Bar patrons are sure to notice some changes in the downtown scene this Thursday, Nov. 5, as police patrol units increase and bar employees sport matching shirts that say “Bellingham Nightlife Advice on Tap.”

A campus-to-community educational effort to abolish disorderly alcohol-induced behavior among young bar hoppers, Advice on Tap began in nearly all the downtown bars Oct. 8 and will take place again on Nov. 5 and Dec. 3.

Because so many 21-year-olds are only accustomed to drinking at house parties, many of them have no idea what sort of drinking behavior is acceptable at bars, said Laura Welker, Western’s Campus Community Coalition coordinator.

Aside from this event, Welker said, “There’s not really any education about bar etiquette.”

Advice on Tap was formed by Western’s Hospitality Resource Alliance and Western’s prevention programs in collaboration with Western's University Police, Bellingham Police and the Washington State Liquor Control Board.

“It’s a concept of shared responsibility,” Welker said. “We like getting the conversation going in the bar itself.”

Darren Tinnerstet is one of the two liquor board officers who patrolled downtown Oct. 8. Each liquor board officer teamed up with a Bellingham Police officer and a UP officer in an effort to make themselves accessible to young bar patrons.

Along with the foot brigades were two policeman on bicycles.

“We’re just zig-zagging through the city, trying to do this in a non-confrontational setting,” Tinnerstet said.

Jackie Cook, a waitress at The Horseshoe Cafe, said she was thrilled by the opportunity to converse with young customers about what proper bar etiquette means.
She said new patrons need to learn what is and is not allowed at a bar.

“Some people go way overboard,” Cook said. “People will wet up napkins and throw them all over the place. You don't even do this stuff at your own home. Why would you do it at a restaurant? It’s really hard to deal with.”

Cook said unruly behavior like this is obviously unacceptable, but more subtle actions such as complaining about being carded or being cut off are not so obvious to many young drinkers.

“There is a reason we do what we do,” Beaver Inn manager and bartender Don Butler said. “The people behind the bar are actually good people; they’re just doing what they have to do.”

Butler said he is happy with the additional police units.

“The Bellingham Police Department is a very important part of helping us keep things under control,” Butler said.

University Police Cpl. Joseph Bailey said he encourages bar customers to approach the extra police around town with any questions.

“The whole theme of this thing is education, to educate not just the bar staff, but the patrons,” Bailey said. “To show people just to be responsible.”

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