I can’t understand why the Government of the Student Body would be opposed to an ordinance designed solely for the purpose of keeping alcohol out of the hands of minors. Underage drinking is against the law. The ordinance is an effort to curtail that by discouraging adults from supplying alcohol to minors and holding accountable those who do. Someone buying a keg already has to show their ID. The registration involves only recording the keg’s tag number. There will be no other pressure on buyers except maybe to remind them that if they share the keg with minors, there will definitely be consequences.

In counties and states with similar ordinances, there have been positive results: fewer overdoses, fewer accidents, fewer deaths. How can GSB not get behind the big picture on that?

As for no notice — during the past 18 months, the Story County Prevention Policy Board has played host to a series of “Community Conversations on Alcohol” that were open to the public. In addition, individual invitations were extended to local school districts, law enforcement, policy makers, the business community and university administration, including GSB members. ISU students were in attendance at those forums when keg registration was discussed as one of many options being considered to help curb underage drinking. Additionally, Youth & Shelter Services Inc. hosted a meeting last spring inviting all local law enforcement to talk about enforcement of underage drinking laws. Again, the topic of keg registration was addressed. Certainly, the ordinance itself was not crafted in those meetings, but the possibility of one should probably not come as a surprise.

This ordinance was not a sneak attack, and it’s not about trying to spoil anyone’s fun. What it is meant to be is one piece of a multi-layered approach to keeping young people safe and holding those accountable who would undermine their safety.

Denise C. Denton

Prevention Specialist

Youth & Shelter Services Inc.