The 21 Club

Ah, the eve of one's 21st birthday. A time for reflection, perhaps, on this milestone of young adulthood, on this rite of passage into the annals of maturity. More likely than not, though, a time to raise one's blood alcohol ratio to an obscene level. The night before the big 2-1 will not find most students out for a quiet dinner for two. Instead, these birthday boys and girls flock to the nearest barstools for hours of drinking revelry. Yet, say post-partyers, the most important part of the celebration comes before the first round is even purchased. It is that momentous approach to the bar door, and the smirk of satisfaction that comes after handing the bouncer a now legitimate I.D. For some, this can mean a case of I.D. alter-ego. Engineering senior Tom Caleel had a difficult time synthesizing his two identities into one. "I think the funny thing was going into Smoke's," Caleel said. "I forgot what to say." "You're so used to saying your fake I.D. and birthday, and then you're like, wait a minute, I can say this," he added. Often, however, Murphy's Law takes effect. Indeed, many say that though they were carded before they reached legal status, no one checked their credentials on the one night that did matter. Jeffrey Pinco, an Engineering senior, failed to attract the attention of Chili's underage scouts during his birthday bash even after desperate attempts to do so. "They didn't card me there," he said. "They didn't do it even though my friends were asking them to." "I really wanted to get carded and I wasn't," said Pinco. "It was frustrating." Wharton senior Brian Spenner also found his I.D. useless after it became usable. "I don't think I've been carded yet," he said. "I always got carded before, and now I don't." As an employee of Chaser's bar downtown, Ken Williams is familiar with the display of pomp that comes from actually getting into a bar without using an assumed name. He explained, "[Students] don't mind showing their age card. They are a little more braggish about it." "They make it be known to everyone," he said. Judging from what he has seen, Williams believes that 21 means nothing more than just another notch in the calendar. Changes in I.D. do not necessarily bring changes in identity. "As far as their demeanor changing, they still act the same. They don't act like 'yes, I was 20, now I'm 21,'" he said. "The only way you know they're 21 is by them showing you their I.D." Pinco disagreed, citing this particular birthday as one of the two greatest in life. However, he said, growing older can be both a high and a low. "You're wondering, do I look older? At the same time, you get depressed because there are no big birthdays coming up," he said. The next big birthday is when you turn 65 and you retire," he added. Some students studying abroad avoided the issue completely due to the absence of underage drinking limitations. College senior Steve Birndorf celebrated in England. "They don't card you there. You only need to be 18 to drink," he said. "That's why it wasn't such a big deal." Birndorf recounted his evening as consisting of a series of unforgettable events. "Went out, had a few cocktails, got drunk, passed out," he said. Fellow college senior Erin Green also turned 21 while studying in Europe, but said that being away from home did not undermine the significance of the evening. "I went out with friends to a nightclub and I danced and drank," she said. "I didn't really mind not being in the country for my 21st birthday." Nursing senior Heather Harker also danced the night away in foreign territory, or, more specifically, in foreign waters. Harker was on a cruise to the Virgin Islands with her mother and sister. While en route to St. Thomas, several hundred people helped her usher in her 21st birthday. "The night of my 21st birthday, they announced my name on deck and I had to go up on stage," Harker said. "They sang Happy Birthday to me, and they bought me drinks and I got really drunk." Harker said that one crew member in particular tried to make her birthday especially memorable. "This photographer on the ship tried to hook up with me, but I couldn't because I have a boyfriend," she said. After gaining entrance into their favorite drinking establishment, students follow the tradition of sitting back and letting friends supply the refreshments. College senior Peter Lang explained the tradition. "The typical thing that happens is that friends buy you different drinks," he said. "You don't spend a dime on that day." For his 21st birthday, Lang and his friends began bar-hopping downtown, and continued all the way to campus. "I can't remember too much of that day," he said. "I wasn't coherent. I just remember waking up." "It was just a matter of going crazy and being pretty wild," he added. "The typical 'drinking until you can't stand it anymore.'" Another tradition involves the choice of the drinks themselves. The same old beer or vodka shots must be accompanied by out-of-the-ordinary creations. One employee at Smoke's described the most revolting drink he had ever seen anyone drink on their 21st birthday -- a combination of peach Schnapps, Bailey's Irish cream and grenadine. "It's called a brain hemmorhage," he said. "It tastes disgusting, but people like it because it looks like a brain." Said Caleel, "There's always someone who buys you a really gross drink." For his part, Caleel had to swallow a mix of tabasco sauce, tequila and Jack Daniels. "It was just one of those wild, fun, hyper nights," he said. The next morning, however, Caleel said that his level of hyperactivity was considerably dampened by a giant hangover. "It was one of those 'lie-in-bed-order-food-and-wish-you-could-die' kind of hangovers," he recalled. College senior Nancy Stone and her friends also boosted the business of local establishments in honor of her 21st birthday. "My friend's birthday was three days before mine, and our friends threw us a surprise party at Smoke's," said Stone. In order to keep the location a secret, Stone's friends blindfolded her and put her in a cab which drove through West Philly before arriving at 208 S. 40th Street. However, she said, she had been tipped off to the festivities beforehand. I would have been surprised, but one of my housemates has a big mouth," she said. Once at the final destination, a misunderstanding on the part of the bartender made for an overflow of beverages. "(My friends paid for) $30 worth, but he thought it was 30 drinks," Stone recalled. College senior Monica Ayres ventured down Walnut Street to Roosevelt's Bar for her birthday celebration. She does not recommend this plan of action to future partygoers, however. "It was really bad because Roosevelt's is a really bad bar," said Ayres. "They watered down our drinks." All in all, Ayres said, the atmosphere was a mellow one. "It really wasn't anything fascinating," she said. "I don't have very exciting friends." Not everyone has tales of merrymaking. In the case of College senior Mina Tamura, the demands of Spanish class forced her to celebrate her 21st with textbooks for company. "I actually had to study because I had a midterm," said Tamura. "I sacrificed for it." "I probably should have blown it off, but I didn't."