The owner of the Inner Harbor club complex Power Plant Live and members of the Baltimore City Liquor Board are advocating new legislation that would ban 18-20 year-olds from entering clubs in Baltimore.
The proposal to restrict access to clubs for people under 21 has surfaced due to the increased difficulty police and club owners have had in regulating cases of underage drinking and alcohol abuse in Baltimore clubs. Samuel P. Daniels, Jr. of the Baltimore City liquor board, explained, "The problem is that 18 to party, 21 to drink is an enforcement nightmare."
At the Baltimore City liquor board hearing on March 2, the Cordish Co., which owns the Power Plant Live complex, was fined $800 for selling alcohol to minors at Bar Baltimore and Have a Nice Day Caf8e. Both bars are a part of Power Plant Live, which operates under an arena liquor license that allows each of its tenants to serve alcohol.
Reed Cordish, who has thus far been a vocal supporter of the proposed ban, was not available for comment.
The proposal is still just that, however, and has yet to gain any traction with officials in the city council.
Director of Legislative Affairs in the Baltimore City Council Antonio Hayes cautioned that "There is no legislation here in the council right now, and I believe that would have to be passed on the state level anyway."
The March 2 hearing is the first series of cases brought to a formal hearing against the Cordish Co., although there have been documented cases of Power Plant Live establishments selling alcohol to underage students in the past.
According to Daniels, other cases were documented in 2002 but the liquor license commission decided not to pursue a hearing.
Corinne Becker, President of the Riderwood Hills Community Association, said she advocates a ban due to what she has observed in her neighborhood near Towson University.
She and her neighbors have complained about shuttle buses that transport Towson University students from the residential neighborhood to Power Plant Live bars, bringing back drunk students to deposit on the streets.
"Beyond the disturbance in my neighborhood," she said, "It is just plain wrong that this should even be allowed to occur. It is unconscionable that attorneys for the Power Plant should
even be allowed to occur. It is unconscionable that attorneys for the Power Plant should argue that their arena liquor license should exempt them from the laws that govern other city bars. If I owned a bar in the city, I'd be outraged at the obvious favoritism."
Daniels, who has watched Loyola students wander down York Road, is also concerned about drunk college students on the street, since they may be vulnerable targets for crime. He pointed out, "If they're already drunk, they're perfect victims. The first thing to go when one consumes alcohol is not coordination, it's judgment."
But Daniels also made clear that alcohol problems are not limited to college students.
"There's at least a prejudicial bias that people of a certain age group would be less mature," he said.
"While there may be some truth to it, we can easily point to people my age who are far less mature than [younger people]."
Dean of Student Life Susan Boswell assured that if such legislation were passed, "It would have no impact on the Hop Stop or any on-campus events."
But still, she recognized the potential impact of any legislation that would essentially bar a majority of the University's students from entering clubs in Baltimore.
"I think it is certainly something we need to keep track of in terms of whether or not it passes."
Many Hopkins organizations have held "club nights," inviting students between the ages of 18 and 20 as well as those who are 21. Senior class president Nattavadee Temkasem, who recently organized an event at Gardel's Supper Club, said "There was strict ID checking and marking for those that were drinking. It was impossible to drink alcoholic beverages if you were under the age."
Temkasem added, "There are plenty of things that you can do around Baltimore that do not involve alcohol. If the legislation were to be passed, I doubt things will change around here at all. People who drink will continue to drink and people who currently don't drink still won't."
Other Hopkins students noted that changing the entry age may not deter 18-20 year-olds from drinking alcohol. Junior Philicia Duncan said, "If they do that they're just going to have more 18-year-olds going out to get fake IDs."
Duncan pointed out that underage students will be more likely to drink with fake IDs, whereas without the armbands, they may have difficulty finding someone to buy drinks for them.
Freshman Alex King speculated that the proposal might even be bad for its advocates. "I think it might hurt clubs in their alcohol sales. I think that percentage-wise you get a much bigger crowd from that [18-21] age group."
Becker believes that Power Plant Live must profit from under-age students.
"These students are being, in my opinion, exploited by the Power Plant, which is cashing in on the profitability of the situation," she said.
"I don't believe `college night' would be profitable if students under 21 weren't actively patronizing Power Plant bars. The numbers can't possibly add up in terms of the number of college students that can drink legally versus those who aren't yet 21," Becker added.
"I don't know of any club that caters to my age group," Daniels added. "I started noticing 10 to 12 years ago that the alcohol distributors and manufacturers specifically target and market to youths. That portion that is targeted to youth does not promote wise and mature consumption habits."
