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The Dartmouth
December 1, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth
John Finn
The Setonian
Opinion

The Crusade Against Demon Rum

I am writing to issue an urgent warning to Dartmouth students that you run -- don't walk -- to the room in Baker Library above the periodicals room, where you'll find the New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated (NHRSA). Learn to look up laws in this collection and learn what the laws in New Hampshire are, particularly those pertaining to "underage drinking," intoxication and protective custody. It's apparently open season on students again, and the Hanover Police, as they were in the fall of '94 when the N.H.

The Setonian
Opinion

No New Hampshire State Law on Underage Drinking and Intoxication

To the Editor: I was glad to see Rich Akerboom's letter about Tubestock in the Dartmouth, since the Boomer and his friends were, I believe, the ones who started Tubestock, now one of the Upper Valley's coolest yearly events. However, I was a little dismayed to see Mr. Akerboom mention Vermont and New Hampshire laws on "underage drinking and public intoxication", since there ain't no such animal. While Dartmouth has a regulation prohibiting underage drinking, neither Vermont nor New Hampshire has any such law. The relevant New Hampshire statue is NHRSA (NH Revised Statutes Annotated) 179:10, "Unlawful Possession" (of alcoholic beverages by those under 21). There have been attempts in recent years in the New Hampshire Legislature to expand the scope of 179:10 so as to prohibit consumption as well, but these have been overwhelmingly voted down. The only relevant Vermont statute is VSA Title 7, paragraph 657, "Minors misrepresenting age or procuring or possessing liquors; alcohol and driving education." Attorney Stephen Borofsky of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union came to Hanover in the fall of 1994 to represent Dartmouth students and others under 21 who maintained that they had been falsely arrested by Hanover Police, who seemed to be enforcing College regulations instead of New Hampshire laws.

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