Decreasing the age for entry in bars from 21 to 20 would help increase bar revenues and keep students in DeKalb over the weekend.
The Student Association is gathering information about the benefits and potential consequences of lowering the bar-entry age. SA members have met with city officials to look at the change.
Even if 20-year-olds are allowed in bars they still won’t be able to buy alcohol. The city of Urbana-Champaign, where the University of Illinois is, has allowed people younger than 21 to enter bars. Carbondale, where Southern Illinois University is, also allows this. Iowa City, where the University of Iowa is located, allows people 21 and younger in bars after 10 p.m., but only on evenings the bar has live entertainment. These examples show towns have made lowering the bar-entry age work.
The number of customers at local bars would increase if students younger than 21 were allowed inside the bars to buy nonalcoholic drinks. Students would also have more things to do on the weekends, helping to fix NIU’s status as a suitcase school.
Mayor John Rey said controlling underage drinking would become difficult with the possible change, though.
“I’m concerned lowering the bar-entry age beneath 21 would become problematic in terms of enforcement in ID checking and then also administering to be certain that lower-age individuals aren’t drinking in those alcohol establishments,” Rey said.
Sophomore marketing major Brandon Campbell said NIU would be more lively during weekends and holidays if the bar-entry age was lower.
“I think it would be a good idea,” Campbell said. “It would be nice for the students who are living in the dorms and living in DeKalb who are under 21 to go into the bars.”
Some think lowering the bar-entry age would cause difficulties when trying to enforce the law that people younger than 21 aren’t allowed to drink.
“I’ll be against it because the law says 21,” said Andrew Appleget, junior electrical engineering major. “It’s going to be hard to enforce unless you’re constantly watching.”
If bar employees check IDs before serving alcohol, enforcement won’t be difficult. To prevent people 21 and older from getting drinks for their younger friends, X’s can be marked on the underage attendees and employees can do random ID checks.
