Fake ID ruling met with mixed reaction

IU students and Bloomington bar managers have varying opinions about a recent Indiana Court of Appeals ruling that decided a South Bend bar could sue underage drinkers.\nIndiana Excise Police found more than 200 minors in the Boat Club bar during a raid in January 2003. The Millennium Club Inc., which owns the bar, sued each of the individuals in damages. The underage drinkers were mainly students of University of Notre Dame and St. Mary's College.\nJosh Cooney, an incoming freshman at IU, said he thought minors should be sued if they try to get into bars with fake IDs.\nLacie Underwood, a recent graduate of Ivy Technical School, 19, said the ruling is a good idea.\n"People under 21 aren't mature enough to handle alcohol," Underwood said. \nShe said her friends will sometimes get into bars and consume more alcohol than is good for them in an attempt to keep up with their older peers.\nWhile standing outside of Bear's Place, Nathan Giem, a graduate in violin performance, said minors are going to get into bars anyway, so it is good that bar owners have legal recourse.\n"Minors will think twice before going in if they know there will be litigation," Giem said.\nHowever, some students do not like the ruling. For instance, students studying abroad in America have different ideas about the drinking laws.\nA visiting undergraduate student, Bartosz Cajler, said things are much different overseas.\n"I come from Europe, and I am used to something different," Cajler said. "You can buy alcohol at 18 in Europe."\nKristin Ehrhardt, a recent graduate from IU, said she doesn't agree with the ruling. She said she thinks it is the bar's responsibility to keep minors out.\n"That is the risk you take for owning a bar," Ehrhardt said.\nSenior Brian Donohoe said it is the bar's responsibility to hire bouncers that can tell the difference between a fake and a real ID.\nHowever, some managers were very receptive of the court's decision.\nThe manager of Bear's Place, Jim Reef, said he thought it is justice that minors with fake IDs be held more responsible for their actions.\n"Technology is so good these days that there are fake IDs out there that would fool a cop," Reef said.\nBut there were other managers who were less positive about the ruling.\nThe Assistant General Manager of Scotty's Brewhouse Bryan Scantland, said he didn't agree with being able to sue the minors. He said lawsuits take up time that he would rather use to run the bar. The servers and bartenders are trained very well on how to spot fake IDs and will confiscate them if any are found, Scantland said.\n"We would swallow the (fine) because it is ultimately our responsibility," Scantland said.\nRegen Ton, owner and manager of the Runcible Spoon, said her establishment is a restaurant that caters to all ages, and the number of minors who try buy alcohol with fake IDs is small.\nShe said the court's ruling is a big step forward, but she doesn't think she would take the same action as the South Bend bar.\n"The responsibility is on the owner and employees to carefully card people. That is made pretty clear by excise," Ton said.\n-- Contact staff writer Karen Yancey at kaeyance@indiana.edu.