To have a membership or not to have a membership8212;that is the question. Or at least that was the question students from the U and BYU argued at Thursday’s public debate at the S.J. Quinney College of Law, which addressed the pros and cons surrounding the proposed elimination of required private membership at Utah bars.
Students Carlie High and Derek Snarr represented the U and argued in favor of doing away with memberships. They beat Brigham Young University students Bruce Daniel and John Fetters, who represented the side favoring the memberships, in the debate.
High and Snarr argued that there are three main harms that come from the current membership legislation, the first being that the national negative perception that it is hard to get a drink in Utah harms the tourism industry.
The affirmative team also pointed out that a total of 10 percent of all alcohol sales revenue goes to the school lunch program.
High and Snarr said that requiring memberships is a form of government intrusion because bars have a list of people who attended the bar. They argued that having door personnel at the bar who are too busy checking memberships are not able to monitor patrons who leave the establishment and attempt to drive home after having too many drinks.
As part of their proposed plan to do away with membership legislation, High and Snarr recommended a review of the changes after five years.
Daniel and Fetters’ opposition argument outlined a 10-step program to revamp the current private membership requirement.
They suggested a law that would establish a general membership for all Utah residents wishing to purchase alcohol, whether it is in a restaurant, liquor store or bar.
The plan would involve an annual $35 dollar fee that would be paid and take the place of all other memberships at all bars. The revenue from the new fee would go directly to a state education fund.
“The $35 annual membership would be cheaper than paying for a bunch of memberships,” Daniel said, pointing out that the revenue from the annual memberships could add up to close to $27 million for education.
Tourists would be exempt from the membership and would not have to pay to enter any bar, they said. Daniel and Fetters said they feel like the tourism industry would increase as visitors would think they were getting a good deal by no longer being charged a membership fee
In response to the safety issue raised by the U team, the opposition proposed doubling membership fees every year for Utah residents who are charged with a DWI. Requiring an interlock system to be installed into DWI offenders cars was also suggested to combat drunk driving.
The topic for the debate stems from the summer recommendation by the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control that the state change the private membership laws. Daniel said tourism and hospitality boards have been pushing for a change because of the negative way some visitors to Utah perceive the laws.
Snarr said the annual fee would create more problems within the state.
“The backlash to the $35 fee would supercharge the division the state already feels,” he said, referring the perception of the influence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has over the state.
The debate was filmed so that legislators can see what the universities have to say about the proposed law. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has been pushing for this change for a while, Daniel said.
High and Snarr are enrolled in the forensic practicum class in the communication department and volunteered to participate in te debate, said Brian Danielson, director of forensics at the U.
“This debate is a culmination of what they have been working on throughout the semester,” Danielson said.
A vote was held after the debate to decide the winner. Audience members were encouraged to take notes throughout the debate and decide which side they felt presented the best argument and countered the other side’s arguments. High and Snarr won the debate in a three-to-one margin and were each presented with a trophy, although moderators acknowledged a “home field advantage” for the U team.
Lennie MahlerDerek Snarr makes a case for the elimination of private club memberships during a debate Thursday against BYU’s Bruce Daniel and John Fetters in the College of Law. Carlie High also debated for Utah’s team.