OPINION: Don’t let arrest season ruin your fest season

Danny Murnin is a sophomore studying journalism and an opinion writer for The New Political. 

Please note that these views and opinions do not reflect those of The New Political.

At Ohio University, the second half of the spring semester is widely regarded by students as the most exciting period of the entire school year. The reason for that, of course, is Fest Season. Over the course of three weekends, six different off-campus student housing areas are home to rowdy booze-fueled parties that start early in the morning and last late into the night. 

Like it always has been, this year’s Fest Season will be home to the making of lasting great memories. Spending an entire day drinking for free in crowded yards with your best friends while playing games and listening to good music is living any typical college student’s dream. What isn’t living the dream, is getting arrested, and Fest Season has no shortage of run-ins with law enforcement. Unsurprisingly, many of these arrests are for underage drinking.

In a perfect world, I wouldn’t have to write this piece, because the drinking age in America should be 18 years old or 19 years old, like it is pretty much everywhere else in the civilized world. I could go on and on about how having to be 21 years old to drink in this country is a pure abomination that is based on flawed, fear-mongering data and rhetoric.

Ranting about this, however, would not do any good. Rather, I will outline how to enjoy your Fest Season and avoid or minimize legal trouble. As I hope I've made evident, I don’t personally believe there really is anything morally wrong with being an underage student here at Ohio U and having a few drinks. 

As I will mention later, the best way to avoid legal trouble is to completely avoid drinking while underage. It’s not my view, but it is the truth. Along with legal issues, any kind of criminal charges come with fines from the court and the school. This is why it is so important to be careful and safe while drinking. 

For the purpose of this article, all hypothetical situations and interactions I will bring up should be thought of as happening at or around fest parties, not at bars. Most rational Ohio U students who have experienced Fest Season before, of legal age or not, will strongly advise against underage students going to bars during the six days that fests take place. 

There will be a large presence of uniformed and undercover law enforcement in and around Uptown bars on fest days, particularly during the evenings and nights. In addition to and partially because of this, bouncers and bartenders tend to be much stricter when checking IDs. For a solid majority of weekends during the school year, underage students with decent fakes can enjoy themselves at some of the bars as long as they are careful. This isn't the case on fest days, so stay away. 

Act smart. 

First things first, a good way to avoid being cited for underage drinking is to avoid acting like a fool, and take measures to avoid exposure. After experiencing my first Fest Season last year, I can confidently say that your chances of getting in trouble with the law will go down considerably if you follow a few basic rules: Don’t urinate or puke pretty much anywhere that isn’t indoors; don’t litter at all, especially when not at a party; don’t touch the police horses without expressed consent; don’t get in a fight; don’t drink so much that you become a complete drunken mess and/or blackout; and definitely do not be carrying any alcohol, open or unopened, when not at a party. 

Know your rights. 

Clearly though, this isn’t always enough, which is why it is important to understand what your rights are in a potential situation where you come face to face with law enforcement asking for verification of your age. It may make the difference between saving yourself a lot of time, money, and stress or not. 

My main advice would be to educate yourself on Section 2921.29 of the Ohio Revised Code. This is the state law that allows law enforcement to question you about your age if you are drinking and suspect you may be under 21 years old. Simply put, the law requires an individual to tell law enforcement their full name, address and date of birth if asked. 

Stephanie Russell-Ramos, managing attorney at Center for Student Legal Services, said those three things are the only information students are required to provide to law enforcement upon request, and that it is best to only provide those three things. 

“You are required to provide identifying information. Only provide that information," Russell-Ramos said. “Do not volunteer any information. You have the right to remain silent. Utilize it!”

Anyone underage person reading this who is unlucky enough to be approached by law enforcement in regards to suspected drinking age violations on a fest day, or any day really, should absolutely follow Russell-Ramos’s advice. Don’t ever admit to anything law enforcement may accuse you of, or you think they are accusing you of. But don’t lie to law enforcement either, that will make your situation worse. Simply don’t answer further questions and declare your intent to remain silent. 

However, if you are confronted by law enforcement, I would recommend asking them what you are suspected of, even though you would already know. The reason for this is that Section 2921.29 states, “it is not a violation of this section to refuse to answer a question that would reveal a person's age or date of birth if age is an element of the crime that the person is suspected of committing.” However, Russell-Ramos said there is a caveat to this exemption that isn’t to the benefit of students being asked to verify age. 

“In order to not provide your age or date of birth, you would have to know you are suspected of UAC (underage alcohol consumption) to know age is an element of that offense. Upon initial interaction, most officers do not tell the person they suspect them of UAC,” Russell-Ramos said. “By providing your name and address, the officer will likely be able to identify you and determine your age.”

Still, it is never a bad idea to try and use all the rights legally available to you to help yourself should trouble find you, as long as you remain non-combative and cooperative to the extent required by law. This includes not showing an ID, even though that is what law enforcement will most likely initially ask for. It may come as a surprise to many people reading this, but there is no legal requirement to show ID. Russell-Ramos said law enforcement usually ask for it to make things easier for them. 

“You are not required to provide an ID,” Russell-Ramos said. “An officer asks for an ID to simplify the process to verify a person's identity.”

As a matter of fact, if you are an underage person, it is probably best to not bring any ID listing your age at all with you on any occasion where you will be going out somewhere to drink. Leave your driver's license at home, you won’t need it anyway! Matt McClenahen, a lawyer out of State College, Pennsylvania, wrote in a blog post that he has won underage drinking cases because his clients did not have ID with age verification on them upon arrest. Remember, you are innocent until proven guilty, and guilt must be proved beyond reasonable doubt. 

This matters because of something called search incidence to arrest (SITA). The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits warrantless “unreasonable searches and seizures,'' but SITA is an exception. SITA allows law enforcement to perform a search of a person after arrest. If you happen to be arrested by law enforcement for underage drinking, they can legally search you and your belongings, so it would make sense not to let them see definitive proof that you are not of legal drinking age. 

Considering the existence of SITA, it is also important not to have a fake ID on you unless you plan to try your luck at bars (which, as I’ve said, is a bad idea on fest days.) Russell-Ramos said SITA can make it difficult for students carrying fakes to avoid being charged for that. 

“Generally, the accompanying charge of fake ID with the UAC occurs due to a search incident to arrest, which is a lawful search of the person who is under arrest,” Russell-Ramos said.

Remember the most effective way to avoid legal trouble.

Russell-Ramos also said that in her opinion, the best overall way for underage students to avoid legal trouble is simply not to drink.

“I never advise anyone to break the law. The best way to avoid being cited for UAC is to not consume or possess alcohol under the age of 21,” Russell-Ramos said. “If you are under 21, you should not be in possession of, or consume, any alcohol.”

Honestly, Russell-Ramos isn’t wrong. If you don’t drink underage, you don’t have to worry about getting in trouble for it. But drinking has become so increasingly ingrained in college culture from the day you move in to the day you graduate, particularly at schools like Ohio U that are known for being big party destinations. Wouldn’t it be better if we didn’t treat alcohol like some scary awful substance, and instead focused more on education so people could start drinking legally more responsibly at a younger age? 

Fest Season can be a whole lot of fun if you and your friends make an effort to go out and have a good time, but knowing how to have a safe time is just as if not more important than having a good time.

So, know your rights, tie up unnecessary loose ends, don’t act like a fool, be calm and collected with law enforcement and you will probably always end up in good shape.