Students will be able to weigh in on a change to allow bars and clubs in Gainesville to close an hour later.
A referendum question, which will be on Student Government’s Spring elections ballot, will ask students if they want bars and clubs to stop serving alcohol at 2 a.m. but close at 3 a.m.
The nonbinding referendum was passed by the Student Senate Tuesday night.
As of now, Gainesville law requires all bars and clubs to close at 2 a.m. The referendum will not change the law, but it will gauge students’ opinions on it.
Senate President Christina Bonarrigo, who authored the referendum, said a soft closing at 2 a.m. gives people time to be in a state where they can get home safely.
Nicholas Smith, general manager of The Swamp Restaurant, said he would support a soft closing and a later hard closing, even if it’s just 30 minutes apart.
“We have to be hoarding them out at 2 a.m. like cattle,” he said.
If the referendum is passed favorably by students, Bonarrigo said the next step is getting city commissioners and the mayor on board.
Contact Colleen Wright at cwright@alligator.org.
