[media-credit name=’KIM BUCHOLZ/Herald Photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]Underage University of Wisconsin students' continued attempts to frequent bars have put pressure on taverns to crack down on people with fake identification.

According to Paul's Club Manager Ken Boll, some bars will simply quiz potential entrants on the information on their ID, but Paul's Club takes a different approach.

"Here at Paul's, we have an up-to-date ID booklet that has a photo of every state's identification card," Boll said. "We make sure that our bouncers are very familiar with every state's ID. The book is our sort of 'ID bible.'"

Boll said when a bouncer deems an ID as fake the bar will confiscate it and hand it over to the Madison Police Department as soon as possible. He added if a person wants to contest the bouncer's action, he or she must bring a police officer to the scene to settle the matter.

"Bars can get in trouble if the cops realize that they are continually letting in too many underage drinkers," Boll said. "That is why we take our ID enforcement seriously, and have not had to deal with this sort of trouble."

MPD Public Information Officer Mike Hanson said when officers find a fake ID, it does not require much to "determine its validity."

Hanson added, people will often tell the truth as to the validity of the ID. An underager can be charged $416 for having fake identification, he said.

However, according to Hanson, if a person claims their ID is real but officers remain suspicious, the officer will run the ID through a computer with citizens' state and federal records.

"Once we run it through the system, we make sure that attributes such as height and weight are in accordance to the subject we are dealing with," he said. "It is then that we can determine whether or not the person was carrying a real or fake ID."

But UW senior Ali Gemgnani said she thinks some bars' attempts to catch underage students are too strict. In the process, they unfairly target patrons of-age.

According to Ali, she and her friends, all over 21, were going "bar-hopping" last weekend on State Street. The group stopped by several different establishments but ran into a problem upon arriving at Paul's Club.

"We were walking in and showing the bouncer our ID's. When he got to mine, he said that it was a great fake but that the coloring was all wrong," Gemgnani said. "Then he just put it in his pocket and wouldn't give it back."

In reaction to the bouncer's actions, Gemgnani's friends decided to seek out a patrol officer. They successfully located an officer who was able to retrieve the ID. The officer then took it into a squad car to run it through a computer, she said.

The officer then asked Gemgnani for her social security number, which she answered correctly and her ID was returned.

Gemgnani and her friends, troubled by the ordeal, continued on their bar crawl.

"If you are of legal age and a bouncer takes your ID for whatever reason, you just have to make sure you find a cop and are assertive in the situation," Gemgnani said.