Area 'shocked' at underage drinking? That's shocking

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February 2, 2012

Anonymous Daily Star The Daily Star Thu Feb 02, 2012, 02:25 AM EST

It has been referenced so often that it has become a cliché.

In the movie "Casablanca," Claude Rains' Capt. Renault character is closing down Rick Blaine's (Humphrey Bogart) cafe.

Rick: "How can you close me up? On what grounds?"

Renault: "I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here."

A croupier who hands Renault some money: "Your winnings, sir."

Renault: "Oh, thank you, very much. Everybody out at once!"

After a raid on three bars by state and local authorities Saturday night, everyone in charge of Oneonta's city government, its two universities and many of its tavern owners must have been "shocked, shocked" to learn that underage drinking is going on here.

In truth, much of Oneonta's economy depends upon students under the legal drinking age of 21 spending their money in downtown bars.

Certainly, Oneonta could not afford its current bus service without the ridership of thousands of students who make their way to downtown bars during the school year.

And, as we have been saying in this space for years, neither the city nor the State University College at Oneonta nor Hartwick College nor many bar owners have done anything other than to tacitly condone the underage drinking.

On Wednesday, the state Liquor Authority suspended the liquor licenses of the three Oneonta bars targeted in a multi-agency sting last weekend.

Pending an appeal, The Alley, Today's Lounge and The Upper Deck are no longer allowed to serve alcohol.

All three bars had been cited numerous times by the Liquor Authority in recent years for keeping disorderly premises and serving underage drinkers, among several other violations.

The argument can be made that the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18, but perhaps that might lead to 15- and 16-year-olds with phony identification being served in bars.

Also, it is beyond dispute that if students younger than 21 were denied access to the bars, they would be in a more-dangerous environment because more of them would party and drink in private apartments.

That said, to believe that The Alley, Today's Lounge and The Upper Deck are the only local establishments catering to underage drinkers stretches credulity.

The technology is available for bars to determine if an I.D. is valid. SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick can install draconian penalties for students arrested for underage drinking, and Oneonta police can do more-regular checks of who's in the bars.

Meanwhile, students who can't handle their liquor will continue to get rowdy as they make their way home, urinate where they please and commit minor acts of vandalism.

And, everyone is shocked, shocked, to learn that many of them are under the legal drinking age.