Last spring, Koerner’s had its liquor license suspended by UBC, was forced to make substantial changes to operations and all but grovel at Stephen Toope’s feet to get their license back. It would be hard to imagine the beloved campus pub in worse shape thanks to the bungling of the Graduate Student Society (GSS).

But bless them, they are trying.

Earlier this month the GSS Executive came to the conclusion that after losing nearly $200,000 since the beginning of 2010, perhaps shutting down Koerner’s for the summer time was a sensible business decision and brought it before council for a vote. Nothing wrong there.

Yet the general impression President Andrew Patterson and VP Administration Paul Save have given the public is not that of decisive leaders who can make tough decisions, but high schoolers in student council who were given a little too much power. They alerted pretty much nobody of the decision—which ticked off councillors and Koerner’s employees alike—and then tried to argue that CUPE’s threat of a lawsuit for terminating summer jobs without collective negotiation was an idle threat. The next day, the executive fired Gerald Cole, the manager of Koerner’s. So, other than failing to communicate properly, a union threatening to sue and no management to oversee a new business plan, this operation went smoothly.

Student leaders, with real power and responsibility for the first time, often make rash decisions. The GSS has pledged to find a way to reopen Koerner’s, but with Cole gone, it is now entirely on the shoulders of the executives themselves to steward its return. It’s a monumental task, and given how they handled this one, we’re not all that confident.

When the GSS eventually announces the final day Koerner’s will be open this summer, we suggest you stop by there and order a pint. Odds are, it’ll be the last one you have there.

(+12 rating, 9 votes)

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