The summer, Rutgers University announced that it would sponsor a student tailgate at home football games this season. Nicknamed "the Alley,'' the tailgating area was located in a gravel lot across from the Werblin Recreation Center on the Busch Campus, about 400 yards from High Point Solutions Stadium.

said it would be shutting down the student tailgate at home games for the remainder of the season, delivering the news via Twitter:

Rutgers Athletic Director Pat Hobbs had visited the Alley before Rutgers' game against New Mexico to talk to students. While onstage, someone handed the AD a can of beer. Hobbs first says "no, I can't drink that right now", then gives in to the crowd.

After that video was posted online, Hobbs apologized, saying

My first concern is always for the safety and well-being of our students.  Anyone who was at the (student tailgate) Saturday knows that I was acting to ensure that. I regret that any action on my part can be interpreted as promoting the use of alcohol. That was certainly not my intention.

Wow. An adult drank a beer in front of other adults, and he has to apologize for it? I get that he's an authority figure, but come on, it's college. Since this is an official tailgating area designated by the school, with campus police showing a strong presence, you have to assume that the students are of age (yes fine, that's a large assumption, and it's not like no one has ever snuck in or used a fake ID, but still, when you have something like this ON CAMPUS, it's usually more heavily-guarded than some dive bar in the next town over).

What do you think? Should Hobbs have apologized, or was this totally overblown?

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