Story 2- rebecca Ralph

The beer I had a person of underage to purchase from a gas station in Oxford, Ms.

Rebecca Ralph

Journalism 377

Underage Drinking

Underage Drinking In a College Town

Oxford, Mississippi is not only known as a small beautiful southern town, but it is also know for throwing lavish social events and parties, and with all that comes a lot of drinking,- alcohol of course. A town of about 14,000 residents may have outsiders questioning how Oxford holds up its reputation but as Ole Miss fans say, "We may not win every game, but we've never lose a party."

Alcohol related arrests are not uncommon in any college town, and Oxford is not exempt from this fact. Arrests range from DUI's (Driving Under the Influence), and public drunk arrests, to drunk- and- disorderly conduct which makes it seem impossible for a weekend to go by without people getting detained for having too much alcohol in their system.

Home-game weekend arrests differ drastically from non-home football weekends. Nearly 60 alcohol related arrests happen, on average when the Rebels play at home in Oxford. However on non-football weekends, only around 20 alcohol arrests occur, according to OxfordCrimeReport.com records.

Oxford Crime Report allows anyone to pay a fee to receive the public records of any arrest. The records identify the individual, their age, race, where they are from, and gives a description of what their arrest consisted of.

On big home-game weekend Oxford Police Officer Zachary White says, " It's not crazy to think that 100 people get arrested on alcohol- related chargers. If they win, fans party. And if they lose, fans drink their cares away. Either way, they're drinking."

According to OxfordCrimeReport.com game weekend or non-game weekend, alcohol arrests are just as common on week days as they are on weekends. On average, around 10 people get arrested each week throughout the year on alcohol related charges, nearly all of which are DUI's.

The amount of people getting arrested for alcohol related causes during the weekdays came to a shock when Ann Hogan saw this information. "I didn't realize that many people were drinking during the week. How does anyone get anything done, like their homework or go to work when intoxicated?" said Hogan.

When people think police are mostly concerned about catching people on the weekends and not weekdays, they are less worried about getting caught under the influence of alcohol. "People assume we aren't on the lookout during the week, and they get careless. Our top priority is always safety. We know that people get risky during the week, and we don't want that carelessness to result in accidents and danger for not only the drivers, but anyone else on the road as well," says White.

Weekends and weekdays in the spring are similar to weekends and weekdays in the fall as far as alcohol related arrests go, averaging about 20 alcohol related arrests given out to individuals. DUI's are highest on the list for alcohol related arrests in the fall, but in the spring public drunk alcohol arrests are highest on the list. This includes disturbing the peace, public intoxication, and minors in possession of alcohol, according to OxfordCrimeReport.com

Underage drinking is a part of everyday life, but people in Oxford prefer not to talk about it. People know its happening yet no one wants to take a stand and prevent it from happening because it is so hard to monitor each and every person that walks into a gas station, liquor store, or bar to buy alcohol. Also incredible looking fake ID’s are getting past bouncers and bartenders.

Ryan Rigney went into a local gas station on Jackson Avenue to purchase a case of beer. "I need a 20 pack of Budwiser. Bottled," said Rigney to the cashier. Rigney handed him his ID and cash.The cashier looked at the ID quickly and returned it, yet he didn't check hard enough to see that Rigney was not of age. Rigney purchased alcohol only being 19-years-old.

"Over a ten-year period, underage drunk drivers in Mississippi were responsible for 688 deaths, which was an average of more than one death per week. The Mississippi Department of Public Safety reports that ten percent of DUI (driving under the influence) incidences between 2001 and 2002 were committed by a minor. Mississippi ranked 47 highest in the nation for cost of underage drinking in 2001 with a cost of $1,647 for each youth in the state. Underage drinkers accounted for 2.3 percent of all DUI arrests in Mississippi in 2003. This remains unchanged throughout 2005." according to snapshot.ms.gov

Oxford police, bouncers and bartenders are taking a stronger stand on preventing underage drinking from happening. "All of our bouncers and bartenders have extensive training on how to spot a fake ID and how to know whether it's real or not," said Hudson Chadwich, owner of The Corner bar in Oxford.

Also having Alcohol Beverage Control coming in on random nights during the week and on the weekends is making it harder for underage drinkers to get away with doing so. ABC employees blend in with the crowd and not knowing they are close behind you watching closely for any suspicious behavior allows them to catch underage drinking activities.

Alcohol related arrests are so common in Oxford. Having fun can be done in a safe way, therefore Oxford police are taking actions to cut back on individuals thinking they can get away with driving drunk, purchasing alcohol underage, or participating in alcohol related events.

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Sources: Ann Hogan, Ryan Rigney, Officer White, Hudson Chadwich, OxfordCrimeReport, and snapshot.ms.gov