To see a video about student’s reactions to lowering the drinking age, click here.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving aren’t the only ones adamant about keeping the drinking age 21.With the growing amount of signatories, including Texas A&M and Ohio State, the Amethyst Initiative seems to be making progress.More than 100 presidents and chancellors from universities and colleges have signed the initiative, which aims to reopen discussion on the legal drinking age. The initiative “supports informed and unimpeded debate on the 21 year-old drinking age,” according to its Web site.In an Aug. 27 article, University Chancellor Michael Martin told The Daily Reveille he was paying attention to the initiative, but it is not one the University’s priorities right now.”There are some bigger issues facing higher education than this one thing, but it’s on the agenda,” he said. “This is a research university, and before arriving at a conclusion, experts should be consulted.”But even if Martin signed it, people under the age of 21 may still not be welcome at some of the local bars.Andrew Bayard, manager of Happy Note, said he wouldn’t lower the admittance age to accommodate younger bar-goers.”It will stay 21 and up,” he said. “I don’t want younger kids in here, and [I don’t want] the liability.”Bayard said even if profits were likely to increase, he would still not allow people under 21 to enter the bar.”I don’t care about the       profits,” he said. “We have an older business crowd.  And profits would probably decrease more than increase because regular customers wouldn’t like the [younger crowd].”A manager of one of the 21-and-up bars who commented under conditions of anonymity said he agrees that lowering the age would be more of a hindrance than a help to the business.He said allowing younger people to attend the bar would hurt its atmosphere and most likely drive regular customers away.”We don’t want that customer change,” he said. “The younger people don’t have the money and they don’t have the self-control. They are immature; they start fights and stuff like that.”Brad Cozier, general manager of The Roux House and Happy’s Irish Pub, said he agrees the likelihood of fights is a factor.”Between both places we have one fight every two or three months as opposed to places like Tigerland,” he said. “It is an older clientele that downtown caters to.”Cozier said he’s unsure if he would allow younger people to enter the bars.”It would be kind of 50-50 right now,” he said. “Out of sight, out of mind until it happens. I’m pretty happy with it being 21.”If the Amethyst Initiative passed, Cozier said he would consider lowering the admittance age.”That would be another three years of patrons to make more money,” he said. “But it is kind of give and take. It would help your numbers, but are you alienating one part of your clientele to cater to another demographic of people?”Erin Coyne, education graduate student, said these bars would probably lose business if they lowered the age.”Having gone to bars since I was 18, I have a pretty good idea of how people act in Reggie’s as opposed to downtown,” she said. “There is a different feel. The crowds downtown are young professionals, and they would be more likely not to go out knowing the type of crowd could get to that level of obnoxiousness.”Dustin Gouner, agricultural business senior who frequents the downtown bars, said he would stop going to these bars if younger people were allowed to go because they are more prone to disturb the laid-back scene.”Once you get older you don’t want to be around that,” Gouner said. “You just want your damn drink.”But he does not think these bars would risk losing their loyal customers in order to increase profits.”As far as those bars go, regardless if they lower the drinking age, I think they will keep the admittance to 21,” he said. “It is their main source of business. That’s why people go downtown.”Gouner said he doesn’t think people under 21 will start going to downtown bars if the law changes.But Cory Vogel, information systems and decisions sciences junior, said he would like to go to the bars that were formerly 21 and up if the law changes.”The bars in Tigerland are shitty,” he said. “People would go downtown because [the bars] are a lot nicer.”Nichole Anderson, French and secondary education sophomore, said she and her friends would go to downtown bars if they were allowed.”I think people would start going downtown because they get tired of going to the same old bar,” she said. “They need a change of scene.”—- Contact Drew Belle Zerby at [email protected]