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Yale Police Crack Down on Minors Buying Booze

By Amanda Raus

| Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009 | Updated 5:45 PM EST

Yale Police Crack Down on Minors Buying Booze

Yale Police are trying to keep alcohol out of the hands of underage students.

Yale Police are stepping up patrols at liquor stores on and around campus. The goal is to crack down on underage drinking because an increasing number of students are being hospitalized for drugs and alcohol.

"It's a policy choice on the part of the school and it seems to make a lot of sense," said Abby Hinchcliff, a Yale Law student.

The officers are stopping students outside the stores and asking to see identification if they are carrying alcohol. The Yale Daily News reports three minors were cited for underage drinking outside of Broadway Liquors on Friday, and on Halloween, a Yale student was cited for underage possession of alcohol after using a fake ID to buy booze at Zachary's Package Store.

"A friend of mine, I think Saturday night, was out. He just left a party and got cited for having a beer in his pocket. He wasn't drinking it, it wasn't open, but he's under 21 so that kind of cost him," said Chris Labosky, a Yale senior.

While some students may agree with the crack down on underage drinking, others don't think it's necessary.

"I think it's a waste of resources, only because I really don't think it's a problem," said Labosky.

Stores like Zachary's say they do have underage students who try to come in and buy alcohol. At Zachary's, they will sometimes ask for two or even three forms of identification. If they're not satisfied, they don't sell to the customer.