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Bryan Sears, Catonsville Times, 124th year, No. 29, Week of May 11, 2005
It might not be the swallows returning to Capistrano, but the return of the "beer buses" is a sure sign of spring in Towson, some residents say.
The buses, so named by area residents and local police, are known for picking up college students from area apartment complexes and taking them to bars. The buses then bring those same students back after the bars close.
Corrine Becker, a community activist for Riderwood Hills, said she became aware of the trips this year when she witnessed college-age men and women getting on yellow buses on Kenilworth Drive around 9:30 p.m. on March 31.
"They were parking on side streets and coming out of apartment complexes," Becker said. "There were taxis dropping kids off."
The buses take college students to bars, according to police and Towson University officials.
After an evening of blowing off steam, the partiers return to the buses and then to their cars.
"That's when it gets hairy - when they come back to their cars at 3 in the morning, drunk and urinating in people's yards," Becker said.
A month later, the buses were again seen near Kenilworth and a restaurant near the Towson University campus.
Fliers announcing the trip were found by residents. The April 30 bus trips took partiers from Towson to a popular club in the Power Plant Live complex near the Inner Harbor.
Attempts to reach 20ne Promotions, one of the promoters listed on one flier, were unsuccessful.
There have been no arrests made in connection with the buses either this spring or last although police said there may have been a handful of citations issued for open alcoholic containers in public and for public urination.
Last year, the buses picked up and dropped off students at the college. At one point, a loading dock out of sight behind the student union building was used as a makeshift bus terminal.
"By now, (the bus drivers) know they can't go anywhere near the college," said Susanna Craine, a spokeswoman for Towson University.
The university banned the buses from the campus last year out of concerns for binge and underage drinking.
Capt. Karen Johnson, commander of the Towson precinct, said the students and organizers are getting smarter and changing tactics, moving the pickup sites to make detection more difficult.
"They're definitely getting smarter as time goes on," Johnson said.
According to Johnson, an officer responded to the March 31 Kenilworth incident, but there was little the officer could do because the buses were not illegally parked or stopped and were not blocking travel lanes or on private property.
"We did the best we could," Johnson said, noting that those are the only reasons police can use in intervening.
The buses are often associated with nuisance crimes such as late night noise and public drunkenness. There is also a concern about partiers who attempt to drive after having to much to drink, Johnson said.
Craine acknowledged that the growing problem in communities near the college is a result of heavy enforcement to prohibit party buses on the campus.
The college is concerned about the buses because they are worried they promote alcohol abuse by students, according to Craine.
"The students defend the practice by saying "We're being safe, we're not driving," Craine said.
Craine said the college is now working with police and community leaders to rid the surrounding areas of the beer- bus trips. Though Craine said the college police cannot legally cite the buses off campus and college officials can only report the trips to police.
University officials want to head off any potential problems arising from nuisance crimes related to the trips and reduce underage drinking.
Johnson and other community activists have praised the university for actively addressing the situation last year and this year.
Craine said that the university will continue its efforts.
"We will be on top of it as we are allowed to be," Craine said. "We need to be out on the street waiting for the buses to come, wherever they are going to come. This year's plan is not last year's plan."
Johnson said additional enforcement measures might require changes in the law.
"It might come to that point," Johnson said. "Right now we can only enforce the laws on the books."
P. Christopher Paul, Catonsville Times, 124th year, No. 30, Week of May 18, 2005
It was interesting to note that attempts to reach 20ne Promotions, the promoter of the Power Plant Live club were unsuccessful. As a news staff writer for the UMBC Retriever, I wrote an article involving posting events on the campus. UMBC strictly prohibits the advertising of events that have consuming alcohol as their primary purpose. At the time, Power Plant Live had posted advertisements all over campus.
I made several attempts to contact the promoters via email but the Power Plant Live promoters refused to respond. In my mind, this indicates that the Power Plant Live is merely in the business of selling alcohol any way it can with a complete disregard for the neighboring communities as a whole.
Fletcher's Bar of Arbutus, was advertising a similar event and did respond to my email. The promoter said, "alcohol is almost everywhere," It is a statistical fact that the 21 to 25 age group are the most likely to drink and that they are also the most likely to develop problems with alcoholism. This indicates a lack of respect for the community and these entrepreneurs' practices should be brought to the attention of the rest of the community.
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