Pros And Cons Of Bar Ordinance
Iowa City's Bar Ordinance Controversy This paper examines Iowa City's current controversy with the 19-only bar ordinance approved by Iowa City's City Council on August 1, 2003. The controversy of underage drinking that included implementing a 21-ordinance has been an oft-debated issue for Iowa City's City Council who is split over the issue. The current ordinance allows 19 and 20 year olds in the bars after 10 p.m. I have examined several sources and classified them into the following criteria: a) Pro-ordinance based on safety perspectives, b) Pro-ordinance based on unrestricted environment issues, c) Anti-ordinance based on alcohol statistics, d) Anti-ordinance based on crime rates, e) Anti-ordinance based on overall community as it stands in Iowa City today.
Pro-ordinance based on safety perspectives …show more content…
Having a 19-only bar ordinance, students can drink in a relatively safe environment that provides responsible outlets for alcohol consumption because attacking the issue entirely would be impossible.
Underage students are not going to stop drinking even if they aren't allowed in the bars (Jeffrey Patch 2/12/03). Most bars provide at least reasonable assurance that all customers will be drinking safely with staff members paid to keep patrons in line and police officers an earshot away (DI Editorial Board 9/25/06). Downtown establishments monitor the patrons' alcohol intake, use careful wristband systems, employ sober staff, and pay heavy fines if found to be serving to minors (Lindsay Schutte 10/1/04). Police records show that 93 percent of underage drinkers cited for possession of alcohol were ticketed at the bars (Drew Kerr & Nick Peterson 12/9/05). Irresponsible and underage consumers are hit where it hurts the most, their wallets, while responsible users are free from expensive tickets and fines. "We are not after underage drinking but rather binge drinking," said City Council member Connie Champion. "It is about the abuse of alcohol, not the consumption" (Jessica Seveska 10/19/04). Enacting a 21-ordinance in
Iowa City would cultivate too much competition among bars to attract the small crowd of legal age drinkers. When Iowa State passed a 21-ordinance, the intensity of binge drinking at bars worsened because bars were forced to compete with each other due to less business, reducing prices per drink to as little as one penny (Katherine Bisanz 11/2/05). "Iowa City is a vibrant, energetic, and healthy community," said Connie Champion. "Students and all members of the community can benefit from the social scene. It's not the 20 year old having a beer that concerns me, it's the 20 beers that concern me" (Jessica Seveska 10/19/04). Underage drinking will always remain a fixture of Iowa City's nightlife, but the 19-ordinance will result in patrons' curbing their irresponsible alcohol use in a controlled, safe environment.
Pro-ordinance based on unrestricted environment issues
Having a 21-ordinance in Iowa City's bars would push drinking to house parties, with no rules and regulations, where most underage excessive, drinking occurs anyways. House parties are ignored by the police and the only appearance officers make at these parties are to break them up. The fear of being caught by police is a strong enough deterrent to ensure an unrestricted environment (DI Editorial Board 9/25/06). A Daily Iowan review of Iowa City police records shows house party hosts and their guests are rarely, if ever, reprimanded for their indiscriminate dispensing of alcohol (Drew Kerr & Nick Peterson 12/9/05). Iowa City police have not arrested any party hosts for bootlegging since 2001 and just seven have been cited for distributing alcohol to minors during that same time (Drew Kerr & Nick Peterson 12/9/05). Unlike the bars, parties have no entry age minimum, nor do the faceless hands pushing toward a house party keg have ages as they hold cups awaiting a refill. People as young as 15-years-old were found at one party, according to police records. Besides offering easier access, a house party can be cheaper than a night at the bars. It's all the beer a drinker wants, until the party dies, for $5 - an amount that would translate to only a couple of bottles downtown. "I'm not going to spend $50 at a bar when I can spend $5 at a house party," said 19-year-old Kelly McInerney. "Plus, cops don't bust house parties; they bust people in bars. At house parties, they tell everyone to go home" (Drew Kerr & Nick Peterson 12/9/05). By raising the age to enter bars in Iowa City, we would only push more under-age drinkers to unsafe, unrestricted environments with more dangers while consuming greater amounts of alcohol.
