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nyone
who is running a dance club– "let’s forget drugs" – involving
a larger group of people in a crowded environment, Dr. Kleber says,
should provide cold running water, preferably water fountains, to
help the dancers cool down.
That
is also the stance of the Board of Supervisors in San Francisco
(the equivalent of New York’s City Council), which passed a proposal
in June requiring big dance clubs to provide "free, cool drinking
water."
In
New York there is no such law. Like many clubs, the only free water
available at the dance club Vinyl is the water running in the taps
in the bathrooms. Vinyl does not sell alcohol, just water and nonalcoholic
beverages. But the tap water allows the dancers to use the bathrooms
for refills.
elissa,
18, of Toms River, N.J., says that is not a possibility at all clubs.
"A
lot of the places I go to station security at the door of bathrooms
and won’t let you bring bottles in to refill them," says Melissa,
who resents buying water because of the high prices.
Others
report of clubs where the water running in the bathrooms is lukewarm--but
of course drinkable if necessary.
The
dance club Twilo takes another stance. Bottled water is sold for
$5 at the bar for those who want "better-quality water,"
says Ryan Thomas, creative manager at Twilo. At the same time, the
club provides free water from water fountains.
"People
get hot when they dance," Thomas says, "and not everybody
can afford to give five dollars for water." As it is now, he
says, many buy the first bottle and then use the fountains for refills.
ccording
to Michael from New York, that is not always sufficient. Last time
he went to Twilo, he says, he stood in line for 20 minutes to get
water because two out of three water fountains were not working.
"They
are making 25 – 30 dollars in cover charge," he says, describing
the packed dance floors at the clubs.
"People
aren’t drinking, they are doing Ecstasy," Michael says, adding
that the club owners should show responsibility by providing an
atmosphere where the club-goers can be responsible – and make sure
they drink enough water.

(to
beginning of story)
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