It's a wonderful thing that KU Pub has reopened. That it did is a testament to how UD students can pull together and make their voices heard when faced with issues they truly care about; according to a recent Flyer News article, over 4,500 students and alumni joined a Facebook group called "Save the KU Pub." And everyone I've talked to said that when it reopened, the place was packed. I feel really good about that.

But I'd feel a lot better if I knew the Pub was going to stay open. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that unless we make some changes, in three months we'll end up in the same place we did three weeks ago.

The reason I'm afraid of this is that I don't think the mass movement to get the Pub reopened has in any way changed the conditions which caused it to close in the first place: low patronage and high maintenance costs which made continuing to operate untenable from a business standpoint. And, despite the initial interest, I'm not sure that has really changed.

Sure, the place was full on the first weekend. But what about the second weekend, and then the weekend after that? After the initial surge through the reopened doors, can student interest in the Pub be sustained?

It's often said that we don't know how much we value something until it's gone. What that also says, though, is that we failed to fully appreciate what we had before we lost it.

And when one really thinks about it, the problem of the Pub's empty seats boils down to the fact that it doesn't really offer anything other local bars like Milano's, Tim's or the Fieldhouse don't already have: karaoke, trivia, dancing and wider selections of draft beer.

Moreover, vast quantities of cheap (free) beer are available at student houses on any given weekend. The Ghetto is, more or less, a giant all-you-can-drink special with no cover charge. And what bar in the world can compete with that by selling booze alone?

Conducting business as usual at the Pub will eventually put us in the exact same position as before. In order for the Pub to work, its management is going to have to get creative and change the business model to provide unique amenities which no other establishment can. That can only be accomplished by opening a dialogue with students to find out what they want from the Pub, because ultimately, the students are the patrons. The temporary closing might actually have been a blessing in disguise. It's given us a chance to evaluate a model which didn't work and change it into something that does.

So what changes to the Pub will work? I don't have any final answers, but I do have a few suggestions.

I will admit to an ulterior motive because I play guitar in a rock band on campus, and I think it would be incredibly cool if UD student bands, comedians and other artists got a chance to play there regularly. We have a wealth of student performers: the musicians who play at Thursday Night Live, a first -class improv comedy group in On The Fly, a number of rock bands playing both covers and original music.

Indeed, the times when I've seen the Pub the most crowded have been when a band or other performance has drawn people there. We have the makings of a great bar with all the trimmings, right in the middle of campus. The Pub might even be the most under utilized space at UD, given the potential it has that isn't used.

For the Pub to work, it can't just be another watering hole - it must be our watering hole. If we continue to operate it as we usually do, then we will only see it closed down again. But if we creatively rework it into a place where students can share their best art and music and experiences with each other, then we can turn something good into something great.