Some clubs combat underage drinking

In reaction to recent charges of serving alcohol to minors, several eating clubs have tightened security measures to guard against future violations.

As part of these new security measures, a number of eating clubs decided to institute a policy that would allow only members and legal drinking age students to enter taprooms.

While no club presidents commented about new measures taken internally to curb underage drinking, students who frequented the Street found their drinking options slightly limited.

Sophomore Ralph Kleiner said Tower Club, "was surprisingly only allowing members to get beer last Saturday night."

Other students noted a similar change in the drinking policy of some clubs.

"This semester at Colonial, only members with wristbands are even allowed to go downstairs to the tap room," said Pam Stolzer '05. "Regardless of whether or not you want a beer, the tap room is a major part of the social scene and not being able to go down there takes away from the club's atmosphere."

Most of the officers of the eating clubs declined to comment about procedural changes within their clubs.

Nevertheless, Inter-Club Council chair Tim Szostek '02 said in an email that the ICC and Graduate Inter-Club Council are both working to address problematic drinking concerns at the Street.

"However, the consideration of these measures is not in response to the recent police activities," Szostek said in the email. "They are the product of ongoing discussions with the Princeton Alcohol and Drug Alliance as well as members of the Alcohol and Other Drugs Team at McCosh."

Szostek also declined to comment on individual clubs' measures to guard against further police stings, but he noted that to his knowledge, all clubs use the wristband system – only legal drinking age students get wristbands – to determine who can be served.

The tightened security at several of the eating clubs is a byproduct of Feb. 4 charges brought against three members of Colonial Club and the president of Quadrangle Club for serving alcohol to minors.

"We're certainly hoping that [the charges] would be a deterrent," Borough Police Lt. John Reading said.

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Though no official numbers were available, Reading estimated there has been no significant reduction in the number of eating club alcohol-related incidents since the charges were filed.

Reading could not officially comment about the reasons for the police investigations conducted in Nov., but he speculated the high numbers of students requiring medical attention provided much of the impetus for stings.