A dispute regarding Thirsty Thursday at The Stein arose from a lack of communication between Student Events and the school restaurant. In the past, on Thirsty Thursday, Student Events offered free appetizers and billiards and sometimes free beer every week. This semester, programming for the event was deferred from the Student Union to Student Events who decided to make the event only monthly.
Student Events intended to make Thirsty Thursday a monthly event featuring free beer and themes like March Madness and St. Patricks Day. Despite this change, Thirsty Thursday events were still held weekly at the beginning of the semester.

However, the Stein was not clearly informed of this change thus. By early March, the situation was clarified, though the mistake lasted for weeks. In an email, Matt Pierce, the Food Services Director for Aramark, confirmed the situation, saying in an email Thirsty Thursday had been a weekly event and has recently changed to a monthly event. While the lack of clear communication led to a few unintentional Thirsty Thursdays, there was no major problem with funding. According to Pierce, There have never been any issues in regards to compensation.

According to Blaker, the cost of a Thirsty Thursday with beer was around $300, while non-alcoholic events cost $100 for appetizers. When the Union programmed Thirsty Thursdays, there were only two beer days, while there were weekly appetizers and free pool. While there is a baseline minimum budget established for Student Events, a secured group, according to Adam Gartner '07, the Director of Executive Affairs for the Student Union, additional money is readily available due to provisions of the Student Activities Fee (SAF) amendment.

Michael Werner '08, agrees with Blakers observations, but disapproves of the change, arguing, I have noticed that in the past, attendance has increased dramatically whenever the Stein offers free beer. However, I do not approve of the change because it places some obvious restrictions on the event for students under 21. In response to this argument, Gartner argued If you get people over 21, youll get their under 21 friends.

Arun Narayanan '10, feels that, Thirsty Thursdays were something people could look forward to every week. I thought there were a good number of people going every week, so I dont understand why it is now monthly. Sarah Blaker '07, the head of Student Events and a Stein employee, defended the decision saying, Thirsty Thursdays were not very well attended previously, and the attendance has grown dramatically by holding them once a month with free beer.