Shortly after midnight on August 28, 2014, Michael Gatto, 18, a freshman at Georgia Southern

University suffered a beating outside of Rude Rudy’s at the hands of an off-duty Rudy’s bouncer.

Gatto died later that afternoon from his injuries.

 

The incident resulted in many changes in the Statesboro bar scene, including the closure of

Rude Rudy’s and an ongoing police crackdown on underage drinking, which is prevalent at

many establishments in Statesboro. 

 

“It’s important that we stop what we feel is the root of the problem,” Statesboro Police Officer

Jordan Given said. “Right now, we believe underage drinking is causing a lot of these issues,

and we have decided to crack down on it.”

 

It’s not just underage college students that law enforcement is cracking down on, Given says.

They are also looking to hold the businesses that serve alcohol to these minors accountable

as well. 

 

This is evident in the four citations that were issued to businesses at the end of January for

serving to minors, according to the Statesboro Herald. 

 

The increase in police presence at The University Plaza is having an obvious effect on the night

life in Statesboro, according to Ethan Adams, a bouncer at one of Statesboro’s newest bars,

Shenanigans.

 

“The police are definitely affecting our business,” Adams said. “Every time that there is even a

rumor that the police will be raiding the bars, the bar is dead. Nobody wants to go out and risk

being arrested, even if they are breaking the law by drinking underage.”

 

Many people who frequent alcohol-serving establishments in Statesboro have mixed feelings about this new police initiative. 

 

“I don’t think the students at Georgia Southern are doing anything worse than the kids in any other college town in the country,” Meagan Greene said. “Maybe the problem isn’t with the age of the people drinking, but with the law that forces them to do it in secret.”