Hailing from Madison's far west side, Ald. Paul Skidmore, District 9, has been on a crusade for months to get keg registration passed in the City Council. Why? Are the residents of District 9 going on a massive keg-buying binge? Obviously not. Keg registration has never been about helping District 9. It has been about targeting students.
The proposal would require anyone purchasing a keg to register a name, address, date of birth, identification number and date of the sale. In addition, it would prohibit anyone from purchasing more than one barrel unless a special permit is obtained.
A quick look at the proposal shows that Skidmore should stick with the concerns of District 9.
Students will not stop drinking if they cannot get more than one keg. Instead, they will switch to a more dangerous form of alcohol'hard liquor. It is simply harder for students to control their drinking with hard liquor. In fact, it is quite plausible that, if the keg-registration proposal passed, it would result in more trips to detox for students.
Luckily for students' safety, alders who actually represent students, Mike Verveer and Austin King, realize the absurdity of the keg-registration proposal and have consistently worked to defeat it.
Along with others, they soundly defeated the proposal last year. Alas, Skidmore apparently has not been deterred in legislating over a group of people he knows little about.
This keg registration proposal will not become a reality because it is completely out of touch with the realities of campus.
