ever heard the term shoulder tapping? today's strib describes a new minnversity study in which young-looking research assistants offered liquor store patrons money to buy them beer.epidemiologist traci toomey finds that young males are significantly more likely to respond favorably to such requests: 19 percent agreed to purchase the beer, relative to about 8 percent in the general population.
this is an intriguing finding, i suppose, and consistent with the general tendency toward greater delinquency among young men relative to other demographic groups. the study used 4 female research assistants and 1 male RA, however, so i'm a bit concerned that chivalry or some sort of ican'tbelievethiscutegirlisactuallytalkingtome phenomenon might have something to do with the propensity of young dudes to violate the law and respond favorably to the request.
i can't imagine a scenario in which i'd buy booze for minors, partly because i'm afraid they'd drink themselves to death (well, i did see a bit of this while attending college in madison) and partly because i'd assumed one would be severely punished for such an offense. in case you'd consider making such purchases for your undergrads, here's the formal deterrent:
St. Paul police spokesman Tom Walsh said they have charged individuals with providing alcohol to a minor, a gross misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, for buying in such circumstances.
if someone taps you on the shoulder, just say no.
photo by Richard Tsong-Taatarii , Star Tribune
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