Some residents near Five Points say that drunk college students have urinated in their gardens, passed out naked on their front porch and been beaten with brass knuckles - and they feel a mandatory bar closing at two a.m. is the solution. Other residents, business owners and service industry workers disagree on that solution.

columbia 2 am bar closings 009494-3Debate on mandatory 2 a.m. bar closings at city hall in Columbia, SC - Photo by Columbia SC photographer Sean Rayford

At one moment during today's public safety committee hearing about the mandatory bar closing, lasting three and a half hours, someone brought up that we can't stop young people from eating Tide Pods, and at another, car windshield penis dust artists entered the conversation. Five Points neighborhood resident David Axe suggested that if folks are concerned about sexual assault, they shouldn't be looking at a mandatory bar closing time, but rather, looking at wealthy white men. The committee, comprised of Daniel Rickemann, Ed McDowell and Sam Davis, will make a recommendation to the full City Council for a future vote.

Pictured above: Third shift worker Sean McManus shows the committee members photos from a recent night at Bar None in Five Points. He is not in favor of a 2 a.m. mandatory bar closing. Below: Bar None owner Marty Dreesen speaks with the committee members about how he started the business aimed specifically at service industry workers.

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columbia 2 am bar closings 009403Debate on mandatory 2 a.m. bar closings at city hall in Columbia, SC - Photo by Columbia SC photographer Sean Rayford columbia 2 am bar closings 009358Debate on mandatory 2 a.m. bar closings at city hall in Columbia, SC - Photo by Columbia SC photographer Sean Rayford

More info from the Free Times:

Residents Again Crowd City Hall Over Proposed 2 a.m. Bar Closing

More photo South Carolina photo stories available at SodaCitizen.com

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