Blame bouncers?

ACC should reconsider who to fault for underage drinking in the Classic City.

Beginning Sept. 1, the latest Athens-Clarke County policy to curb underage drinking will go into effect, and it’s stiffer than your favorite vodka tonic.

Local bar owners and liquor-license holders were informed earlier this month that their employees will be arrested and sent to jail if caught selling alcoholic beverages to underage drinkers, as reported on the front page of today’s Red & Black. The new policy is an effort to reduce underage drinking and increase public safety by cutting it off at the alleged source.

Arrests are likely to be widespread in a single night, as they won’t be made at the time of the crime. Instead, warrants will be issued the next day to avoid grapevine phone calls warning other bar employees.

The Red & Black editorial board is skeptical as to whether these restrictions will significantly improve the underage drinking situation downtown.

Should the blame lie on the bouncer who lets fake IDs slide, the bartender who serves the beverage or the bar owner who trains them in the first place?

The bouncers and bartenders at these establishments are no doubt a part of the problem, but they are not the root of it. The bar owners train these employees from the start. Employees earning only the minimum wage now have to take a potential arrest into consideration every time they work.

The ACC government places its daggers on low-earning employees, rather than the bar owners responsible for them, or, heaven forbid, the students themselves.

Future laws affecting underage drinking should fairly mandate consequences for all responsible parties – not just the person garnishing the drinks.

- Jennifer Paxton for the editorial board

Support the Dogs

Despite the arrests of football players over the summer, keep up team spirit.

As you probably heard, the Georgia Bulldogs are the No. 1 team in the nation, according to both the Associated Press poll and the USA Today Coaches poll.

The Red & Black hopes everyone in the Bulldog Nation will continue to support the Bulldogs so they can remain on top. Though celebrating in the Big Easy in January was fun, we hope to bypass the Sugar Bowl and make it to the National Championship. Who doesn’t want to head south to Miami in the winter?

So, instead of letting the arrests of players and the death of Uga VI this summer get you down, take pride in the accomplishments of our football team – the Bulldogs deserve everyone’s support.

After snagging 22 first-place votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll and another 22 in the AP poll, the team is the consensus No. 1 in the nation, ahead of both USC and Ohio State. That’s kind of a big deal.

To keep up team morale and help the Dogs remain at No. 1 – we could get used to this – keep bleeding red and black.

We look forward to cheering on the No. 1 football team in the nation, and we know you’ll be out there with us.

Go Dogs!

- Kelly Shaul for the editorial board