6B September 7,2011
Nerdenid
36
Pens, cardboard squares, my
dignity - I'm ready.
"Hi, would you like to take an
anonymous survey for The Michi-
gan Daily?"
Students standing in line at
Charley's have plenty of time to fill
it out.
My recorder is tucked away
in my bag - the Daily has a firm
policy about never interviewing
people under the influence. I still
caught pieces of conversations as
students waited to enter.
"Rick's has gotten a lot stricter
recently."
"Is this a sex survey?"
"Skeeps is like swiss cheese."
"This article is awesome."
"I was 28 in my ID."
"Conor O'Neill's took mine."
"The Jug took mine."
"Will this get everyone in trou-
ble?"
Scorekeepers Sportsgrill & Pub: 25 attemped
1 BOTH LCT IN AND DtNIED
"Obviously, everyone that
a comes in has a valid ID. It's our
job to make the best judgment on
whether or not it's fake," says Ed
Evers, Scorekeepers Sportsgrill &
Pub manager, as he leans closer
across the bar.
"Everyone has a fake ID, espe-
cially on a college town," he said.
According to Evers, Skeeps will
generally confiscate an ID if the
person tries to fight the bar's deci-
sion.
"If they just kind of walk away.
.oit's just like: OK, all right, now
we know what to look for, they've
come inbefore," Evers said. "We've
seen their fake. We were the judge
and jury on that.
"So yeah, we'll just let them
walk away with it."
Fake lDs from Michigan
23
At midnight on a Thursday, the
bar is full, the line is to the street
and it seems like everyone is
drunk.
"Also in a birthday party, 20
bucks there's always a fake ID,
always," Tim said. "What are the
chances at a birthday party the
only one in her pack turns 21?
"Usually they're really annoying
because they want special treat-
ment ... We see so many a night that
we don't care. I don't care." IDs are misrepresentations, and
Dobson is holding up the line those are really the hardest ones
now to keep the bar from over- to catch because obviously people
flowing. The bargoers can either can change their look pretty easily
wait in line or wait at the bar. - hair color, putting on weight or
"Nope. It's not real, have a nice losing weight, cutting their hair."
night," Dobson tells one persistent Most of the managers and
guy, whose threat to call the police bouncers at the other bars agree.
falls flat. "Call whoever you want, With more than 5,000 students
just step outside while you do it," in the senior class alone - most
Dobson says. of whom are 21 or older - chanc-
Dobson is forced to step away es are you can find someone who
from his post to try and usher the looks like you or knows someone
man on his cell phone outside. who does.
"We run the show in here, and
people don't realize that some-
times," Tim explains as he steps "W E RUN
up to block the line. The next per- T
son attempts to pass me their ID, THE S H OW
thinking I'm a bouncer and ignor- IN H ER E,
ing the scene to their right.
Dobson eventually returns to AND PEOPLE
his spot next to the host stand. He DO N'T
let the guy hold on to his fake.
"The Pennsylvania IDs have REALIZE THAT
all the county names in them. I ,,METIME .
couldn't see those," he says." There "J M E TllM S -
are tons of fake Pennsylvania IDs _- Charley's bouncer
going around, so I'd rather err on
the side of caution." Tim
He takes a sip from his water.
Ashley's: 18 attempted
3 DtNItD
1 BOTH LtT IN AND DtNIED
Ashley'a wants your ID.
That is, if it's fake."E RY N
"We offer our hosts an incen- "EVE RYON E
tive for catching fakes," Ashley's HAS A
manager Jerome Higgins tells me.
"Every fake that they catch they FAKE ID,
get $5 in pub bucks. ESPECIALLY
"When we catch one, we keep
it," he adds. "We might get one or O N A
two (fake IDs) a week."
Higgins isn't too concerned over CO L LEG E
minors attempting to get into Ash- TOWVN "
ley's on State Street. He knows the -I
crowd here is a bit older and more - Skeeps manager
mature, not just any student is try- Ed Evers
ing to get in.
