Dean Elmore, Tavern Owners Talk about Drinking
Meeting highlights partnership between University, proprietors
![Boston University BU, alcohol enforcement, Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore, local Boston pubs bars owners](/files/2012/11/t_12-5934-BUPUB-021.jpg)
Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said that the bar owners at the meeting last Thursday âunderstand that theyâve got quite the potent drug in their spaceâalcoholâand that theyâve got to be responsible.â Photo by Cydney Scott
Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore confessed to a view that, he admits, might sound odd: he likes seeing students in bars.
Thatâs because when it comes to student safety, the more controlled environment of restaurants and taverns has it all over some other venues, like-off campus parties. Elmore shared that thought and others with local tavern owners last Thursday at a first-of-its-kind meeting between him and them to discuss students and alcohol. A headline last month reinforced Elmoreâs point: police arrested a half dozen BU students at two massive Ashford Street house parties in a single weekend. Each party drew upwards of 100 students from various colleges.
âIf theyâre going to drink, theyâre going to do it in far more moderation in an establishment,â Elmore (SEDâ87) told the owners.
The periodic sit-downs with restaurant and bar owners, he said, was one suggestion of last yearâs University task force probing abuses, including of alcohol, by the hockey team. At this first meeting, it turned out, BU did most of the talking. âAnything you need for us to do? Please, let us knowâright now,â Elmore urged the restaurateurs in a lounge at the George Sherman Union. Except for scattered appreciation for their relationships with the Universityââa great line of communication,â Tâs Pub co-owner Jimmy Rooney saidâthe proprietors had little to say.
Not only have the University and BU police stayed in touch informally with tavern owners about any student problems, the owners said, but Elmore and other officials patronize the establishments, a gentle reminder to students that you never know just who might observe your behavior. âWhen they do come in and they see Dean Elmore or John Battaglino, theyâre respectful,â said Joe Donovan, co-owner of Tâs, referring to BUâs assistant dean of students.
âWeâll continue to patronizeâand in Johnâs case, frequentâyour establishments,â Elmore promised, with a grin for Battaglino. He also said he was grateful for help from Cornwallâs pub in Kenmore Square, which has urged BU students who feel unsafe in the squareâfrom having too much to drink or other reasonsâto identify themselves to the management, which will call a cab or appropriate BU staff to assist them.
âThatâs being a real responsible neighbor,â he said after the meeting.
BU officials also distributed a pamphlet with guidelines to ensure that businesses donât give preferential treatment to student-athletes. Perks like free food or drink that are unavailable to the public can trigger NCAA penalties.
Among the businesses that sent representatives to the meeting were the BU Pub, Sunset Cantina, Tâs Pub, Paradise Rock Club, OâLearyâs, Audubon Circle, Cornwallâs, and Uno.
After the meeting, Amanda Girginis, a manager at Sunset Cantina, said underage college students with fake identification were her biggest student-related headache, although she and others said their establishments usually can handle the problem with ID-reading technology and staff training. âOn a Friday and Saturday night, we see a lot of fake IDs,â she said. âAnd we either just take them away, or if we canât identify themââcause some of them are really, really goodâwe give them back and tell them, âNext time you come in, you need to bring a passportââ or other ID. âOther than that, weâre just doing our job and making sure no student leaves our restaurant intoxicated when they are of age.â
The businesses also work with the University at enforcement. A representative of Paradise Rock Club had nothing but good things to say about the clubâs relationship with University police. Donovan said later that Tâs Pub invested in a $5,000 scanner for detecting fake IDs.
The ownersâ general satisfaction with their relationship with the University is the payoff from earlier outreach, Elmore said following the get-together.
âWhat I heard was that these are folks who also take what they do very seriously,â he said. âThey understand that theyâve got quite the potent drug in their spaceâalcoholâand that theyâve got to be responsible to the young people who frequent their businesses.â
Elmore said he planned to meet again with the group at the start of the next academic year.
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