For the weeks surrounding Homecoming and Frost Week this year, Queen’s Pub and The Underground will have their doors locked shut, following a hardline decision by the AMS Board of Directors.

On Wednesday, the Board called a special meeting to address the “workplace culture” of the AMS Pub Service, known as TAPS. Instances of hazing lead to vandalism and student hospitalizations during a night of staff initiation.

In a Sept. 15 press release, the AMS wrote that the Board had struck a special committee “to investigate the issue,” chaired by former Board chair Mike Blair, Sci’ 17. The committee also includes a representative from the University.

During the meeting, the Board took immediate actions to cease any TAPS socials for the remainder of the year, and to place an AMS Human Resources representative in all service staff interviews during the Fall and Winter hiring periods.

As well, the future TAPS training week is set to be completely dry. The last action taken by the Board was the shut-down of QP and The Underground during both Homecoming and Frost Week.

When asked why repercussions were being placed on alumni and non-TAPS students, rather than focusing discipline solely on internal figures, Vice President (Operations) Dave Walker held firm. 

“The AMS Board of Directors felt that it was necessary to send a strong message to both the management now as well as the future,” Walker wrote in an email to The Journal.

“Research on hazing, including the Queen’s report, show that issues of hazing continue year over year and this is essential to ensuring cultural change. We believe that this will make TAPS a better service for students in the long run.”

The press release didn’t include any mention of discipline for the managers and supervisors who conducted the initial hazing.

Walker, who took responsibility for the hazing in an interview with The Journal after the fact, wrote in his email to the paper that “out of respect for our staff, AMS policy is not to discuss discipline and human resources issues publicly.”