When The Avalon on Landsdowne Street closed down two years ago, one of Boston’s lingering friends to the 18-plus nightclub-going crowd dissolved. Put aside the fact that the city was in the process of banning under-21s from nightclubs all together ‘- a policy that has since been cementing ‘- hope for those who could not legally drink but still wanted to dance faded. City officials cited increases in violence and more frequent noise complaints as reason for the rash movement but offered few and fragmented statistics as evidence to the claim.
Still, in the blink of an eye, Aria, Avalon/Axis, Embassy Modern, Jake Ivory’s/Bill’s Bar, New York City Jukebox, Nick’s/Venu, Roxy, Rumor and Who’s On First were all forbidden from catering to a younger crowd, in addition to any other venues in the Theatre District or on Landsdowne Street, according to a January 17, 2007 issue of The Daily Free Press. The act was initially deemed a temporary one, but prohibits just the same nearly three years later.
Now, with a steady decline of Boston’s young professionals as a major point of contention in the recent mayoral election, the idea that the administration that first enacted the club ban is still at the head of the city is disconcerting. An urban area in need of young people needs to make sure that the young people it still has have the opportunity to experience a city beyond university walls. Disallowing students from activity that should be well within their right has not and will not yield a safer city. Inevitably, students are just pushed to houses in Allston where they are at a greater risk to do whatever Mayor Thomas Menino was hoping they wouldn’t.
If the city of Boston wants to recover from the loss of its young people, it needs to make an effort to reopen the doors it closed in the faces of its 18-plus population. If students act responsibly in clubs then they should still be entitled to use its resources just like any other law-abiding resident of the city. Typecasting almost-21-year-olds as across-the-board criminals is a ridiculous generalization and one that has not fixed the problem of crime and noise in the city. It is a stretch to think students who aren’t trying to use fake IDs to enter clubs are wholly responsible for Boston’s demise. More damaging to the city is the precedent set that says they don’t belong.
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