Underage dependents to receive new IDs

University and club officials praised a new effort announced last week to combat underage drinking on the Street, but Borough officials questioned its merits and whether the University has done enough to combat alcohol abuse at the eating clubs.

The University said Aug. 1 that it will change the design of Princeton-issued identification cards given to underage faculty and staff dependents in order to discourage drinking by them at the 10 Prospect Avenue clubs.

Undergraduate students are not affected by the change.

The ID cards, commonly known as PUIDs or proxes, are used by the children and spouses of faculty and staff to gain access to resources such as the Stephens Fitness Center and Firestone Library.

The current cards for underage faculty and staff dependents are orange and black, much like the cards given to students and other University affiliates. The similarities between the various cards have made it difficult for club bouncers to identify underage dependents.

The new cards given to underage dependents, however, will be an easy-to-recognize bright yellow. Faculty and staff have until Sept. 7 to exchange their dependents' old cards for the new ones.

In an email, Public Safety director Steven Healy cited research "that suggests that underage students, including high school students, make decisions to drink based on the availability of alcohol and enforcement of regulations and laws."

"This effort by the eating clubs and the University to support responsible beverage service in the clubs by discouraging entrance by underage community members is a positive step in reducing alcohol misuse," Healy said.

Club officials also touted the redesign as a positive change. Interclub Council president Marco Fossati-Bellani '07 said that he is "exceptionally glad to see the University take this step."

"This is a great help for us at the clubs, and is a great first step for the University to be taking to ameliorate the relationship between the University, the Clubs, and the borough," Fossati-Bellani said in an email.

"I take this move very seriously as it proves that the University is more willing than ever to help us in our commitment to a fun and safe social atmosphere."

But Borough police chief Anthony Federico was reluctant to join in praising the new effort, saying that the changes probably wouldn't mean less alcohol abuse on the Street.

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Federico said that while he imagines some local high school students and even some faculty and staff dependents occasionally patronize the clubs, he could not recall any alcohol-related incidents involving them that occurred at the clubs. Borough police, he said, would be aware of such incidents because they are usually first-responders to incidents at the clubs.

The vast majority of problems involving alcohol abuse at the eating clubs, he said, "are caused by underage freshmen and sophomore University students, not faculty and staff dependents."

Princeton Borough councilman Andrew Koontz, a longtime critic of abusive drinking at the eating clubs, said that while he was pleased by the move, he regarded it as only a minor step towards solving the University's alcohol issues.

"This represents a very small part of the overall problem. We need to take further action."