8 • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
COVER STORY
THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2003
the man at the door
Bouncers use tricks to detect fake IDs
Kelley Weiss/Kansan
Stuart Reed, Lawrence resident, middle, talks to customers at Abe & Jake's Landing. As a bouncer, he said he always had to watch for minors trying to get in and had to make sure people stayed out of trouble.
By Neit Mulka
Jayplay staff writer
nmulka@kansan.com
He might be sitting on a barstool, but he is not drinking alcohol.
He is the bouncer, and the first face many students see when they enter a bar. Bouncers have the job of making sure total mayhem does not ensue in an unpredictable environment.
A bouncer must have the ability to handle intoxicated people, which James Gregory, a bouncer at the Replay Lounge, 946 Massachusetts St., knows well.
"It takes a certain type of demeanor," Gregory said. "It requires that you need to be nice when you don't want to be but not too nice. It's a fine line. I find it best not to be an outright jerk."
In a town full of underage college students, it is necessary to be able to pick out minors. Some bouncers rely on clues from fake IDs and body language.
Micah Woulfe, a bouncer at the Jazzzhaus, 926 1/2 Massachusetts St., said he could determine whether an ID was fake by looking at the hologram on the ID.
"If it's fuzzy and the person handing it to you is frigidity, they're probably underage," he said.
Gregory uses an approach similar to the way police officers ask intoxicated motorists to recite the alphabet. He said he could detect minors by their words.
"They're usually a minor when they say, 'I swear it's me,' before I even look at it," Gregory said. "It's because they're nervous."
Although some bouncers use the tricks of the trade and their own experiences to spot minors, Dan Pound, a bouncer at the Eighth Street Taproom, 801 New Hampshire St., uses a more instinctive approach.
"It's a certain look in the eye that says, I'm an amateur," Pound said.
"It takes a certain type of demeanor. It requires that you need to be nice when you don't want to be, but not too nice. It's a fine line. I find it best not be an outright jerk."
James Gregory checks the ID of Steve Hammond, Lawrence resident, and Jen Cardinal, Olathe senior. Gregory said he detected minors by listening to what they said.
James Gregory
Bouncer at the Replay Lounge
Brandon Baker/Kansan
Despite the sharp eyes of bouncers, underage drinkers can still weasel their way into the bars. Adam Waechter, Lawrence junior, has his own way of evading the man at the door.
"A couple times there have been bands I wanted to see at over-21 bars," Waechter said. "I just waited outside and helped the band carry their stuff in. The bouncer just thought I was with the band."
Shima Ortiz, a Lawrence resident who is now 21, received help from her friends when she was too young to drink at Lawrence night spots.
"I'm friends with the friends of bounce-
ers, so I was cool by association." Ortiz said. "When I showed my ID, they gave me a bracelet instead of X-ing my hands."
Other techniques used by students do not pan out as well.
"A couple nights here and there people will try to give me money," Woulfe said. "It's usually just a few bucks, so I don't let
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