tracyann

Sun, Nov 7, 2010 : 1:54 p.m.

Here, I'll help out: If you see someone with a red plastic cup, it probably has alcohol in it.

mw

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 11:23 p.m.

"Police say research shows strong enforcement helps to reduce underage drinking by limiting access to alcohol, reducing the opportunities for youth to drink, and curbing impaired driving." Well, since our current drinking shows that being a legal adult has no relationship with alcohol prohibition, why not raise the drinking age to 23, 25 or even 30? If you raised the age to 30 then any drinking by a 29-year-old would be 'underage drinking' and 'strong enforcement' would help reduce 'underage drinking' as well as impaired driving by that big new batch of 'underage' drinkers, right? All you rule-followers out there who think the law's the law and you get what you deserve if you 'go looking for trouble' and get caught -- you all do remember that many states had anti-sodomy laws on the books. Do you feel that any gays who were prosecuted under such laws had it coming? Somewhat longer ago, many states had 'anti-miscegenation' laws -- do you think any mixed race couples who might have been prosecuted also would have 'had it coming'? Were gay and mixed-race couples obligated to refrain from relationships and wait obediently and subserviently until the laws was changed? Or do you admit that it's possible for laws to be unjust? And for the enforcement of unjust laws to be morally wrong?

johnnya2

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 4:39 p.m.

@ malorie Nobody mentioned a twelveer year old drinking except you, but since you bring it up, let's look at countries with lower drinking ages and the alcohol related crime, AND alcoholism. And you are completely WRONG about it not being the same as 1920's. If you are an ADULT who is 19, you have EXACTLY the same rights you did regarding alcohol that people did in 1925. That is not open for debate. As for when people start, I would say that proves the law is ignored and not respected. When bad laws are made and ignored it makes it easier ignore other stupid laws that are "for your own good". As for the traffic accidents, I have a way to stop ALL traffic fatalities tomorrow. Stop allowing any person to drive. They can all walk. There problem solved. How about you teach responsible drinking. You philosophy is abstinence only, and we see what happens when you try that for drinking and fro sex. It is a COMPLETE FAILURE.

M.

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 1:54 p.m.

johnnya2 - 1920 - 1933 was Prohibition. Our laws are definitely NOT "just like" they were then. The legal age to drink was lowered to 18 for a few years and then raised back to 21 because the federal government offered funding to build roads if a State's legal drinking age was 21. The article mentions underage drinkers as young as 12 years old...do you agree a 12 year old should be allowed to drink too? Do you think adults should be allowed to provide alcohol to children? Underage drinkers are ANY drinker under the legal age. Most underage drinkers who are 18 or older started drinking BEFORE they became legal adults.

huh7891

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 12:57 p.m.

nickcarraweigh says" When cops are not very busy, and their department illegally maintains ticket quotas, cops are rewarded for abandoning common sense. A kid caught with beer won't be forced to dump it out and driven home to his parents, as common sense would suggest, but will likely be saddled with an expensive ticket and, if he's 17 or over, a lifetime misdemeanor record. Well nickwiseguy I rememeber an Oak park officer on Dec 2008 that tried to take a 16 yr old home to relatives and give him a break. That officer ended up shot and killed. My suggestion.. it's simple: Obey the law and you won't get a ticket...and you won't have to use mommy and daddys money to pay the fine.

McFly

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 12:13 p.m.

Kudos DMJ -well spoken. I do understand everyone elses opinions, but being sarcastic and critical about out of control and possibly deadly behaviors is not helpful for any of us. We could enact a new by-law that fines the parents of the MIPs; a dollar amount high enough that it pays for not only the overtime, but every single cent of the babysitting hours or hospital charges (no insurance coverage -cash only) that accrue from each and every MIP. Fines like that would earn millions and pay for more officers being hired -maybe enough that we could post one at every bank in town to personally greet each bankrobber that everyone has been so sarcastic about catching. The laws we currently have in place are not only about making more money, the fines are also there as a deterrant to future poor behaviors. Safe bet to say that it is simply because of some outstandingly poor or illegal behavior that some people, 21 or not, are singled out by the law from crowds of hundreds or thousands (football Saturdays). I am pretty sure that the police and EMTs would much rather be paid for doing something other than dealing with drunken minors -getting puked and urinated on, cussed at, etc. Honestly, has anyone ever considered the reason they may no longer just dump the booze and drive 'em home to mom? Gee, do you think maybe it's because from the first moment they have someone's kid they now have full responsibility for the safety of that kid? Will mom will be held at fault if, after police drop them off at their door, this kid goes back into the street and gets hit by a car,or falls asleep with a smoke and burns down their house,or dies of alcohol poisoning? Nope, the parents (and public)will blame that officer who just wanted to do the right thing for the kid. Not worth the lawsuit (imagine how much money THAT would cost the city) or the heartache. My glasses are not rose -colored; they are colored by years of (increasingly depressing) first-hand experience. Whatever happened to the days of happy and peaceful drunks? I guess they only exist in Mayberry anymore. Think I'll go have a drink now.

