You can’t have your Heineken and drink it, too. Or, maybe you can.

Homecoming is a little over a week away. If you’re 21 or older, you can show up toting a bottle of wine or a can of your favorite brew.

Or, you can bring a Pepsi.

It all depends on which alcohol policy you follow. And these days, you might as well use beer goggles to read the rules – they’re too fuzzy.

On one hand, Hilltopics says the university “prohibits the possession, furnishing, or use of alcoholic beverages by all persons while on university owned or controlled property.”

But flip your beer cap, and there’s another policy. President Ransdell says alcohol – only beer, wine and wine coolers – are allowed at some university functions at South Campus, the Alumni Center, the faculty center and, of course, tailgating.

The two policies completely conflict with one another.

So our big question is, when it comes to legal issues, which policy are you going to follow?

Y

ou can’t do both.

We’re sure there are reasons why Western wants to have alcohol on campus. It probably has a lot to do with entertaining future donors. But, hey, we could be wrong.

The problem is, there isn’t clarity with the policies right now.

We’ll live with whatever policy you create. But we won’t live with a six-pack of policies. Pick one, and run with it.

Last year, Ransdell, Gene Tice and Howard Bailey said creating an alcohol policy that allowed alcohol at certain times was too complicated. What’s changed now? If Western is going to allow alcohol on campus, there should be one written set of rules that everyone can follow.

T

he current policies, written and unwritten, undermine the authority of our student handbook and people like resident assistants whose job it is to enforce the policy.

We shouldn’t make our employees look like fools.

We’re fine with being able to drink at tailgating. And we’re fine if you decide we should leave the Budweiser at home.

But whatever policy you’re going to use, make it known. Clarify the rules and explain the dos and don’ts.

And please, publicize the policy. Make a new Hilltopics, and pass it out

next semester.

In the meantime, what about the confusion and frustration of tailgating? Because of your indecision, we don’t know what we can do.

Just tell us, in writing, if we can have a beer.

This editorial represents the majority opinion of the Herald’s 10-member board of student editors.