Drowning out drinking

Legislation recently proposed by Georgia College & State University Public Safety Director and Milledgeville’s Mayor Pro Tem Ken Vance may put a limit on drink specials within the city limit.
“What is being proposed is to limit drink specials,” Vance said. “This is not to limit happy hour.”
“Rather, the legislation, if passed, would eliminate drink specials such as getting three drinks for the price of one and ladies’ night type activities,” Vance said.
He said the problems he has are with drink specials that promote excessive amounts of drinking.
“What we’re doing with these things … we’re promoting alcohol abuse,” he said.
Vance said this is something that he actually proposed several years ago, but it has never gotten out of the government affairs committee, where it is now. He said one hope is that such legislation would cause a downward curb in the number of underage drinking violations that go on in the area. The department currently sees several each week.
“The enforcement of those kinds of things has gotten stricter because it keeps down other kinds of crimes,” he said.
He said the department deals with many other crimes that result from alcohol, such as those dealing with property issues.

“People will do stuff drunk they won’t do sober,” he said.
A meeting scheduled for Thursday night at GC&SU was designed to give students and local restaurant and bar owners some clarity on the subject.
“It’s all about responsibility,” he said. “That’s all it is.”
However, several GC&SU students seem to disagree with Vance’s proposal.
“You can’t put limits on how much someone drinks, especially if they’re of age,” said Brooke Moore, a senior political science major.
“The government cannot be able to limit the ways you harm yourself, as long as it does not affect someone else,” said Senior Political Science Major Josh White.
Local restaurant owners were invited to attend Thursday’s discussion. Owner of The Brick and Buffington’s, Frank Pendergast, said that if the proposal simply included drink specials and not happy hour, he won’t have a problem with it.
“If that was the specifics of the ordinance, that wouldn’t affect me,” he said.
General Manager of Amici’s Dave Danchak planned on atending the event, but said he also wouldn’t form an opinion until he knew the specifics of the ordinance and until he knew what Vance’s definition of a happy hour is. As far as the drink-or-drown type specials, he said though he may not necessarily agree with Vance, he can see his point of view.
“I can understand how people would have problems with that,” Danchak said.
The proposal is currently in the government affairs committee and Vance said committee meetings will probably be held within the next few weeks. The ordinance must pass full council in order to go into effect.
“I think no matter what they do, the problem is still going to be there,” said Freshman Art Major Jessica Bennett.
Vance said the proposal is one of those things with which he thinks parents will agree and students will understand when they become parents one day.
“It’s one of those things – in your heart of hearts, you know you’re right,” he said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 31 2003. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry