains a reputation and quickly accrues a loyal following which bolsters tax revenue for the city.
THE 90s: FRAT PARTY HAYDAY (1990-99)
All fraternities on campus have wet status.
TAILGATE CATASTROPHE (1999)
Years of policy violations at tailgates come to a head when the Interfraternity Council votes to make all future fraternity tailgates dry events after one memorable football game during which drunken frat bros puke in the Ryan Field parking lot and harass elderly women.
SECOND DRY SPELL (2009)
The last wet fraternity on campus, Sigma Phi Epsilon, loses its wet status as part of university sanctions.
WET FRATS IN THE FUTURE? (2010)
IFC President Michael Beadle drafts a proposal to allow fraternities to apply for a wet status. The measure would allow students over 21 to have alcohol in fraternity houses and at registered events. The proposal is currently undergoing revisions.
DILLO DAY AND BOOZE (OFFICIALLY) UNITE (2011)
While booze is never in short supply on Dillo Day, Northwestern officials bring an oh-so posh beer garden to the Lakefill. Students over 21 (like, two forms of ID officially over 21) are allowed to buy drinks and sustain that well planned buzz.