Hot Sam

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 11:44 a.m.

"""@ nickcarrweigh, well said, the world needs more Andy Taylors""" And Otis to not drive and find his own way in to the cell...:-)

Tom Joad

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 11:44 a.m.

Alcohol is inherently an extremely potent intoxicant and presents the body with a tremendous burden to detoxify. Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's safe to abuse. Have a couple and call it quits, man, exercise a bit of self-control. No one likes a drunk...

townie54

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 10:56 a.m.

I agree no one should be behind the wheel after drinking but is one weekend of busting people gonna stop underage drinking.Ha,horse and buggy thinking if you believe that.Its more likely its fills the coffers of underfunded police and judicial systems because nothing else makes sense.If a person takes a bath once a year they still will be dirty the rest of the year

Somewhat Concerned

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 9:27 a.m.

It's about time. The amount of in-the-open underage drinking that goes on is astounding. More astounding is that kids do it because they've learned that the police avert their eyes and pretend they don't see it, so there is no danger to doing it.

djm12652

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 9:24 a.m.

I don't get it, all of these comments about under-age drinking and being old enough to fight in a war, blah blah blah...if you don't like the law, work diligently to change it...otherwise, join the rest of us in the "real" grown up world and obey the law. Of course those in favor of underage drinking would be the first to admit that other crimes such as dui and resulting death or serious injury from auto accidents, assault, sexual assault, etc are not the result of intoxication...right? I mean, like, how will young people know their alcohol limits when they turn 21 if they don't drink now to figure it out. Such a logical argument. I have seen the drunken activities of many "of age" students in this town and the majority of them don't have the maturity to deal with alcohol. Young men peeing in public, groping women, picking fights...young women dressed in the bare minimum to fight off hypothermia all the while staggering to the nearest open area to heave their guts out, with men following, drunk and sober waiting for an opportunity to "get a little sumpin"...yeah, even the 21 and up crowd in this town can't handle massive amounts of booze...displaying behavior that would make any parent, paying thousands of dollars for a child's education, proud....

iceman

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 8:25 a.m.

Mcfly and any others, DUI is entirely different!I agree bust a kid who drives under the influence or someone being destructive to OPP. However,I sat in court this past week watching all the u-21 kids plee to the first offender or the Holmes Youthful training act for walking down the street on a football Saturday with a drink (or just a red cup) and the 21+ who received a open intox plee to a misdemeanor of "blocking the sidewalk" and a $125 fine (our court cost must be more valuable then bringing these in). Are you all aware that the human body is a container? if a group of responsible kids who go out with a DD (designated driver)and get pulled over for any reason (not signaling, burned out light, random stop) the cops can breathalyze the passengers in the car! what a crappy thing to do when kids are trying to do the responsible thing. Take off your rose colored glasses....kids will be kids! It all comes back to common sense, with cameras in cop cars we now live in a very different world when they told you to dump it and get home safe.

Brad

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 7:59 a.m.

"[...] 25 percent more likely to be involved in a alcohol-related crash than older drivers" Or course a crash is "alcohol-related" if the driver is stone sober, but a passenger has (maybe) been drinking. It's a pretty bogus stat - no doubt thanks to MADD.

GoblueBeatOSU

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 5:16 a.m.

does this including the drinking they do Pioneer prior to the football game? Or will the AAPD be proving us updates on the beer pong results? Wasn't it two weeks ago that AA.com featured an article on beer pong at Pioneer?

God Loves Us All

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 1:17 a.m.

They young just do not have the judgment it is proven time after time.

McFly

Sat, Nov 6, 2010 : 12:20 a.m.

No doubt that when someone is out in public behaving in a manner that is out of the norm they are going to get noticed by the authorities. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. If someone is underage and out drinking, then they'd better make sure they behave or else they are going to be picked out of the crowd and penalized for their drunken stupidity. Man up to whatever was done to cause people to notice you & don't blame the guy doing his job just because you got stupid drunk & then got caught. Maybe police could spend more time on the street looking for the bankrobbers if they didn't have to spend countless hours in court because of some ill-behaved underage drinkers who can't police themselves and then can't own up to what they chose to create so they try to fight it in court.

quetzalcoatl

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 10:53 p.m.

