Columbia nightlife may be extended for an extra hour.
The Missouri Student Association and the Associated Students of the University of Missouri are making a joint effort to allow bars to remain open until 2:30 a.m. Bars would need to stop serving alcohol at 1:30 a.m., but customers could remain in their venues for an additional hour.
President of the Associated Students of the University of Missouri Ben Levin is leading the effort and says students have noticed a pressing safety problem and want to take action.
“Many bad choices and dangerous choices are made, so we are hoping to kind of stagger when patrons leave bars," Levin said.
He said this would enhance public safety because there wouldn’t be an influx of people hitting the streets at the current 1:30 a.m. closing time. Now this effort is still in the preliminary stages.
Human Services Manager Steve Hollis said his division is interested in the project from a public health perspective to see if it’s an effective strategy. He said it would not only require changes in local ordinance but in state statues as well, in the form of a geographic exemption.
