You're too old to vote.

This started out as a response to a blog comment, but I figured it'd make a better full entry.

I'm not raising kids in Bulloch County (unless you count the Great Dane and chilhuahua/terrier mix), not supporting a family (see dogs, above) or planning to spend my golden years here.

So, according to some, I shouldn't vote. Dang, already did yesterday.

The "Old Statesboro" way of thinking worked great when we were in a rural community with a li'l ol' teachers' college.

But it doesn't work now. Like it or not, Statesboro is a college town, and we've got to take the good parts of that with the drawbacks.

But the drawbacks aren't as severe as anyone thinks. Athens hasn't crumbled into the bedrock by embracing its college town roots. Neither has Valdosta, Auburn, Tuscaloosa or any of a litany of towns who have experienced the same kind of growth.

I read a well-written comment that raised the spectre of increased DUIs, increased underage drinking, and package stores on every corner.

The DUIs are an enforcement concern for the local constabulary. They already do a good job, and I'm sure no one (not even the fabled drunkard students) would object to increased patrols.

You could make the argument that underage drinking might actually *drop* with some changes to the local ordinances. Get rid of 50-50 , and all of a sudden you can have straight-up bars that can kick out the kids under 21. As I read the current ordinances, bouncers can check IDs but can't keep an 18 year old from coming into a place that serves alcohol (since they're all restaurants). Gary Lewis seems to be the only candidate who's outright articulated that position on 50-50, though I feel others might be sympathetic.

I'd imagine that lots of managers and owners who have had to deal with the city busting them for underage drinking violations wouldn't mind being able to hang a big "21 and up" sign over their front door.

As for package sales, that's a bit of hyperbole. No one wants this place to be Statesvegas. There's no way the local economy could support one on every corner. Of course, anyone concerned about DUIs would be wise to allow package sales in Statesboro - after Register enacts them (pending the almost-forgone results of their upcoming ordinance vote), that'll be a longer drive over more dangerous, high-speed streets than a nice, safe, local place to buy a fifth.

Tongue planted firmly in cheek, you can blame Bruce Grube for all the strife. If he weren't such a good university president, GSU wouldn't be attracting so many folks and such a big influence on transforming the culture of the surrounding area.

Seriously, however, even though *individual* students aren't always here for the long haul (12+ years and counting for me), you're missing a key point - there will always *be* students.

Even if the group's only staying for four to six years, they're going to be replaced by new students with similar concerns and needs. More of 'em, in fact, at the rate GSU's growing.

Let's take the arguments against students as "short term" residents and put them in a different light.

"Why should we worry about how the elderly are going to vote? They're just going to die soon, anyway."

Time marches on, and it makes more of us old. It also makes more of us 18 and ready to go to one of the best universities in the entire Southeast.

It's an exciting time to live in Statesboro, and it's interesting to see that the slumbering giant of student representation was brought to life with a stiff drink.