Anti-ordinance based on alcohol statistics
The University of Iowa, the top eighth party school in the nation, has one of the highest underage drinking rates in the Big Ten schools (Katherine Bisanz 11/2/05). The U of I's rate of binge drinking among teens and young adults is among the highest in the nation, and nearly one-eighth of the school's freshman fail to return for their second year, according to the Wechsler Study, which is conducted at 140 universities nationwide (Mark Magoon 10/10/06). Concerned Iowa City residents want to shake the perception that alcohol is the blood running through the city's veins (Mark Magoon 10/10/06). "If a 21-ordinance were enacted, overall alcohol consumption by underage students at the University of Iowa would drop by 25 to 30 percent, which will then decrease alcohol-related consequences," said UI psychology, Professor Peter Nathan. All though Nathan admitted an increase in house parties is inevitable if a 21-ordinance were enacted, he does not believe what goes on at house parties can compare with a bar (Katherine Bisanz 11/2/05). Since April 2004, 14 establishments have been cited for selling alcohol to minors in Iowa City bars, according to the Iowa Alcoholic Beverage Division, which further proves that under-age patrons should not be allowed in the bar settings (Katherine Bisanz 11/2/05). The disproportionate drinking frequency in Iowa City is because people younger than 21 are allowed into the bars, and enacting a harsher 21-ordinance will decrease the university and city's battle of underage drinking.
Anti-ordinance based on crime rates
The 19-only bar ordinance decreases law enforcement throughout Iowa City, which results in increasing unlawful activity. Police need to be put to their best use, to serve and protect everywhere, which includes their presence in residential areas. Any and all efforts should be made to reduce the frequency of crimes and sexual assault, which includes sharp crackdowns on parties and heightened police activity in the neighborhoods (DI Editorial Board 9/25/06). The fifty thousand dollars in drinking tickets during the weekend of the Iowa vs. Iowa State game is surely enough to entice the city to continue to put the vast majority of police in the downtown area. But stopping even one sexual assault should be worth much more then that amount (DI Editorial Board 9/25/06). Even with all of the downtown security, rape still tends to originate at the bars in Iowa City, based on the experience of Karla Miller, executive director of the Rape Victim Advocacy Program. In 2004, most of the 286 rapes originated in bars because of the sheer number of people that filter through them in a given week (Drew Kerr & Nick Peterson 12/9/05). Even with the 19-only ordinance in effect, the amount of house parties and date-rape-drugs have only been increasing (Jessica Seueska 10/19/04). There also has been an increase in alcohol sales in Johnson County since 2004, which goes hand-in-hand with the steady rise in house parties in which students seek to consume alcohol without getting caught (Lindsay Schutte 10/1/04). The failure of police to sensibly engage in neighborhoods more blocks from the immediate downtown area is detrimental to the community.
Anti-ordinance based on overall community
Since the enactment of the 19-only bar entrance policy in 2003, the city has seen few changes in irresponsible alcohol consumptions and no improvement in the community (Lindsay Schutte 10/1/04). The Stepping Up Project's coordinator, a staunch supporter of the local 21-ordinance, argued that Iowa City's City Council "has chosen to follow the money instead of doing what's best for the community" (Jessica Seveska 10/19/04). A 21-ordinance would close down eight to ten downtown bars because they depend mainly on minors (Katherine Bisanz 11/2/05). The council is letting the alcohol industry dictate the community, even at the expense of underage drinker's safety and health. The Iowa City community has a serious problem with irresponsible alcohol consumption. However, a greater problem lies within the proposed actions to curb this irresponsible use. Looking at the number of underage drinking "PAULA" tickets in 2004, as the 19-only ordinance completed it first year, the ratio of the under-age tickets to bar checks had hardly changed (DI Editorial Staff 9/25/06). Iowa City Police recommend changing the bar-entrance age to 21 to help decrease underage drinking among 19 and 20 year olds, with the caveat that "unlawful activity" outside downtown will be closely monitored (Jim Butts 9/24/04). Iowa City's Mayor Ernie Lehman who has supported 21-ordinance for five years said, "The city will never offer activities for underage residents, compared with the lure of bars that sell liquor. Communities that enforce 21-only entrance laws consume less alcohol and have fewer problems; that's the way it is in every town in Iowa" (Jeffrey Patch 2/12/03). It is not uncommon for college towns to face drinking problems, but Iowa City's are of particular concern. Whether this reflects immature students or poor handing of the situation by authorities-or both-it is a black mark on both the university and the city.
