Wednesday, January 6, 1999
Yea, I’m 21
It’s a fact of life at most college campuses: if you’re under
21, you need a fake ID. But unfortunately for many students,
getting away with this ruse isn’t as easy as it sounds.
By Aimee Phan
Daily Bruin Contributor
Life in Los Angeles can really suck if you’re under 21. That is,
unless you have a fake ID. Since most clubs and bars in Los Angeles
require patrons to meet the minimum drinking age of 21, many
college students see the fake ID as a solution.
"Almost everyone I know wants one if they don’t already have
one," said Jessica, a third-year sociology student. "I’d feel left
out if all my friends were going to bars without me."
While possessing false identification is considered a
misdemeanor in the eyes of the law, most students are willing to
overlook potential legal consequences in favor of the benefits,
such as admission into dance clubs and access to buy alcohol.
Thanks to growing computer technology and the Internet, students
now have a variety of choices in getting a counterfeit ID. Some of
these options include either altering expired driver’s licenses,
ordering bogus identification software kits on the Internet or
buying a friend’s ID and having them report it stolen.
A traditional, and still popular, strategy is buying counterfeit
out-of-state IDs from underground dealers.
Elizabeth, a third-year history student, purchased her fake ID
for $35 last year after a friend told her about an ice cream shop
in San Francisco that also sold counterfeit driver’s licenses.
"It was very open for everyone to see," Elizabeth said. "We just
walked past the ice cream counters and there was another counter
displaying all these different IDs."
Since the quality of buying out-of-state IDs can be poor, others
prefer altering their own expired driver’s licenses in hopes of it
looking more genuine. This could be risky, though, if the person
tampering with the ID isn’t careful enough.
Jessica was one of those unfortunate people. After paying a
friend of a friend $75 to change the date on her driver’s license,
she was shocked when the he returned it to her completely
distorted.
"It definitely looked like the ID had been tampered with,"
Jessica said. "I got totally cheated."
While Elizabeth was luckier with her fake ID, she said she only
uses it at smaller liquor stores and bars that are lenient on
identification.
"I would only take it to places where they’d just glance at the
birthday and not really examine it," Elizabeth said. "But never at
places that are really strict on carding."
One of those places would be Maloney’s in Westwood, a bar
notorious for their strict doormen and consistent ability to screen
out most fake IDs.
Danny Kaye, head doorman at Maloney’s for the last four and a
half years, said it is the bar’s responsibility to prevent underage
drinking as much as possible to keep their liquor license.
From examining IDs top to bottom and quizzing patrons on
personal information, Kaye said the doormen are required to make a
"good faith effort that the people entering the bar have legal
identifications."
Sometimes it’s really easy to spot them.
"There are some really obviously fake ones where people scan
them with a flatbed scanner, paste their pictures on them and
re-laminate them," Kaye said. "Or they’ll scratch or bleach out the
date of birth."
Often it’s the person who gives him or herself away.
"We’ll ask them for their date of birth and they don’t know or
they just get it wrong," Kaye said. "Or the ID doesn’t come close
to describing them. A guy will come in with an ID that says he’s
5-foot-7 and he’s really 6-foot-2."
Kaye guessed that he and the other doormen encounter around 25
to 30 fake IDs a night. While they do have the option of calling
the UCPD to report them, most underage hopefuls are just turned
away.
"We give them a stiff warning that the next time we will
confiscate them," Kaye said. "Sometimes we will have to confiscate
and cut them up in order to protect ourselves and the other bars in
Westwood."
Doormen and bouncers aren’t the only ones on the lookout for
fake IDs.
Because the IDs are illegal, the police are also interested in
taking away these counterfeit IDs from minors.
Officer Russell McKinney of the UCPD has seen his fair share of
fake IDs.
While McKinney realizes what a popular accessory a fake ID can
be for college students, he warned of the damaging repercussions of
getting caught.
"It’s a misdemeanor in the state," McKinney said. "If you go
into government work or anything that needs a background check, it
will come up that you have an arrest record."
A misdemeanor could result in a fine, jail time, or both,
depending on a judge’s decision.
Despite the potential legal punishments, most students are
willing to take the chance for the promise of a more exciting
social life.
"There’s really nothing you can do between the ages of 18 and
21," complained Elizabeth. "You can vote, buy cigarettes and ride a
bike without a helmet. That’s about it."
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