OP: Just out of curiosity, and to improve my general knowledge (I know of many religions which forbid drinking, but am unaware of one which forbids one from eating in an establishment where alcohol is served): what is your religion? Please answer if only you feel comfortable. I consider myself quite knowledgeable, but I have not come across this fact before, so just a matter of curiosity.
Flyout dinner
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OP all kind of upscale restaurants serve alcohol. Their only option is to take you to some cheap fast good restaurants, which doesn’t look nice on you and them. Go to their suggested restaurant. You don’t have to drink. You don’t have to explain anything just if they offer you drink just say thanks I’m fine.
You must have never left your white Christian home town.
Judaism, Islam, Jainism, Hinduism, some types of Buddhism, and many other religions all have dietary laws that would prevent strict adherents from eating in public restaurants that don't specifically follow their rules. Yet, I know successful faculty who are strict adherents to these religions who have managed to land jobs and be successful professors.
University faculty tend to be fairly aware that the world is full of talented scholars who have dietary restrictions for various religious and medical reasons that prevent them from going to restaurants. They respect this.
Even if it means booking a meeting room at a nice hotel and having food prepared in a certain way, it will be done.Just FYI, I’m a Muslim Broette and a f**king heavy drinker. You’re welcome.
.. if you are a heavy drinker you are clearly not a muslim. Maybe your parents were.
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Oh and be mindful that it’s very likely that an administrative assistant will book things and it’s possible that attending faculty will need to be informed (again) as to why a restaurant was chosen or not chosen. So be prepared for them to need to hear it from you even after dinner begins.
The OP should communicate his request to the administrator assisting with the search. The request will be known to the committee and the faculty attending the dinner won’t be expecting to drink.. Probably a smaller group than usual will participate. Maybe someone will offer to host a small group in their home. It is not an outrageous request by itself. True the faculty will wonder how the OP would fit in the department.
my house has too much booze, unfortunately.
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Not drinking is absolutely fine.
But not going to any establishment that serves alcohol? What about faculty events? What about even being on campus? In Europe, every campus has multiple bars serving alcohol for students and for faculty.
Would you not go to the welcome reception for the new academic year if they served alcohol? What about the welcome reception for the new calendar year? What about the reception for the end of the academic year? At a European school, and I admit reading this, there is definitely maybe too much free alcohol.
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lol just lol at OP. I'm sure you will be an excellent colleague if you're so enthusiastically imposing negative externalities on people you don't even know and who might wish to hire you. What a great way to signal you unwillingness to compromise on details that make absolutely zero difference.
Can't you just abstain from the drink yourself and suck it up?
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No water on that 10 hour trans-atlantic flight? No water in the airport? Hotels serve alcohol. It's in the minibar. No water there either?
He will not eat or drink on the plane or train. That's an easy one. I think he can remain in an establishment where alcohol is being served - just not eat or drink there himself. I remain curious as to the exact faith.
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Look, the guy is surviving, so obviously he does not have to do things that are impossible for a human to do. Let us keep the discussion limited to the creation of negative externality he would create for potential colleagues. I am towards the side of accommodating diverse beliefs at some cost to myself in these situations. I know most of the best restaurants in my university town in the US Northeast would be ruled out by a person requiring a kosher requirement. Would that stop me from inviting a job candidate requiring such accommodation? If I had a chance, I would clearly invite Aumann for a talk (someone who I think might require such accomodation from what I have heard rightly or wrongly). So why would I not accommodate for another person. Aumann's requirement would rule out almost all decent places for me in my town, like this person's requirement would.
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Look, the guy is surviving, so obviously he does not have to do things that are impossible for a human to do. Let us keep the discussion limited to the creation of negative externality he would create for potential colleagues. I am towards the side of accommodating diverse beliefs at some cost to myself in these situations. I know most of the best restaurants in my university town in the US Northeast would be ruled out by a person requiring a kosher requirement. Would that stop me from inviting a job candidate requiring such accommodation? If I had a chance, I would clearly invite Aumann for a talk (someone who I think might require such accomodation from what I have heard rightly or wrongly). So why would I not accommodate for another person. Aumann's requirement would rule out almost all decent places for me in my town, like this person's requirement would.
Aumann has quite a lot to offer to balance the externalities he will create. Religious JMC is a black box wrt positives (unless already a known superstar) and a clear negative wrt externalities (+ also a way he discusses related things). Hence expected value of Aumann can be estimated to be positive, while with a religious JMC things might not necessarily develop in that direction