Provo, Utah : A Real Party Town

Utah nightclub to install surveillance cameras, metal detectors

April 18, 2001 |

Partying just got more difficult in Provo. Not that it was easy before.

Provo, home to Brigham Young University and 30,000 Mormon students, has only one dance club, and it is smoke- and alcohol-free. Next month, a new ordinance will require Club Omni to install surveillance cameras, metal detectors and security guards.
“We've had problems at these kind of dances. Most cases it's parking lot drinking and drugs,” said City Councilman Paul Warner. “If we have a camera there they are less likely to try and go in.”

The ordinance applies not only to Club Omni but to organizers of dance parties open to the public - even those held in students' homes. Violators can get up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

If this calls to mind the hit 1980s movie “Footloose,” in which students rebelled against a ban on dancing, think again. Many BYU students say they support the ordinance. (“Footloose” was filmed in Lehi, 15 miles north of here.)

“I think surveillance cameras are OK because they will pick up drinking, smoking and drugs and spot out the person who is doing it,” said Charity Harrison, a senior attending Monday night social dancing at BYU.

The university is owned by Mormon Church, and all students must sign a pledge against alcohol, smoking and premarital sex.

No one seemed too concerned that the ordinance would cramp their style or that parties would not be held for fear of legal trouble.

The ordinance was prompted by a fatal shooting in 1998 at Club Omni, which sells drinks such as bottled juice and nonalcoholic beer. Since then, the club has had seven police calls for disorderly conduct.

A barroom around the corner that is about a quarter of the size had twice as many calls during the same period, according to police.

“I question the premise of this whole thing,” said Ken Merena, Club Omni's owner. “Where do you think there's a greater propensity for problems - here or an alcohol-serving establishment?”

The dance hall security ordinance does not apply to bars that serve alcohol, because those are “private clubs” under Utah law and are open only to members or someone sponsored by a member. They are not open to the public.

The security ordinance allows exceptions for dances put on by churches, schools or government agencies. But a Little League team trying to raise money for uniforms would have to comply.

Caleb Proulx, a BYU sophomore, said he attended a vegetarian barbecue last year that was broken up by police for being too rowdy.

“The police will use this law to justify breaking up anything,” he said. “Provo is becoming a police state with heavy-handed, fascist laws.”

The seven-member City Council was divided on the issue, with two members voting against it.

Councilman Stan Lockhart said he is not convinced the ordinance will accomplish its intent.

“I see them as using a sledgehammer to swat a fly,” he said. “We are either telling people we don't want public dances, or we're protecting the franchise of the one that's here because he's the only one that can afford it.”