The complex controversy of the 19-only bar ordinance will continue to be a conflict to Iowa City's City Council and the University of Iowa. The overall community need to take the safety perspectives, unrestricted environment issues, alcohol statistics, crime rates, and the effect of the overall community into consideration to find an appropriate solution to the problem as it stands today. Iowa City's drinking culture will not change overnight. City leaders must realize this and work with students and the community to make the downtown and residential areas safe while dealing with the issue of underage and binge drinking. Hopefully the community will eventually come to an agreement on whether underage patrons should be allowed in the bar setting after 10 p.m.
Pro-ordinance based on safety perspectives …show more content…
Having a 19-only bar ordinance, students can drink in a relatively safe environment that provides responsible outlets for alcohol consumption because attacking the issue entirely would be impossible.
Underage students are not going to stop drinking even if they aren't allowed in the bars (Jeffrey Patch 2/12/03). Most bars provide at least reasonable assurance that all customers will be drinking safely with staff members paid to keep patrons in line and police officers an earshot away (DI Editorial Board 9/25/06). Downtown establishments monitor the patrons' alcohol intake, use careful wristband systems, employ sober staff, and pay heavy fines if found to be serving to minors (Lindsay Schutte 10/1/04). Police records show that 93 percent of underage drinkers cited for possession of alcohol were ticketed at the bars (Drew Kerr & Nick Peterson 12/9/05). Irresponsible and underage consumers are hit where it hurts the most, their wallets, while responsible users are free from expensive tickets and fines. "We are not after underage drinking but rather binge drinking," said City Council member Connie Champion. "It is about the abuse of alcohol, not the consumption" (Jessica Seveska 10/19/04). Enacting a 21-ordinance in
Iowa City would cultivate too much competition among bars to attract the small crowd of legal age drinkers. When Iowa State passed a 21-ordinance, the intensity of binge drinking at bars worsened because bars were forced to compete with each other due to less business, reducing prices per drink to as little as one penny (Katherine Bisanz 11/2/05). "Iowa City is a vibrant, energetic, and healthy community," said Connie Champion. "Students and all members of the community can benefit from the social scene. It's not the 20 year old having a beer that concerns me, it's the 20 beers that concern me" (Jessica Seveska 10/19/04). Underage drinking will always remain a fixture of Iowa City's nightlife, but the 19-ordinance will result in patrons' curbing their irresponsible alcohol use in a controlled, safe environment.
Pro-ordinance based on unrestricted environment issues
Having a 21-ordinance in Iowa City's bars would push drinking to house parties, with no rules and regulations, where most underage excessive, drinking occurs anyways. House parties are ignored by the police and the only appearance officers make at these parties are to break them up. The fear of being caught by police is a strong enough deterrent to ensure an unrestricted environment (DI Editorial Board 9/25/06). A Daily Iowan review of Iowa City police records shows house party hosts and their guests are rarely, if ever, reprimanded for their indiscriminate dispensing of alcohol (Drew Kerr & Nick Peterson 12/9/05). Iowa City police have not arrested any party hosts for bootlegging since 2001 and just seven have been cited for distributing alcohol to minors during that same time (Drew Kerr & Nick Peterson 12/9/05). Unlike the bars, parties have no entry age minimum, nor do the faceless hands pushing toward a house party keg have ages as they hold cups awaiting a refill. People as young as 15-years-old were found at one party, according to police records. Besides offering easier access, a house party can be cheaper than a night at the bars. It's all the beer a drinker wants, until the party dies, for $5 - an amount that would translate to only a couple of bottles downtown. "I'm not going to spend $50 at a bar when I can spend $5 at a house party," said 19-year-old Kelly McInerney. "Plus, cops don't bust house parties; they bust people in bars. At house parties, they tell everyone to go home" (Drew Kerr & Nick Peterson 12/9/05). By raising the age to enter bars in Iowa City, we would only push more under-age drinkers to unsafe, unrestricted environments with more dangers while consuming greater amounts of alcohol.