Kids get drunk and screw up, arrest them or write them tickets or flog them -- but do it for the screwing up part. Kid has a beer and spends the rest of his life explaining an arrest record to a parade of potential employers, the punishment exceeds the crime. Case closed.

Monchrizzo

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 10:50 p.m.

I have had enough experience with my stepson to know what this is all about.They are going to bust you rather you are walking, sitting or just being out of doors. When I was a young man the police would pull up and catch you drinking they would tell you to pour it out and get up the road or I even had them drop me off in front of my house.Now it all comes down to one thing "MONEY" and once your caught up in the system unless you have plenty of money it is very hard to get out. Tell me I'm wrong.

robyn

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 10:12 p.m.

Well johnnya2, if you're 18 and in the military you can drink on post (or at least you could back when I was in) - so I guess the military agrees that if you're old enough to join - fight and die, you're old enough to drink a beer on post.

treetowncartel

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 9:56 p.m.

I own a prporpety that is directly connected to a drinking establishment, my proprty. The problem is that these kids have no respect for OPP, which I admit to not haiving when I was young dumb and you know what. Sadly,as someone has pointed out, our puritanical take on alcohol consumption in this country results in a situation where adolescents entering adulthood are on thrir own and imbibing is wrong per se. If you teach your kid to drink responsiibly at sixteen you are a bad parent, if your kid drinks irresponsibly at the age of 18 and on their own at college outside of your supervision you are a bad parent. Something has to give.

Julius

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 9:32 p.m.

So what makes this weekend so special? Is this to imply that the law is not enforced on all the other weekends?

McFly

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 9:25 p.m.

I guess I'm the odd man out here because I support the 'PoPo' and their efforts. I wonder how many of the people who made comments before me actually own any property near drinking establishments? I used to work at a bar uptown. It's kind of scary to watch people come out of bars after last call and upsetting to know that some of them will be behind the wheel. Go out tonight and spend some time near Hill St. and watch the show unfold before you. Why do you think so many incidents happens near Hill & Oakland street? Alcohol-fueled, thats why. I have no stats to back this up but I have observed that it seems like kids nowdays aren't just happy drunks who simply party then sleep it off; some become destructive (usually to someone elses property), or they put themselves on youtube, or drive drunk, or they may drink to the point of alcohol poisoning/near death unless police and EMTs rescue them (and hopefully cite them for MIP).

treetowncartel

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 9:20 p.m.

@ nickcarrweigh, well said, the world needs more Andy Taylors

nickcarraweigh

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 9:11 p.m.

On a theoretical level, opposing teen drinking is like opposing Mom and apple pie. But my own Mom always told me if I went looking for trouble, I would always find it. So will the police. The 900-pound gorilla in the room here in Ann Arbor is that while there isn't much crime, we have more police of various stripes per capita than, say, Detroit or Manhattan. When cops are not very busy, and their department illegally maintains ticket quotas, cops are rewarded for abandoning common sense. A kid caught with beer won't be forced to dump it out and driven home to his parents, as common sense would suggest, but will likely be saddled with an expensive ticket and, if he's 17 or over, a lifetime misdemeanor record. Since an 18 year old today will likely still be alive in 2080, the police run the risk of creating an uncooperative citizenry for three generations to come. If the police are looking for something to do that would generate citizen support, catching a few bank robbers might be a better idea.

Ace Ventura

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 9:10 p.m.

The Po Po loves their overtime pay! The should skip the MIP and send these under age criminals directly to prison for 30 or 40 years. Tax dollars well spent.

Keepsitreal

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 8:41 p.m.

Find something better to do AA po po

iceman

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 8:30 p.m.

Have a kid get one or two of these and it is no laughing matter. This is BIG business to the city & the courts. And it can mess up a good kid very quickly. Who waited until they were 21 to have their first drink? my point exactly...why can't we find bank robbers & fix our bridges.

treetowncartel

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 8:08 p.m.

I thought beer was the proof that god loves us and wants us to be happy? Also, the study about driving seems to suggest the older you get the better you are at driving while impaired.

MjC

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 7:28 p.m.

johnnya2 - there was a generation who argued your same point back in days when 18 year olds were drafted off to Vietnam with no escape (except for Canada). The law was changed and this went on for a few years until data showed a significant increase in alcohol related automobile injuries and deaths. Thus the drive to return the legal age for drinking to 21 began. It's such a difficult debate when we all just wants to see our young adults safe and happy.

johnnya2

Fri, Nov 5, 2010 : 6:37 p.m.

Old enough to enter a contract, marry, die in combat, but I guess can not make a decision about alcohol? This is another waste of time. I also find it funny that the ticket is called Minor in possession, but if you are 18 you are an adult. How can a minor have an adult record? It doesn't make sense, just like most of our 1920's drinking laws.