Emilie Vadeboncoeur – Director of Marketing and Communications

For decades, The Gait has been the heart and soul of Bishop’s. It has acted as the physical manifestation of the “work hard, play hard” mantra that so many of us live by, here in Lennoxville. However, over the past few years, it has been hard to ignore the change in student participation and decline in attendance, marking a shift from an on-campus watering hole to a regulated event space, driven by a mix of budget tightening and shifting Gen Z habits.

Image courtesy of The Gait

As a Gait manager myself, I’ve often heard alumni stories describing the bar as a go-to space for students. It was the default destination for students to let loose. The Gait was known to be busy from opening until close at 3 a.m, which we know is no longer the case. The Gait today only really hits capacity on big weekends like Homecoming, Gait Gatsby, Winterfest, Fashion Show and Saint Patrick’s Day. Not only this but on a typical night the floor remains empty until 11 p.m. and students tend to leave around 1:30 a.m.

Data from Statistics Canada reflects a broader trend affecting university towns: heavy drinking among young adults decreased by nearly a third between 2015 and 2021. Here, this isn’t just a shift in sobriety but also how students are spending their free time. Gen Zers are reportedly sleeping more and studying harder, with many campus bar managers across Canada noticing that students are choosing coffee over a round of beers. The increase in wellness among Gen Z students has raised a new challenge for campus bars everywhere, like The Gait.

In order to offset some of the losses in profits associated with lack of attendance, The Gait is also used as an event space for conferences and services. However, the downside to this is that the space must remain appropriate in order to appeal to renters. This means that the Gait can’t add art or signage to the walls to create a more lived-in bar atmosphere. This leaves the bar feeling like a school gym or a rec hall.

As we look forward, the question remains: will The Gait return to its former glory, or will it need to adjust to students’ new demands?