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NEWS The Red & Black | Thursday, August 31, 2006 | 3A Bar owners, coalition discuss alcohol issues By AUDREY GOODSON agoodson@randb.com and By BRIAN HUGHES bhughes@randb.com Regardless of how diligent downtown bars are in crack ing down on underage drink ing, they can only do so much to combat the issue, said an employee from a Broad Street bar. Beyond checking IDs at the door and putting bracelets on bar patrons under 21-years-old, Mark Woods, technical director of the Ritz, said it was impossi ble to catch all illegal drink ing. “It would be easy to say the problem is simply due to bars,” he said. “The issue is so much more complicated.” Woods shared some of his thoughts Tuesday with mem bers of the Campus- Community Alcohol Coalition, a group made up of community, University and police officials. David Lee, owner of the Eastwood Pub on Gaines School Road, was among the four bar owners present at the meeting. He said the most effective way to reduce underage drinking would be to restrict people between 18 and 20- years-old from entering bars that only sell alcohol. “If they can’t drink, why should they be let in?” he said. Coalition Chairwoman and Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Pat Daugherty said the meeting was an effective discussion among leaders in the community. “We’re just trying to find the most plausible approach (to stop underage drinking),” she said. The coalition meets every month, but University Chief of Police Jimmy Williamson, one of its members, said this meeting was more effective because it was the first time multiple bar owners were present. “This issue isn’t going away overnight. We still have a lot of work to do. ” PAT DAUGHERTY Coalition Chairwoman and Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Stricter police enforce ment, more sophisticated fake ID recognition and increased training for door men and servers were some of the ideas discussed. However, no long-term decisions were made, Williamson said. Woods compared the prospect of pre venting college stu dents from drinking to “pushing a boulder up a hill.” He added that par ents and educators needed to reach stu dents as early as mid dle school because so many people are intro duced to drinking at an early age. Woods said the University has made vast improvements in controlling alcohol use since he was an undergradu ate in the early ‘90s. “It wasn’t long ago that Milledge was lined with keg parties every day,” he said. Williamson said increased policing wouldn’t be the sole solution. “We feel enforcement is our role, but we also want much more community involve ment.” Woods said many of the severe problems associat ed with underage drinking happen away from downtown because it takes police longer to respond to those areas. Daugherty said the coali tion would meet again next month to continue the debate. “This issue isn’t going away overnight,” she said. “We still have a lot of work to do.” WILLIAMSON MAYOR: Candidates provide underage drinking remedies >- From Page 1A public urination and notify the ACC Health Department of possible violations in bars. Charlie Maddox, a pastor at Twin Oaks Baptist Church in Washington, said he places responsibility for Athens’ drinking problem on students and their parents. “These are not little chil dren. If they’re smart enough to go to UGA, then they are smart enough to make the right decisions,” he said. Maddox added when his two daughters moved away to college, they knew they still had to answer to him. Maddox urges parents of University students to make sure their children under stand they will still be held accountable. Although Rusk doesn’t think Athens has a drinking problem, he admits if police were to check IDs in certain bars they would find many underage drinkers. Rusk said he does not believe Athens-Clarke County should increase the minimum age to get into a bar since many underage people come to Athens to hear bands play ing in bars. The mayor and commis sion have no direct influence on when and where police raids are carried out, said ACC Manager Alan Reddish. Reddish said the Mayor and Commission have a wide- range of powers relating to underage drinking, including setting times alcohol can be distributed, increasing aggressiveness of enforce ment and setting ordinances describing fines for bars dis tributing alcohol to minors. MAYORAL CANDIDATES TOM CHASTEEN ▲ HEIDI DAVISON CHARLIE MADDOX RICHARD DE ROSE ANDY RUSK ▲ ▲ PILL: Morning-after pill often mistaken for abortion pill >- From Page 1A replace traditional methods of birth control. “We don’t recommend it as a regular form of birth control because it is not as effective as other forms and it’s expen sive — not because it isn’t safe,” Cohen said. “We recommend it be used in the case of emergencies only.” Cohen also disputes critics who say the pill will increase promiscuity and said research shows the emergency contra ceptive doesn’t increase promiscuity. Plan B works by prevent ing ovulation and implanta tion. Plan B sometimes is con fused with RU486, often referred to as the abortion pill. “There is a big difference between RU486 and Plan B,” Cohen said. “RU486 actually terminates a pregnancy, Plan B prevents it. If an egg is already implanted, Plan B will not harm it.” Plan B is the trade name for the product that contains two levonorgestrel 0.75 mg tablets, which is a proges terone, said Jack Fincham, professor of pharmacy care. One pill is taken as soon as possible, and the other is taken 12 hours later. “It is safe for women to use without a prescription,” he said. “It’s been used this way in the United Kingdom now for many years.” Most birth control pills contain both an estrogen and a progesterone and are thought to cause more side effects than the progesterone —only birth control pills like Plan B. “It has very similar side- effects to ‘regular birth con trol pills’, which could include nausea, stomach pain, head ache, dizziness and may cause breast tenderness,” Fincham said. Plan B will not be available to purchase without a pre scription for a few months. One student said she has mixed views on the pill. “On the one hand, it’s good for people without insurance or who are too scared to go to the doctor,” said Natalie Arford, a senior from Marietta. “It’s also scary, though, that it might become another regularly—used contracep tive, and I don’t know what the possible effects are for using the pills like that.” SHE WEARS LEVI’S® SKINNY JEANS HE WEARS LEVI’S® SLIM STRAIGHT JEANS THE ORIGINAL Find your Levi’s® style at GOODYs today! Athens West Shopping Center, 3190 Atlanta Highway www.shopgoodys.com/mylevis A STYLE FOR EVERY STORY™