As I was talking to a friend, the discussion of the bars came up, and why these bars don’t let college students ages 19 and up into the bars. Here are some ideas of how to make this all possible.

. If the students are coming from the dorms or apartments, incorporate a shuttle service to transport these people to the bars and home again. The shuttle service would greatly reduce the number of intoxicated drivers that are now plaguing DeKalb.

2. Stamp the hands of people age 21 and above to be able to distinguish those who are legal to drink.

3. Allowing the 19 and up age group into the bars would give these students an enjoyable atmosphere where students can meet their friends and different age groups. Right now, people under 21 are being discriminated because there is no place for this age group to go.

4. Since the student body is 19 through 21, everyone should be able to go to a place that has an adult atmosphere.

5. An example of a school which has this policy is the University of Illinois. There it works great because the bars have control of the atmosphere and students.

6. To have this control the students would have to show a college ID and an Illinois Drivers License or a State ID.

7. One reason why the City of DeKalb does not want home rule, is that most of the bars are located in residential areas. Residents are worried that college students will cause damage to private property. A way to eliminate this problem is to designate an area where several bars can be set up for students.

8. Since many underage people can not get into the bars, they throw their own parties. Because some of these parties are located near residential areas, the parties are usually busted and the students having the parties get into trouble.

I am 21, so for me it is no problem going to the bars, but what about the majority of the campus who is not 21. They can’t go to the bars unless they have a false ID. If the bar age would be 19 and up, the use of false ID’s could be eliminated.

I hope this can be solved soon so the majority of students who are not 21 can have the chance to go to the bars.

John P. Rooney

Junior

Corporate Fitness