Texas Tech University - La Ventana Yearbook (Lubbock, TX)

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Sorry, freshmen H Designed primari- IS ly to keep liquor out of the high schools, the new age law also kept a good number of Tech freshmen out of Lubbock bars and liquor I I I COLDWAT 9im OPEN 8 p.m. tie 2am WED.tktuSAT. NO ONE UNDER in YEARS OF ly AGE ADMITTED I D ' REQUIRED ai THE DOOR I ]6 — Hem Drinking Law

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Kick back That ' s the life Monty Walton travelled to the Grand College seems so far away especial Canyon on an Army ROTC spring ly when you ' ve got South Padre Island waves and a brew in hand. The Great Escape — 15

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Entrance examination Just inside the entrance to Col- dWater Country, sophomore Jason Ware is forced to show some iden- tification. For a large portion of the freshman class, ColdWater and other bars strictly were off-limits for much of the school year. Texas legislators hoped to keep liquor away from high school students by passing a new legal drinking age, but the new law also forced Tech students under the age of 19 to be Barred from Texas bars Eighteen-year-olds got burned on ' crash and burn ' when the Texas State Legislature voted to change the legal drinking age to 19 in September. The law prohibited all persons under 19 years of age from purchasing and consuming alcohol without a parent or legal guardian. State lawmakers hoped to keep alcohol off the high school campus. Tech students who weren ' t 19 also were af- fected by the law. it kind of deprives you of your rights, 18-year-old Eric Werner said. With the rights and responsibilities of voting, marrying and being drafted, you should be able to drink like an adult, said Pam Thomas, also 18. What disturbed some students even more was that businesses where they used to dance and listen to music were suddenly taboo, even if they didn ' t want to drink. Lubbock businesses began making closer identification checks when the law went in- to effect, fearing Lubbock Police and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents would take away liquor licenses. ■ ' We usually card everybody if they don ' t have gray hair or a cane, ex- plained Chris Harmon, man- ager of J. Patrick O ' Malley ' s at 1211 University. Two area clubs, Coldwater Country at 7301 University and Fat Dawgs at 2408 4th St., reported a lO-to-20 per- cent drop in customers in September. We had a slowdown when the law went into effect, but it has been slowly picking up. The younger people have been replaced by a slightly older crowd, Joe Wallace, manager of ColdWater Coun- try, said. Wallace also reported col- lecting several fake identifica- tion cards. Of the Tech 18-year-olds interviewed by La Ventana. most said they either had fake identification cards made or had 19-year-old friends buy liquor for them. The drinking age change also affected fraternities and sororities since many pledges weren ' t 19. In a lot of states a frat can be held responsible, but in Texas the individual is responsible, Wade McGin- nis, president of Interfraterni- ty Council, said. If a policeman comes into a frat house and sees an 18- year-old drinking, only the person in charge can be held responsible, McGinnis said. According to D. L. Vander- vort, district supervisor of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, responsibility for illegal drinking at fraterni- ty and sorority parties will have to be decided by the courts. The law only states that persons under the age of 19 cannot consume alcohol unless in the presence of a parent, legal guardian or adult spouse, Vandervort said. It ' s up to the courts to decide whether the fraternity house is a public or private place and whether that makes any difference. McGinnis said IPC advised fraternities to post signs and discourage minors from drinking. Cynthia Bristol, Panhellenic president, recom- mended the same approach for sororities. We have informed the girls about the drinking age and told them what the law said, Bristol said. So far we have not had any problems. The law forced 18-year- olds to take one of four op- tions: get a fake I.D., get friends to buy liquor, visit more movies, or grit their teeth until they turned 19. — Sid Lowe New Drinking Law — 17