The sign posted at virtually every bar in town tells the story:”We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.”
For those with out-of-state licenses, that often means them.Forty eight percent of SMU students are not from Texas, and thosewho are 21 years old say they have problems getting into barsbecause their IDs are not from Texas. Bars around Dallas,especially bars close to SMU, have become stricter about the IDsthey accept.
Many bars in the Dallas area have their own policies aboutaccepting out-of-state IDs. Almost all bar managers say that it isup to the establishment, and they maintain the right to refuseservice to anyone. Bar managers have a general policy, but manybouncers arbitrarily choose who they allow in the door.
“I have more problems now that I am 21 than I did with my fakeID,” senior psychology major Mike Flora said.
Junior Meredith Snider has the same problem.
“Just because I am from California, they won’t let me into theGreen Elephant. They don’t except any California IDs,” shesaid.
Owner Shannon McKinney of the Green Elephant says, “We do acceptout-of-state IDs, unless they appear to have been altered or arenot the individual in the picture. We reserve the right to declineanyone.”
McKinney said he has not targeted any particular out-of-statelicense and, in fact, said there were some good fake Texas licensesfloating around last year.
“At first, we had a hard time catching them,” McKinney said.”Once we figured out how to tell they were fake, bouncers couldspot them easily.”
According to McKinney, bouncers are trained on how to spot fakeIDs, and it gets easier with practice. The Green Elephant also usesa black light that detects the hologram and an visibleimperfections to inspect IDs.
Most bars, as The Green Elephant does, will not confiscate afake ID.
“The person that’s under age today will be over age tomorrow.”McKinney said. “We want their business.”
A new bar located in the West Village, Nakita, is inconsistentabout the acceptance of out-of-state IDs, in which case,misinformation appears to be a part of the problem.
“I was there for my birthday party with about 20 of my friends,”junior art history major Ashley Daryl said. “Two of them hadout-of-state IDs, and the bartender told them it was illegal inTexas to serve anyone with an out-of-state ID.”
Lori Dunn, a manager at Nakita, said the club does acceptout-of-state licenses.
“However, the establishment has the right to decide,” Dunnsaid.
She explained that one of her colleagues is knowledgeable aboutthe Texas laws and says it is illegal to serve someone if they donnot have a Texas license, however “most places let it slide.”
An agent at the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission said thiswas not true.
“It is not illegal for a person 21 years of age to get into abar with an out-of-state ID,” TABC agent Mercerson said. “Some barswill be hesitant if the person is around 21 because if theestablishment does sell to a minor, they could get up to a year injail.”
The San Francisco Rose is a bar that SMU students frequent, soone would think the establishment would be used to seeingout-of-state IDs. Still some students say they have a hardtime.
“I remember my sorority had a mixer there, and some of myfriends couldn’t drink because they wouldn’t accept anyout-of-state IDs, no exceptions,” junior anthropology major SummerRoberts said. “It’s ridiculous.”
The Rose said its policy is to accept out-of-state IDs, yet itremains up to the bartender whether or not they want to serve theperson. At the Rose, bartenders typically check IDs instead of abouncer. One bartender, Stacy, said they are supposed to acceptout-of-state IDs, they just require two forms of identification,like a student ID or a credit card. Stacy recommends getting aTexas ID because “it’s cheap and easy.”
It is not hard to get a Texas identification card, which isequivalent to a driver’s license at a bar. The $15 identificationcard can be purchased at any branch of the Texas Department ofMotor Vehicles. The branch at City Hall is about 10 minutes awayfrom SMU and is normally not as busy as the other locations.
It takes about 10 minutes to order the ID card. A socialsecurity card, a passport and a valid driver’s license are needed.Then, the DMV will mail the ID in about 30 days.
Getting a Texas driver’s license is a different story. Beforegoing to the DMV, your insurance company must be notified and yourcar must have Texas tags.
