It was no happy hour for several Gainesville bars 10 a.m. Wednesday.
At a meeting of the Community Alcohol Coalition, a group UF President Bernie Machen created to discourage binge drinking, the top 10 bars with the most underage-drinking violations were criticized.
Gainesville Police officials also announced they received an ,18,000 grant to help enforce underage drinking deterrents, said Ron Wayne, UF spokesman.
The top offender was The Venue, with 97 violations in the 2005-2006 school year and nine in the past six months. Rue Bar came in second with 95 violations in 2005-2006 and 93 in the past six months, said UF Dean of Students Eugene Zdziarski.
Eight Seconds had the lowest number, with 10 violations in 2005-2006 and none during the past six months.
Gainesville police officers said they'd continue to crack down on underage drinking. "We have no mercy," said Capt. Ed Book, of GPD.
Despite the violations, cases of alcohol misuse have decreased from 618 in the 2005-2006 school year to 477 during 2006-2007. DUI cases decreased from 74 cases to 58.
Officials said they are working with the Florida Legislature to pass an initiative that would require underage DUI recipients to spend six hours in the Shands at UF Trauma Center to see consequences of drunk driving.
A moving information station will drive around downtown Gainesville on Friday and Saturday nights to warn about dangerous alcohol behaviors.
Signs on buses will continue preaching about the dangers of alcohol abuse. Signs have messages like "Passing out is humiliating" or "He slipped something into my drink, and the next thing I knew he was on top of me, and I couldn't get him to stop."
On game days, officials from Florida's Division of Alcohol Beverages and Tobacco, which gives licenses to alcohol industries, will work with "underage operatives" to catch restaurants and bars serving alcohol to people under 21.
Nick Farah, a 20-year-old computer science junior, said, "I'm all for it," referring to underage drinking. "Some of my best friends are underage alcoholics."
Farah said college is the time to be irresponsible.
"We repair those mistakes for the rest of our lives," he said with a laugh.