Anti-ordinance based on alcohol statistics
The University of Iowa, the top eighth party school in the nation, has one of the highest underage drinking rates in the Big Ten schools (Katherine Bisanz 11/2/05). The U of I's rate of binge drinking among teens and young adults is among the highest in the nation, and nearly one-eighth of the school's freshman fail to return for their second year, according to the Wechsler Study, which is conducted at 140 universities nationwide (Mark Magoon 10/10/06). Concerned Iowa City residents want to shake the perception that alcohol is the blood running through the city's veins (Mark Magoon 10/10/06). "If a 21-ordinance were enacted, overall alcohol consumption by underage students at the University of Iowa would drop by 25 to 30 percent, which will then decrease alcohol-related consequences," said UI psychology, Professor Peter Nathan. All though Nathan admitted an increase in house parties is inevitable if a 21-ordinance were enacted, he does not believe what goes on at house parties can compare with a bar (Katherine Bisanz 11/2/05). Since April 2004, 14 establishments have been cited for selling alcohol to minors in Iowa City bars, according to the Iowa Alcoholic Beverage Division, which further proves that under-age patrons should not be allowed in the bar settings (Katherine Bisanz 11/2/05). The disproportionate drinking frequency in Iowa City is because people younger than 21 are allowed into the bars, and enacting a harsher 21-ordinance will decrease the university and city's battle of underage drinking.
Anti-ordinance based on crime rates
The 19-only bar ordinance decreases law enforcement throughout Iowa City, which results in increasing unlawful activity. Police need to be put to their best use, to serve and protect everywhere, which includes their presence in residential areas. Any and all efforts should be made to reduce the frequency of crimes and sexual assault, which includes sharp crackdowns on parties and heightened police activity in the neighborhoods (DI Editorial Board 9/25/06). The fifty thousand dollars in drinking tickets during the weekend of the Iowa vs. Iowa State game is surely enough to entice the city to continue to put the vast majority of police in the downtown area. But stopping even one sexual assault should be worth much more then that amount (DI Editorial Board 9/25/06). Even with all of the downtown security, rape still tends to originate at the bars in Iowa City, based on the experience of Karla Miller, executive director of the Rape Victim Advocacy Program. In 2004, most of the 286 rapes originated in bars because of the sheer number of people that filter through them in a given week (Drew Kerr & Nick Peterson 12/9/05). Even with the 19-only ordinance in effect, the amount of house parties and date-rape-drugs have only been increasing (Jessica Seueska 10/19/04). There also has been an increase in alcohol sales in Johnson County since 2004, which goes hand-in-hand with the steady rise in house parties in which students seek to consume alcohol without getting caught (Lindsay Schutte 10/1/04). The failure of police to sensibly engage in neighborhoods more blocks from the immediate downtown area is detrimental to the community.
Anti-ordinance based on overall community
Since the enactment of the 19-only bar entrance policy in 2003, the city has seen few changes in irresponsible alcohol consumptions and no improvement in the community (Lindsay Schutte 10/1/04). The Stepping Up Project's coordinator, a staunch supporter of the local 21-ordinance, argued that Iowa City's City Council "has chosen to follow the money instead of doing what's best for the community" (Jessica Seveska 10/19/04). A 21-ordinance would close down eight to ten downtown bars because they depend mainly on minors (Katherine Bisanz 11/2/05). The council is letting the alcohol industry dictate the community, even at the expense of underage drinker's safety and health. The Iowa City community has a serious problem with irresponsible alcohol consumption. However, a greater problem lies within the proposed actions to curb this irresponsible use. Looking at the number of underage drinking "PAULA" tickets in 2004, as the 19-only ordinance completed it first year, the ratio of the under-age tickets to bar checks had hardly changed (DI Editorial Staff 9/25/06). Iowa City Police recommend changing the bar-entrance age to 21 to help decrease underage drinking among 19 and 20 year olds, with the caveat that "unlawful activity" outside downtown will be closely monitored (Jim Butts 9/24/04). Iowa City's Mayor Ernie Lehman who has supported 21-ordinance for five years said, "The city will never offer activities for underage residents, compared with the lure of bars that sell liquor. Communities that enforce 21-only entrance laws consume less alcohol and have fewer problems; that's the way it is in every town in Iowa" (Jeffrey Patch 2/12/03). It is not uncommon for college towns to face drinking problems, but Iowa City's are of particular concern. Whether this reflects immature students or poor handing of the situation by authorities-or both-it is a black mark on both the university and the city.
The complex controversy of the 19-only bar ordinance will continue to be a conflict to Iowa City's City Council and the University of Iowa. The overall community need to take the safety perspectives, unrestricted environment issues, alcohol statistics, crime rates, and the effect of the overall community into consideration to find an appropriate solution to the problem as it stands today. Iowa City's drinking culture will not change overnight. City leaders must realize this and work with students and the community to make the downtown and residential areas safe while dealing with the issue of underage and binge drinking. Hopefully the community will eventually come to an agreement on whether underage patrons should be allowed in the bar setting after 10 p.m.