In response to increased concerns regarding underage drinking in Baltimore, the city has formed a Liquor Advisory Committee (BCLAC), which is taking steps to eliminate city-wide illegal consumption. The first policy being enacted by the BCLAC will be to remove the "18 to party, 21 to drink" policies from local bars, clubs and music venues.
These policies are currently held by establishments that intend to target Baltimore's collegiate population by opening their doors to patrons who are under the legal drinking age and have been coined "college nights."
BCLAC's Chairman Leigh S. Ratiner explained the irony of the current situation, "Allowing people under 21 into bars is simply an invitation for juvenile fraud. Drinking irresponsibility is a problem in all ages, but it is obviously much more severe with people under 21," Ratiner said.
"The reason that non-underage people are concerned with underage drinking is because of drunk driving, primarily," he continued. "There is a disproportionate number of
underage drinkers getting into car
accidents, in addition to causing loud noise, publicly urinating and throwing up in the streets."
The Power Plant Live recently barred entry to anyone falling under the legal drinking age, and the "college night" shuttles stopped running into Charles Village at the end of last semester. Community/Student Liaison Carrie Bennett, who is responsible for controlling the amount of partying around the Hopkins campus, feels that the removal of these bus systems is probably for the best. Organizations, such as Student Council, can provide transportation back and forth to similar events if they comply with city regulations. These buses are considered to be safer and reliable, according to Bennett.
"It's strange to have a college night at a bar, when probably three-fourths of college students are too young to legally drink," Bennett, who also believes the nights foster binge drinking, said. "I have seen students come off the buses and not be able to walk down the steps; they literally fall in the street. And at the bars you have students from all the local colleges c9 you are talking about thousands of loud, drunk kids."
