Forget Four Lokos. If you really want to see an intoxicated college kid’s heart race, stick around at a party long enough for the cops to show up.
If I’ve learned one thing in my time at Ferris State, it’s that Red Bull and vodka has nothing on spotlights and sirens.
With Welcome Weekend 2012 upon us, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of college. But it’s not all beer pong and butterflies. In order to avoid spending valuable binge drinking time sitting on the curb with your hands cuffed behind your back, take a moment and refresh yourself on the drinking laws of Big Rapids.
1) No one, regardless of age, may be on public property with open intoxicants.
It is against the law to consume any alcoholic beverage on any street, sidewalk, parkway, alley or parking lot open to the public. Students violating this law who are under the legal drinking age of 21 will be given MIP tickets while older students will be issued open intoxicant tickets, both misdemeanors. In addition, it is illegal to transport any alcoholic beverage in a container which is open or uncapped (this includes the seal being broken) on public property.
2) Making it or taking it—the use of fake IDs is prohibited.
A person who supplies fraudulent identification to a person under 21 years of age is guilty of a misdemeanor. Similarly, a person who uses false identification to purchase alcoholic liquor or to enter a business where alcoholic liquor is sold is guilty of a misdemeanor.
3) Stop and blow.
A police officer who has reasonable cause to believe a minor has consumed alcoholic liquor may require the student to submit to a preliminary chemical breath analysis. While it is the individual’s right to refuse a PBT, refusal may result in a fine and/or costs assessed by the court.
However, officers must be able to articulate a reason they are stopping students on the street.
4) Seek medical help without the fear of an MIP.
As of June 1, a new statewide medical amnesty policy is in place which prevents people under the age of 21 from receiving minor in possession of alcohol citations if they seek medical attention. Under the bill signed by Republican Governor Rick Snyder, minors who seek medical attention for alcohol poisoning either for themselves or another person will be granted amnesty from prosecution.
Now, we all know Brutus the Bulldog would chew off his own tail before Ferris’ minors stopped drinking. All your dear friends at the Torch ask is that you be smart about drinking (that goes for you crazy kids of legal age as well). Know the law, and know your limits. With that being said, rage on, FSU.