The Cellar enforces policy on SpiderCards

As 21-year-old students lined up to go to The Cellar last Wednesday, many were surprised by the strict carding policy at the on-campus bar. Some were even turned away when they tried to use a SpiderCard sporting a red spider icon to gain entry.

“We had our IDs and passports,” senior JJ Kiely said, “but they wouldn’t let in a group of seven of us because we had the red spider on our cards. We talked to the manager because we were served earlier in the week, but she said we need the blue one to get in.”

After giving students a break during the first few days of the semester, The Cellar manager Melissa Comstock said Sept. 3 marked the first day employees began enforcing their existing carding policy more strictly. They did not serve alcohol to students using SpiderCards with red spider icons indicating the student was less than 21 years old, even if he or she had turned 21 since receiving the card.

To be served alcohol at The Cellar, students must present a SpiderCard that shows either their birthday or a blue spider showing they are over 21, Comstock said. They will also be required to present a U.S.-issued driver’s license, a military ID or a passport.

“This policy came into effect last year, but I can speak from experience that it was not enforced strictly,” said Jill Smaniotto, a bartender at The Cellar. “I can’t speak for the entire staff, but it tended to be leniently enforced because the policy was new and not many students were aware.

“This semester, we were informed that such leeway would not be acceptable. A SpiderCard with a red spider would be accepted only if it is the holder’s 21st birthday.”

The blue-spider policy has been in affect at The Cellar since last year when One Card Services switched from printing birthdays on SpiderCards to using blue and red spider icons, Comstock said. The two-ID requirement has been a university policy since The Cellar opened 18 years ago, she said. Non-Richmond students are also required to show two forms of valid identification.

One Card Services started using the red and blue spider graphics in response to the request from the URPD to make SpiderCards easier for police, residence assistants and The Cellar bartenders to read quickly, Francine Reynolds, One Card Services manager, said.

International driver’s licenses will not be accepted at The Cellar, as Virginia law prohibits any alcohol merchant from accepting international IDs as valid identification, Comstock said. However, DMV 2 Go will be available in the University Forum Sept. 22 to issue Virginia ID cards to anyone without a U.S. driver’s license.

The One Card Services Office will replace red SpiderCards with blue ones free-of-charge any time during the year for students turning 21 years old, Reynolds said. However, students must relinquish their old card or pay $25 to receive a new card, she said.

Contact Collegian reporter Rhiannon Bell at rhiannon.bell@richmond.edu