Course Reflection

        I didn’t really know what to expect when I first showed up to Composition class. I was recommended by a friend of mine to take this class with Filip and I’m glad that I did. This class pushed me to write the best that I could. In high school I always did well in my English classes but I had never enjoyed writing at all. I really liked writing in this class because I was able to actually write about things that I found interesting and that I cared about. We watched a lot of interesting things like the Vice Guide to North Korea. I enjoyed the actual class time because it was laid back and we were able to have discussions and be able to speak freely. The blog posts were much better than writing papers all of the time. It was also enjoyable to have a professor who was close to our age because he was much more relatable than most professors. He understands the stress that we are under and understands how to get us interested in a topic.

Vicious Game

I came up with story, while I was sitting in the library, and I saw this lacrosse player studying in the library. It got me thinking about Lacrosse and how violent of a game it is, especially for women, who don’t wear pads. I feel like this story is something that would happen in real life, not just in lacrosse but in any rough sport.

She sits so innocently in the library studying and getting her work done; who would think that inside her is a beast that is just waiting to be unleashed this afternoon. She had just rolled out of bed, still tired from her long weekend of snowboarding and threw on her favorite sweatshirt from her high school lacrosse team, with a pair of sweatpants and sneakers. She doesn’t bother to put any make up on and just pulls back her hair in a ponytail and heads down to the library. She picks a table in the back away from most people and she sits down, takes out her MacBook and powers through the homework she wasn’t able to finish last night. She looks at the time; a look of panic comes across her face. She is late for class again. She quickly packs up her things and dashes across campus as fast as she can without slipping on the ice. She gets to class and the professor scolds her for being late for the 5th time this semester. She makes it through her classes, has quick snack and runs down to the P.E. Center.

This is what she has been waiting for all day, and what motivated her to get through her classes. It was time for Lacrosse practice. They warm up and then get into running drills. The whole team is pumped for the first game tomorrow against their rival team Keene State.  This is Caitlyn, she is the captain of the Women’s Lacrosse team. She is especially excited for this game, because her long-time rival, Allison, is the captain of Keene’s team.

In the morning her nerves are up so she decides to go to the gym for a quick work out to calm herself down. She goes to lunch and then heads down to get ready for the game. The game begins and Caitlyn is playing extremely well but the rest of the team is still a little rusty and aren’t playing so well, which isn’t good because Keene is playing great today. This gets Caitlyn very frustrated because they practiced so hard. She starts playing rougher and harder as she gets more frustrated with her team. Keene keeps scoring on them. In the end Keene wins and as soon as the time runs out, an animal comes out of her. She dash across the field raging, runs up to the celebrating team, stick in hand, and with as much force as she can she beats the captain, Allison. She hits her and hits her repeatedly until she falls to the ground and stops moving. Her teammates finally pull her off of her, but its too late. They check and her pulse is gone.  Allison is dead. Caitlyn bolts across the field and takes off.  She is too fast for anybody to catch her. The police start looking for her. The finally find her a few miles down the river. She was found motionless on the bank of the Pemi River in Ashland. She jumped off of the bridge when ran off.

The Suburbs

           For decades literature and media has portrayed the suburbs as a place lies, infidelity, and murder, hidden behind a façade of perfection. “Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream” by Joan Didion tells the story of a seemingly affluent couple from the San Bernadino Valley, outside of Los Angeles. Lucille and Cork Miller seemed to have a good life, but when Lucille is charged with the murder of her husband, all of their secrets are revealed including her infidelity with a close family friend and his overwhelming debt of more than $600,000. But since this was published, other stories since this have been portrayed in the media such as the town of Agrestic, in the show Weeds, and Wisteria Lane on Desperate Housewives. Both of these show the dark and seedy side of these picture-perfect neighborhoods. As someone who grew up in the suburbs, I can’t completely throw out the idea that there is a dark side to the suburbs. There were several stories of infidelity that came out of our neighborhood. Also one of the largest drug and prostitution raids in Southeastern Massachusetts took place merely five houses down the street from me. Although these things do happen, the media often exaggerates how often this happens and adds extra drama.

Should Bartenders be Held Liable for the Behavior of their Customers?

             It happens every night in bars, clubs, and restaurants all across the country.  Thousands of people pack into their local bars and nightclubs for a variety of reasons. Some go to get hammered, some go to hang out with friends, and some go to find love, but what they all have in common is that they all will have a drink in their hand. But how do you know who’s had too much and are they going to make smart decisions after they leave? According most laws across the country, known as “Dram Shop Acts”, it is the bartender’s responsibility to monitor the patron’s intoxication level and cut them off if they have had too much. But why can’t people take responsibility for them and know their own limitations?

