One of my friends recently got a ticket for eating lunch at Fatty’s.

He was not carded at the door, but instead a phone call had been made to the police once the group of people was seated stating that underage people were in the bar.

Neither he, nor any of the other people he was with, was drinking at this time.

Luckily the charges were dropped since there was no sign indicating that underage people were not allowed in to eat and he was not stuck with a $300 ticket.

However, an instance like this supports the argument that college bars should lower the age for being able to enter to 19.

During college, students are going to find a way to party no matter what and, after a while, playing beer pong at the same house party every single weekend can get old.

There would be many benefits extended to those who are under 21 if the age were to be lowered, such as being able to attend concerts at bars, dance at a club with an actual DJ, or even just meet more people outside of your social circles.

Someone might argue, however, that lowering the age could cause a rise in underage drinking. But there are ways to restrict this while still expanding the nightlife options for all students.

To avoid the possibility of customers buying drinks for underage patrons, wristbands could be used to distinguish between those who are over 21 and those who are not.

Not to mention, as horrible as it sounds, even if this were to happen and older people were secretly handing out drinks to their underage friends, at least they would be paying $5 per drink in a safe setting instead of chugging a handle of SKOL at some creepy house party.

I also think that by lowering the age, there would be less trouble around campus.

Students would no longer be scrambling to find a fake ID to enter and it might also lessen the number of students wandering around at night by themselves looking for something to do.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has college bars that allow 19-year-olds to be admitted, and there have been no reports about all hell breaking loose yet.

The fact is that students should be allowed to go out and mingle with their friends regardless of their age.

Kevin Pratt, general manager of Starbusters, agrees that lowering the age for entering a bar to 19 would be a good thing, both for students and local businesses.

“There is nothing else to do and not a lot of options,” Pratt said.

Currently, Starbusters does not allow students who are not 21 to come inside and eat due to a license agreement they are confined to. However, carry-out is always offered.

If the age was lowered, more students would probably come in eat and all of the local bars could advertise more.

I am not supporting underage drinking and trying to influence bars to do that, I’m simply stating that as a college student it would be beneficial for everyone to have the same social opportunities without being penalized for it.