Club crackdown

The city has a bad idea: ban 18-plus nights

The anti-drinking hysteria continues. Ever since a series of alcohol-related incidents this fall -- including the death of MIT freshman Scott Krueger -- politicians have felt the pressure to do something.

Now, a few months of disingenuous and nearly hysterical rhetoric later, the City of Boston has given concrete form to the grandstanding: a proposal to end all 18-plus club nights, citywide. As a piece of political theater, the plan is perfect. It is simple (just remember: no teens at rock clubs); it is dramatic (just remember: zero tolerance); and it punishes a group (the under-21 set) that lacks political clout. As a policy, though, it is pure folly. Just what is it designed to accomplish?

Certainly it will not prevent alcohol-poisoning tragedies like Krueger's. Krueger literally drank himself to death in the social pressure cooker of a fraternity. He probably would have been better off at a rock club, where it is difficult for anyone (of any age) to drink that much.

Nor is this a smart way to attack one of the biggest alcohol-related killers: drunk driving. If the city really cared about that problem, it would keep the T open later than the bars, as the Phoenix and many others have urged. It's a simple change that would save lives, yet City Hall has been silent. Or why not push for the tough law North Carolina has: people under 21 caught driving with any amount of alcohol in their system lose their license for a year.

There is no question that the clubs can -- and must -- do a better job of keeping minors from drinking at 18-plus shows. The Boston Globe reported that an underage police cadet was able to buy liquor at 128 of the 190 establishments he tested. This is a searing indictment of the system now in place -- or not in place.

But that doesn't mean eliminating the shows; it means enforcing the law. One possibility would be for the clubs and the police to agree on an independent auditor -- to be paid with licensing fees -- who would conduct secret monthly spot checks of all the clubs by sending an 18-year-old in to try to buy a drink. (Some clubs already do this on their own.) Establishments that perform poorly would be subject to fines and even the revocation of their licenses. At the same time, as the Phoenix has argued, there need to be much harsher sanctions for those who use and manufacture fake IDs. Right now, there are no repercussions for minors who break the law.

What's especially disturbing about the club-ban proposal is the arrogant attitude it betrays. The college crowd -- and the music scene it helps support -- are both vital parts of Boston. They keep the city vibrant and inviting. Yet instead of finding creative ways to keep everyone safe, Mayor Menino floats the idea of a shutdown. If merely having teens in proximity to alcohol is a problem that can't be solved through enforcement, then why not ban everyone under 21 from restaurants? Is it because politicians consider clubs to be less important?

Too often, politicians respond to a public sense of crisis by passing a new law and declaring victory -- rather than using the tools they have at hand to solve the problem. In this case, the city must work with the clubs to find a way of enforcing the laws that are already on the books. If a club is serving to minors, punish the club and punish the minor.

Why punish everyone else?

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What can you do?

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Call City Hall and tell Mayor Thomas Menino to keep the 18-plus clubs open: 635-4500. Call Nancy Lo, the director of the Mayor's Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing: 635-3834. Call your city councilor: Francis "Mickey" Roache (at large) 635-3115; Peggy Davis-Mullen (at large) 635-4220; Albert "Dapper" O'Neil (at large) 635-4205; Stephen Murphy (at large) 635-4376; Diane Modica (East Boston, North End, Charlestown) 635-3200; James Kelly (South Boston, Downtown, South End, Chinatown) 635-3203; Maureen Feeney (Dorchester) 635-3455; Charles Yancey (Dorchester, Mattapan) 635-3131; Daniel Conley (Hyde Park, Roslindale) 635-4210; Maura Hennigan (JP, West Roxbury) 635-4217; Gareth Saunders (Roxbury, South End) 635-3510; Tom Keane (Fenway, Back Bay) 635-4225.

What do you think? Send an e-mail to letters[a]phx.com.