"We don't quiz people on infor-
mation too often," he said. "If you Besides the basic structure of
have a fake and you haven't both- your face, height within a few
ered memorizing it, well..." inches and eye color (and even here
you just have to remember to claim
The Blue Leprechaun: 37 attempted you are wearing contacts), you can
fly under the bouncers' "diligent
3 DENIED inquiry" and into the watering
1 BOTH LET IN AND DENIED hole of your choice.
Meinke was not eager to sit
"I'd like to think that we're very down with me. After a game of
thorough and very strict in com- phone tag, a Friday night sitting
parison to other places - no names at the bar waiting to talk to him
mentioned." and what was clearly my greatest
The bouncers at Blue Lep will weapon in gathering information
identify and turn back somewhere (all-out begging), I was relieved to
between 10 to 30 false IDs during get him to sit down with me for a
a busy night, according to general brief interview.
manager Scott Meinke. Though it's my final interview,
"A lot of what we get with fake there are still a few butterflies left.
As much as I love Charley's, Blue
Lep is where you can usually find
me when I'm on South U.
This is not a man I want to piss
off.
I can see a flash of regret in his
eyes when I give him the news -
his bouncers aren't doing the job
he thought they were. According
to Meinke, they have a clear policy:
If the ID is expired, bouncers do
not accept them.
On the table are the two culprits
- two expired IDs from New York.
One was given to me by a friend
after she turned 21 (it had been
her older sister's in a past life). The
other is real. In fact it's my ID, but
today is 37 days past the expiration
date and "UNDER 21" is printed in
red next to my picture.
He takes a bit longer to respond
when I reveal the truth about my
real one, but it's understandable
why not only his staff, but most of
the nearby bars end up admitting
recently expired IDs.
The staff at Charley's all but
ignores the expiration date, and
despite what the assistant manag-
er at Rick's told me, the bouncers
seem to follow a different policy.
I think the second ID stings a
little more. It's long past its expi-
ration date, and while I might
look similar enough to the photo
to pass a round of questioning, my
examination at Blue Lep has never
included any words besides "ID,
please" and "thank you."
"You've used this ID to get in
here? Hmm, well - congratula-
tions," Meinke tells me.
He asks me a 'few questions
about where the ID came from,
then admits that he would prob-
ably let me in with it as well. "As I
said before, misreps are the hard-
est to get," he says.
Always failed
12
12:20 A.M. I Zack Frorenza, anoth-
er regular bouncer at the door,
has stepped in to pinch hit as the
line swells. Dobson and Tim are
stationed nearby to continue to
enforce their brand of Charley's
law.
An AAPD officer steps inside
and takes a look around.
"It's the first time I've ever
seen one come in," Frorenza said
to me. According to Tim, there
was another walkthrough about a
month ago.
Waiters rush by the door, pitch-
ers of beer splashing onto the
ground. Waitresses hurry to close
tabs behind me.
The stream of people doesn't
stop until 1:08 a.m., but the fakes
keep coming.
The ID reference book reveals
a fake Maryland ID with a seal
about double the size it is supposed
to be. The owner tells me she got it
from Toronto.
After handing off their ID, some
people will attempt to recreate the
look of their photo - one lifts his
hat and flashes a huge smile.
.Others automatically hand
credit cards over with the photo
identification - in most cases this
leads to more suspicion.
I remember Dobson telling me
earlier, "You can get your friend's
credit card just as easily as you can
get their ID."
One man is prepared, armed
with a passport and two credit
cards. After receiving his stamp
and sliding toward the side of the
bar I spot a smile slowly broaden-
ing and his friend elbows him in
the side.
The security staff isn't only
responsible for scanning IDs. They
move about the restaurant guard-
ing against any signs of violence,
extreme intoxication or people
trying to hop the fence outside.
We catch a girl attempting to
enter with the same ID as some-
one earlier, probably passed over
the fence by her friend. Nerves
are by far the biggest giveaway.
Two IDs take a shaky path into the
bouncer's hands, and more than a
few questions are answered with a
warble.
Others put on an act, conve-
niently answeringtheir phones
after the handoff or trying to dis-
tract the bouncers.
