City officials and downtown bar owners have been at odds for more than a year, devising safety plans and making unofficial price agreements, all in the name of curtailing binge drinking at the downtown bars.
But what neither can effectively regulate is the common practice of drinking before going out, or “pregaming.”
“It’s just kind of like a part of getting ready to go out,” sophomore English major Mary Bolgiano said. “So you don’t have to spend as much money.”
Looking to save money or to start drinking earlier, students often pool their money and buy alcohol to drink before heading out to bars so they won’t have to drink as much downtown.
In a presentation to city officials earlier this month, Thirsty Turtle owners Alan Wanuck and Tom Hall expressed concern about this practice and assured officials their employees would be trained to recognize drunk patrons trying to gain access to their establishments.
“If they’re coming to the bars, you just have to make sure they’re not intoxicated when they’re coming in,” Wanuck said. “It’s as simple as that.”
Hall called pregaming students “bobbleheads” at the meeting and said he often denies entry to those who have obviously been drinking.
Wanuck said he doesn’t understand the appeal of pregaming.
But students said, despite low-price drink specials sometimes offered at College Park bars, it’s still not cheaper than the neighborhood liquor store. They also cite slow service at bars as a deterrent.
“The room’s a more relaxed atmosphere,” said sophomore architecture major Kenny Horton, who pregames with his friends at home. “You don’t have to wait for a drink.”
And the loud music blaring through the speakers doesn’t always set the best social scene, he said.
“You can’t socialize that much because it’s so loud,” Horton added. “All you can do is dance.”
College Park Director of Public Services Bob Ryan said the city’s main concern is the safety of students, something he feels could be compromised with heavy drinking before going to the bars.
“It’s a concern on multiple levels,” Ryan said. “If people are drunk when they’re headed to the bars, they’re at risk.”
Ryan said the city faces a serious dilemma: They don’t want drink prices to remain so low that they encourage binge drinking, but the bars offer security and supervision while house parties do not.
“I think it’s a pretty complex issue,” Ryan said. “If there was an easy solution, someone would have come up with it by now.”
Some students, like sophomore business major Matt Gianfrancesco, said one way bars might address the popular practice of pregaming is to adopt new policies that mirror the fun, relaxed setting of a pregame.
“I wish they’d have some [drinking] games sometimes,” Gianfrancesco said. “Then I’d pregame there, I guess.”
rhodes@umdbk.com
