Most underage CMU students still use old ID
Lynn WloszekPeople younger than 21 can turn in their drivers license at any branch of the Secretary of State and receive a new vertical identification card in exchange.
More than 83,000 vertical IDs were issued in July and August. However many CMU students have not taken advantage of the free exchange.
St. Johns junior Alissa Hoffman said she wanted the license after hearing about the new design but never had time get it.
“I turn 21 in March and will get a new license then anyway,” she said.
The redesigned license became available July 1 with the intent to prevent minors from buying alcohol, tobacco and other age-restricted products.
“(It) should work better being it has these new styles to make it easier to ID someone under 21,” said CMU Police Chief Stan Dinius. “Maybe it will be a deterrent. I don’t know, we will have to see how it works and see if there is the impact they are predicting.”
Jason Johnson, a bartender at O’Kelly’s Sports Bar and Grill, 2000 S. Mission St., said he thinks the ID is an excellent idea.
“You can tell right away that they are underage,” the Traverse City graduate student said.
Alpena sophomore Kelli Harkins said the new ID will make it harder for students younger than 21 to get into bars and may discourage them from trying.
“I think it is a good distinction between over 21 and under 21,” she said.
O’Kelly’s manager Rachelle Dern said the vertical ID may deter students, though it won’t be completely effective in preventing underage drinking.
“I think it’s a good idea, but it really doesn’t matter,” she said. “If someone wants to get in it is not going to stop them.”
According to a press release from the Secretary of State, the revamped tamper-resistant design will help prevent alterations or forgeries.
“Obviously even if people are under 21 they can have fake ID’s, but this will help filter them out,” Dern said.
The free exchange program ends Oct. 1, when the state will replace the license for a duplication fee of $9.
The new license will take about five years to integrate, after which the horizontal licenses will no longer be valid.