"They immediately turn their
head and talk to their friend like
I'm not gonna notice," Dobson
said, turning his head in panto-
miment eoe Itws' i,
The third glass of the night is
nudged off the rail at the bar, shat-
tering in the middle of server thor-
oughfare.
Frorenza tells someone he
can't accept his ID because it's
expired, despite allowing several
vertical IDs signifying under 21 in
moments before. "It wasn't him,
but that's just easier to tell him" he
says.
That reminds me of the last
time I was denied at Charley's. The
bouncer told me he couldn't accept
my ID because it was expired.
When I pressed on about the rejec-
tion he added: "I also don't believe
it's you."
Come to think of it, I think Dob-
son turned down my Maine ID the
first time I tried to use it.
There is no such thing as a per-
fect game in this job, but 18 refused
IDs is pretty good for one night.
Wednesday, Septe*mber 7,2011 // The Statement 3
Five of the most talked-about stories of the week, ranked in ascending order of actual importance
, - :
Green Day frontman Billie Joe
Armstrong was forced to leave a
Southwest Airlines plane Thursday
when he refused to pull up his
sagging pants. Southwest Airlines
officials apologized and allowed
him to board the next flight.
Former French President Jacques
Chirac is not required to attend
his corruption trial, which started
Monday, due to poor health.
Chirac, 78, is charged with
creating fake city jobs to fund his
conservative party.
Wisconsin researchers announced
Monday that milk coming from
large and extra-large dairies is
more sanitary than milk from
smaller, family-run dairies due to
fewer bacteria caused by poor
refrigeration or unclean equipment.
Pakistan army officials reported
the arrest of senior al-Qaeda
leader Younis al-Mauritani and
two accomplices on Monday. The
arrests are reportedly the result of
a collaboration between U.S. and
Pakistani intelligence.
Wildfires about 25 miles east of
Austin, Texas, have burned more
than 1,000 homes in the last
week and forced more than 5,000
people to evacuate. The fires have
reportedly destroyed 3.5 million
acres in Texas since December.
FTT1111* 1 6"111111 ...1. ,111..I,,11,1T1T..Ti..TF.TI.T.T.IT1
quotes of the week from the archives
"Get the hell off the beach in Asbury Park. You're Mister becomes sister
done. Do not waste any more time working on your
tan."ar~
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-N.J.), in reaction to reports of beachgoersh
in New Jersey staying at the shore and ignoring calls for evacuation in
preparation for Hurricane Irene.f
"The timefor Washington games is over. The time
for action is now." -
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, said during a Labor Day speech in
Detroit, refering to the strong opposition between Republicans and
Democrats in Congress. FILt PHOTO/Oaily
F or sororities on campus, the fall season welcomes new women to the organi-
the rules one honor sorority made headlines by accepting an unconventional member.
Women's honorsociety Pi Lambda Theta initiated then-School of Education
Dean Wilbur Cohen, making him the first male member in the sorority's 65-year
No. 340: No. 341: No. 342: history ("Sorority initiates first man in 65 years: Wilbur cohen," 10/24/1974). The
It's OK to drop Throwing your An 8 p.m. kickoff sorority began considering male members when it received a warning from Cohen
that they risked losing its on-campus office location if it did not desegregate its
a class if your broken TV on your time means you membership. Pi Lambda Theta's brother organization, Phi Delta Kappa, received
professor uses neighbor's lawn don't have to blast the same warning and began inducting women six months prior to its female
Comic Sans in the is not an effective Teenage Dream at counterpart.
Upon his acceptance as a member, Cohen said, "Of all the things I've done in
PowerPoint. form of cleaning. 6 a.m. Please. forty years, this is the most unusual."
by the numbers COUTSYOF THE BBC
In thousands, the number of people in Regions in East Africa that have been declared Percent of children in Africa's Bay region
Somalia who may die because of the famine zones, with the southern Bay region currently enduring malnutrition, which is
drought sweeping East Africa. experiencingunprecedented conditions. twice the rate required to declare'famine.