Gamecocks pull off upset pg 8
Jackie Connors / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2018
VOL. 110, NO. 11 ● SINCE 1908
BLACKOUT
Should Columbia bars turn the lights off at 2 a.m.?
Etham Lam / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
Cotton Gin is one of 17 bars in the Five Points neighborhood with an after-hours permit to serve beer. It was cited by SLED for selling liquor past 2 a.m. in January.
Larissa Johnson and T. Michael Boddie @THEGAMECOCK
Three friends stagger slowly across Devine Street, waiting until the light turns green to cross. One of them continuously looks at the ground. “Someone took my phone,” he says, head low as if the missing device might suddenly appear at his feet. Along the streets in Five Points at almost 3 a.m., valuables can disappear into the dark corners and dispersing crowds. But lost phones aren’t t he only concern in t he community — there’s an increasing concern about t he wandering, inebriated students. Late-night drinkers can either fall into an Uber and then go to bed or disperse into the neighborhoods around Five Points and wreak intoxicated havoc. That possibility has led to a renewed effort in the city council to close all bars in the city at 2 a.m. every night. What’s the problem? USC students drink in bars at a much higher rate than the national average — 37 percent compared to 11 percent. “They’re loud, they disturb the people that are trying to get a good night’s sleep, they turn over trash cans, they beat up the street signs, they knock over the f lower pots on the porches, they steal porch furniture off the porches, they are so inebriated they get sick all over the sidewalks,” said Columbia city councilman Howard Duvall. “It is a bad situation that’s got to be tackled.” According to the university, about 254 students were transported to local hospitals for alcohol-related illness during the 2016-17 school year. That number has more than doubled since 2011. Fourt h-year biolog y st udent Andrew Griffin says it is lively in Five Points even past 2 a.m. Even if safety is a concern, there is a
constant security presence. “There’s so many cops here, it doesn’t matter,” Griffin said. “People are going to do what they want to do regardless,” said his friend, third-year psychology student Mia Gladden. What’s the current debate? B e f o r e 2 011, b a r s h a d n o mandatory closing time except on Sundays. The 2011 state law put the current 2 a.m. closing time in place, but many cities created special permits to allow the sale of nondistilled alcoholic beverages, such as beer and wine, after 2 a.m.
File Photo: Brandon Almond / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
In Five Points, 17 bars currently have one of those permits, which costs just $50 for a year and comes w it h st ipu lat ions such as not conducting drinking contests and additional training for bartenders. But SLED routinely busts bars for serving hard liquor after 2 a.m., including citing 11 Five Points bars in early February. “It just started again because everybody got called out for not having a license after two,” said fourth-year computer engineering student Darius Brown, referring to those 11 bars and SLED’s presence. Duvall says the situation has gotten worse over the last year and a
half “because of the great increase of the students coming into USC and not being able to find housing on campus and so they are saturating the neighborhoods that surround Five Points.” USC Vice President of Student Life Anna Edwards disagreed with Duvall’s assertion about off-campus housing, but agreed that drinking in Five Points is a big issue in the eyes of the university. “T he goa l is to create t hat safe and healthy entertainment env i ron ment ,” E dwa rd s sa id. She said that the university has introduced new education efforts such as Alcohol EDU, but policy and enforcement have to come from the community. “ I s t r on gl y e nc ou r a g e you a nd you r Members to oppose any measures grant ing special permission to bars requesting to remain open past 2 a.m.,” University President Harris Pastides wrote in a letter to the city council. At a town hall Feb. 6, those i n at tenda nce — ba r ow ners, com mu n it y members, cou ncil members — seemed evenly split on the issue. Bars that haven’t gotten any violations were opposed to being punished for others’ mistakes. Ten neighborhoods have signed on to support the removal of special permits. What would the outcome be? Students wouldn’t necessarily stop drinking if the bars shut at 2 a.m. — instead, some said, they’ll find somewhere else. “It doesn’t ma ke much of a difference because if they’re not drinking here, they’re going to go drink somewhere else,” said Sean McManus, a regular at Bar None. The measure would help reduce t he h i g h nu mb e r of s t u de nt t ranspor t s to t he hospital for alcohol-related issues, according to Edwards. SEEBARSPAGE3
COMMUNITY VOICE At 2 a.m. “the police are running around trying to hold it down. It’s a nightmare.” — USC Student and Bar None bouncer Andrew Douglas Larissa Johnson /
THE DAILY GAMECOCK
“The goal is to create that safe and healthy entertainment environment” — USC VP of Student Affairs Anna Edwards Courtesy of USC
“It’s a bad situation that’s got to be tackled” — Columbia City Council member Howard Duvall Courtesy of Howard Duvall
“We’re all responsible for each other. It takes a village” — Local Sean McManus
Larissa Johnson /
THE DAILY GAMECOCK
“I don’t hear too many stories about people actually vandalizing ... I live right up the street.” — USC student Darius Brown Larissa Johnson /
INSIDE
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