 The Massachusetts General Laws Part I Title XX Chapter 138 Section 69 says “No alcoholic beverage shall be sold or delivered on any premises licensed under this chapter to an intoxicated person.” ("General Laws: CHAPTER 138, Section 69") Therefore it is illegal for anyone to sell alcohol to somebody who is already drunk. Bar owners have to carry insurance to cover for these instances when a patron goes causes damage or injury because they are subject to hefty fines if found liable.

The Massachusetts General Laws state that in any hearing by a licensing authority under the first paragraph of section 64 where a licensing authority finds that a licensee under section 12 has served or sold alcohol or alcoholic beverages either to a person under 21 years of age in violation of section 64 or to an intoxicated person in violation of section 69 within the 24 months immediately preceding the date of the alleged violation that is the subject of the hearing, the licensing authority may require, in addition to imposing any other sanctions, as a condition precedent to any modification, reinstatement or renewal of the license that the licensee provide a certificate of insurance for liquor liability providing security for the liability of the licensee to a limit of not less than $100,000 to any 1 person and $200,000 to all persons; provided, however, if the licensee is required to obtain insurance coverage under said section 12, then the licensing authority may increase the limits set by said section 12. Limits imposed or increased under this section shall be set at the discretion of the licensing authorities. ("General Laws: CHAPTER 138, Section 64A")

So if a patron leaves a bar gets in his car and crashes into another car and kills somebody, the bartender and the bar owner may be found liable for the death of the other person. “In Massachusetts, someone who suffered physical injury, property damage, or consequential damage may sue a licensed liquor seller who served an intoxicated person. New Hampshire makes a seller liable if he negligently or recklessly provides alcoholic beverages to a minor or intoxicated individual. Proof that someone served without requesting proof of age is admissible as evidence of negligence.” (Duffy, "Dram Shop Acts")

One example of a lawsuit involving dram shop acts is the case of Whiddon v. Federated Mutual Insurance Company. In this case the mother on the behalf of the Plaintiff, Angela Whiddon, who was a minor, sued the owner of a liquor store. “The mother's daughter was injured while riding in a car operated by an underage driver, who got behind the wheel after buying alcohol at the owner's store. The mother filed a dram shop suit against the owner.” (138 Fed. Appx. 663, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 13670 (5th Cir. Miss. 2005)). In this case the mother received partial judgment in the matter.

The next example is the case of Thibodeau v. Slaney in the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine. In this example the defendant invited the plaintiff over to help stain his roof. “Before arriving at the house, appellant consumed several alcoholic beverages, and several more beers in the house. When appellant climbed on the roof to stain the peak of the house, he fell and sustained numerous injuries.”(2000 ME 116, 755 A.2d 1051, 2000 Me.) The defendant was found not liable under The Maine Liquor Liability Act due many factors including the plaintiff’s inability to prove that the statute applied to him.

This final example comes from the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. The case is Cimino v. The Milford Keg Inc. In this case a man sues The Milford Keg, a local bar, after one of their patron’s leaves the bar and runs over the plaintiff’s son on the sidewalk and kills him. According the case file, “The child's father brought actions for wrongful death, conscious pain and suffering, and negligent infliction of emotional distress.” (385 Mass. 323, 431 N.E.2d 920, 1982 Mass) The jury made a judgment for the father. Although the bar owner was found liable, the court did noted that the tavern did not owe a duty to refuse to serve liquor to an intoxicated patron unless the tavern knew or reasonably should have known that the patron was intoxicated.

In these cases it has been shown that for the most part the alcohol distributors were found liable for the actions of their patrons. This is unfair because it isn’t always black and white when it comes to determining who has had too much. It should be up to the patron’s to know their own limits. People need to take personal responsibility for themselves. If people decide to drink they should be held responsible for their actions while intoxicated, instead of relying on the bar tender to cut them off, and prevent them from getting behind the wheel of a car.

Works Cited

Duffy, Daniel. "Dram Shop Acts." OLR Research Report. 20 Dec. 2005. Web. 21 Apr. 2011. <http://www.cga.ct.gov/2005/rpt/2005-R-0922.htm>.

Cimino v. Milford Keg, Inc. , 385 Mass. 323, 431 N.E.2d 920, 1982 Mass. LEXIS 1297 (1982)

"General Laws: CHAPTER 138, Section 64A." 187th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Web. 21 Apr. 2011. <http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter138/Section64A>.

"General Laws: CHAPTER 138, Section 69." 187th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Web. 21 Apr. 2011. <http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXX/Chapter138/Section69>.

Thibodeau v. Slaney , 2000 ME 116, 755 A.2d 1051, 2000 Me. LEXIS 115 (2000)

Whiddon v. Federated Mut. Ins. Co. , 138 Fed. Appx. 663, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 13670 (5th Cir. Miss. 2005)