For many college students, the question is not what to drink, but where to drink. From intimate dorm parties to Beirut and Milwaukee's Best at the frats, Tufts offers a variety of drinking options.
Some upperclassmen, however, say that drinking on campus gets old, and for many underage Tufts students, a fake ID is the key to off-campus revelry.
Oftentimes, the likelihood of obtaining a fake ID depends on where students live. Visitors and residents of the New York tri-state area can find a decent fake if they head into New York City. Senior Doug Jardine and sophomore Jane Doe [name changed due to the sensitivity of the subject] found fakes in the Village for about $60. However, if you look hard enough, fake ID's can be found just about everywhere. Senior Rob Lindsley found one for half the price paid by Jardine and Doe, at a flea market in Atlanta. Other students have turned to fellow students who make fake IDs by hand or have even made their own.
It's not that hard if you have the right tools, said one Tufts senior, who requested to remain anonymous. "With the right equipment, you can make a good fake for around $100 or so."
Ingredients for homemade fake ID include a basic laminator (available at Staples for around $60), laminating plastics ($10), basic color inkjet printer ($40-$150), glitter paint ($3), good quality paper ($1 per sheet). The accuracy of the fake depends on the state ID replicated.
"New Jersey is really easy. The hardest part is the hologram. Everything else you can do in Photoshop," he said. Doe, who has a fake Louisiana ID, agrees.
"New Jersey is the easiest to copy, but the hardest to use," she said.
Knowing how to get a fake ID is all well and good, but the real question is, does it work? That depends on where you go.
"My ID has worked everywhere I tried in New York," said Doe, who has yet to test it in Boston.
"Mine worked at Sligo's, Liquor World, and Downtown Liquor," said Lindsley.
Both Doe and Lindsley were reluctant to test their ID in Boston, where bouncers generally ask for two forms of identification. Students generally agree that faking it in downtown Boston is pretty tough.
"At the beginning of this year there was a real crackdown on underage drinking," says Jardine. "I've heard a lot of stories of police going undercover and busting people. You really have to have a good fake ID"
And using a fake ID can be risky. Emily Martin thought losing her ID was the worst thing that could happen if she got caught, until she found herself in the middle of a police sting operation at Mulligan's.
Martin had regularly used her fake ID at Mulligan's over the summer with no difficulties. However, a visit to Mulligan's "Tufts' Night" this fall proved more problematic.
"There were three guys at the door. They asked for my ID, but they couldn't tell if it was fake. So then one of them dangles a badge and handcuffs in my face," said Martin. Martin then admitted the ID was a fake and was whisked aside by two police officers who threatened she would get her license revoked and send her to jail. The police didn't arrest Martin, but they did call her parents at 9 a.m. the next morning.
Sometimes just possessing a fake ID can get you in trouble. Doe says one of her friends in New York lost his wallet in a cab that an undercover policeman was driving. When her friend met up with the cabdriver to retrieve his wallet, he was shoved into a police car and arrested.
However, these stories are the exceptions to the rule. On average, students agree having a fake ID confiscated, getting embarrassed, and losing about $60 are about the worst things that will happen.
At Tufts, it seems having a fake ID is a novelty, not a necessity. Though many students own fakes, many also don't use them.
"It was apparent I needed one," said senior Al Arencibia, "but so many people told me they had theirs taken away. It didn't seem like a good investment."
Arencibia used his older brother's ID frequently in New York, but it rarely worked in Boston.
"The attitude about ID's here is more serious," he said, citing Boston as a particularly sensitive city to nighttime activities. "Places aren't even open past 2 a.m."
Arencibia recommended fake ID's as a good way to get off campus and experience places other than Tufts. But if you get one, "you better be really confident that you're 21," he says. "Look bouncers directly in the eyes."
"I recommend it if you have the balls to use it," says Lindsley.
Doe agrees. "This is one of the strictest places you're going to go. It's worth it if you think you look old enough. Otherwise you're just wasting money."
Editor's note: This article has been amended following its publication to reflect the concerns of one of its sources. Her name has been changed to Jane Doe.
