{"id":1838,"date":"2012-02-23T13:03:26","date_gmt":"2012-02-23T20:03:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/?p=1838"},"modified":"2013-02-26T18:20:14","modified_gmt":"2013-02-26T18:20:14","slug":"first-block-class-launches-ninth-block-watering-hole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/2012\/02\/23\/first-block-class-launches-ninth-block-watering-hole\/","title":{"rendered":"First Block Class Launches The Ninth Block"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not often that a class assignment becomes a tangible enterprise, but CC\u2019s new on-campus bar is the direct result of an economics course. A first block economics course, \u201cEntrepreneurship,\u201d was instrumental in launching The Ninth Block, the on-campus bar.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
The Ninth Block founders, from left to right, are Lee Carter, Ryan Patterson, Luke Urban and Bryce Daniels. Not shown is Tyler Thorne.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the start of the school year, seniors Lee Carter<\/strong>, Ryan Patterson<\/strong>, and Luke Urban<\/strong>, and juniors Bryce Daniels<\/strong> and Tyler Thorne<\/strong> took Economics and Business Professor Larry Stimpert\u2019s class in which the assignment was to write a business plan. Their first idea was a combination barbershop and bar, but they quickly dropped the barbershop side of the business and focused instead on creating a social space on campus in which students could gather and talk over a drink.<\/p>\n

The result is The Ninth Block, currently located in La\u2019au\u2019s Taco Shop behind the Spencer Building. Daniels, a golfer, came up with the name, which is derived from the 19th<\/sup> hole in golf, commonly meaning the bar or clubhouse. CC\u2019s Block Plan originally had nine blocks, and Patterson liked the historical significance and double connotation of the name.<\/p>\n

\u201cI strongly believe in the importance of students having a place to meet and socialize that doesn’t require an invitation. This gives students an option who might like to have a drink with a friend or group,\u201d said CC President Jill Tiefenthaler.<\/p>\n

Students under 21 can enter the bar but are not served alcohol. Entrants\u2019 IDs are checked, and different wrist bands are worn by students over and under 21 years of age.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted a constructive place where kids could gather. There was a lot of support from the administration and the students,\u201d said Urban. \u201cWhat we were hoping to do was create an alternative to the house party scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

The group was encouraged by Stimpert, who liked the plan but kept challenging the students to make it better. \u201dHe not only pushed our group, he pushed the whole class. He challenged everyone to do cool things with their project. He expected a lot out of everyone,\u201d Urban said. \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for Larry, none of this would have happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

The on-campus bar, which serves CC students of age, faculty, and staff, is a pilot program, but Patterson said the goal is to find it a permanent, on-campus location. Colorado College previously had a campus bar, Benjamin\u2019s Basement (also known as Benny\u2019s) in the Rastall Center, which opened in 1975 and served 3.2 beer, soft drinks, and snacks. It ceased to exist when the building was enlarged, remodeled, and renamed the Worner Campus Center in 1987.<\/p>\n

The students\u2019 project fits in with an administrative goal to provide a location on or near campus where students 21 years can meet, socialize, and drink responsibly. Once the idea began to take shape, the students got in touch with Mike Edmonds, dean of students, and President Tiefenthaler, to discuss the possibilities of operating an on-campus bar. Both were open to the proposal, and Edmonds put the group in touch with Joseph Coleman, a local businessman who owns several restaurants. The students formed a partnership (PDUCT Management, derived from the initials of the five students\u2019 last names) with Coleman, and Coleman agreed to house The Ninth Block in La\u2019au\u2019s, where it operates after the restaurant closes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an exciting opportunity, particularly for the students who came up with the idea,\u201d said John Lauer, senior associate dean of students and director of residential life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The bar, which is open from 9:15 p.m. to 1:45 a.m., Thursdays through Saturdays, serves nachos, chips and salsa, six different beers, and has a \u201climited but adequate\u201d bar; it does not, however, serve shots. The students said that was a deliberate decision, designed to help promote responsible drinking and to distance the bar from the house party atmosphere. \u201cIt should be a place where a professor and student would be comfortable going after dinner at the professor\u2019s house to talk about the issues of the day,\u201d Carter said.<\/p>\n

An on-campus bar helps minimize the risks of drinking, Patterson said. \u201cThis pilot program gives kids the opportunity to show they can be responsible. No one wants to mess it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ninth Block presents so many possibilities for learning,\u201d Lauer said. \u201cIt is truly a unique pilot that offers hands-on business experience, another gathering place for the campus community, and a chance for the administration to see how all involved respond to the project.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although the entrepreneurship class was only a block long (and all five got an A in the class), they continued to work on the project the entire semester, even spending their winter break getting their bartender certifications. The group would spend long hours discussing, developing, and discarding plans. They would take over a classroom, writing ideas on the chalkboard and fine-tuning them. Stimpert can vouch for that: \u201cThey developed a high level of commitment to their idea, and long after Block One was over, I\u2019d see them meeting together in a Palmer classroom late in the afternoon or at night hashing out details,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The students found they were constantly thinking about the challenges of getting the bar up and running\u2013 and knew the others in the group were too, based on the flurry of late-night texts and emails.\u00a0 \u201cIt was the perfect opportunity to learn what it is like to be a business owner and to operate a business on a small scale, said Carter. \u201cIt was a great experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0The bar\u2019s founders said that the Block Plan definitely contributed to their commitment to the project, and that it would have been challenging to maintain their momentum under a semester plan. \u201cIt definitely was one of the top five educational experiences of my life,\u201d Daniels said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe entrepreneurship course represents the best aspects of teaching and learning in Colorado College\u2019s Block Plan,\u201d said Stimpert.\u00a0\u201cThe students immersed themselves in the creative task of developing a complete business plan in three and one-half weeks.\u00a0 They benefitted from the opportunity to work with nine successful entrepreneurs \u2013 most of them Colorado College alumni \u2013 who participated in the course.\u00a0But most of the credit for the launch of The Ninth Block must go to these students.\u00a0Their individual personalities quickly jelled into a hardworking and effective group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Student reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. \u201cPeople are telling us that it\u2019s fantastic, that it\u2019s just what the campus needs,\u201d said Urban. \u201cEven people we don\u2019t know are coming up and saying they were sick of the party scene, and it\u2019s so great to be able to go someplace close by and have a real conversation. It makes all the work worthwhile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patterson said the endeavor has been the defining project of his senior year; a \u201ccapstone experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it will be very rewarding in the end. We want to show everyone that this is a viable, sustainable concept,\u201d Patterson said. \u201cIt definitely improves campus life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not often that a class assignment becomes a tangible enterprise, but CC\u2019s new on-campus bar is the direct result of an economics course. A first block economics course, \u201cEntrepreneurship,\u201d was instrumental in launching The Ninth Block, the on-campus bar. At the start of the school year, seniors Lee Carter, Ryan Patterson, and Luke Urban, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “First Block Class Launches The Ninth Block”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6],"tags":[72,78,139,242,259,262,266,276,312,383,460],"class_list":["post-1838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-around-campus","category-general-news","tag-bryce-daniels","tag-campus-bar","tag-economics-course","tag-joseph-coleman","tag-laaus","tag-larry-stimpert","tag-lee-carter","tag-luke-urban","tag-ninth-block","tag-ryan-patterson","tag-tyler-thorne","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/154"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1838"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2365,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838\/revisions\/2365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.coloradocollege.edu\/atb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}