Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies

18 to enter, 21 to drink? The problems associated with underage bars

The following piece, written by the editorial editors, reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.

Think back to the one of the first lessons we all learned at Miami. Before studying for that geography midterm, we probably got schooled in the art of getting drinks Uptown.

It's an important learning curve in college when we go out for the first time and don't get granted one of those nifty wristbands. Many first-years take a crash course in "Going Out 101," in order to master all of the tricks of the drinking-underage-but-not-getting-caught trade. Being under 21 years old is the only requirement. We nervously took notes on the whole going out process during our inaugural nights out, being educated by those a little wiser and in-the-know.

We were lectured on which bars we could get into at what times of the night and which specific concoction of liquids was the most economically sound. Maybe we practiced investing in a line of fake IDs. Some girls got bonus points if they ran into upperclassmen boys and started batting those eyelashes. Soon, we were washing those sharpie X's off our hands in the bathroom all by ourselves. Once we've entered the doors, all bets are off and all kinds of alcohol are within reach. We started acing the bar scene - and this typically involved carelessly drinking in excess and not stopping until the lights come on.

As eager 18-year-olds, we soaked these lessons in because once we perfected them, we could drink at virtually any bar Uptown. We never had to worry about not being of age, because there was always a way around it. We had the key to our ideal image of college.

There's a problem here though. As we learned the ins and outs of Uptown, we skipped the chapters on being too drunk to walk home or too drunk to find our friends or our phone or too drunk to know if we really want to hook up with that person. We went with the learn-as-you-go mantra and were happy when we woke in mostly one piece.

A lot of our worst nights wouldn't have happened if bars were stricter. If all Oxford bars were 21-and-up, they would be filled with more mature and experienced versions of ourselves and they would be absent of a lot of the ridiculousness.

At this age, we didn't fully grasp the learning curve of moderation. With our eyes on the alluring bar scene, we failed to quickly learn the ropes when it came to being careful. When we had our first taste, all we wanted was more. More shots, more pitchers, more waiting in line at Brick, more law-breaking. And this sets us up for rough nights, rougher mornings and subscribing to a lifestyle that only wears us down.

Let's be honest, first-years are a little clueless, a little naive and they're probably not fully ready for the bars. Students are ushered into the bar scene quickly and many gulp in their newfound independence via a few too many trashcans. As soon as mom and dad tearfully drive away, there's an urgency to see what this drinking thing is all about. In high school, the taboo allure of drinking keeps many kids sneaking around when it comes to partying. But at Miami, drinking underage is done out in the open and everyone of authority seems to turns their heads.

Bars that are 18 years old and up know what they're doing; the more students they let in, the more money they make. They know these underage students are working the system and they will get their hands on alcohol. It's part of the strategy.

We, as The Editorial Board, can't deny we benefitted from the ease of getting drinks Uptown, but we also think it would've saved us from learning some tough lessons the hard way, like how many Vodka and Sprites we can really handle.

Sure, it's hard to admit that our early college years would be better without the option of the bars. But it's true. We would find other routes for drinking and socializing; and maybe, we wouldn't get ourselves into as much trouble. Maybe we would see going Uptown as more of a privilege. Maybe our 21st birthdays would be even more exciting.

Maybe Miami would start shedding that party-school reputation. Maybe we wouldn't recognize our Saturday night actions in the Police Beat. Maybe we'd have room in our brains and our schedules for a few more valuable lessons.