“It’s widespread, without a doubt.”

That is how Reagan Fiser, an Oxford bartender with nearly seven years of experience in the city’s nightlife scene, characterizes the number of underage Ole Miss students finding their way into bars around “The Square.”

Located about a mile from the University of Mississippi campus, the popular college-town district is lined with historic buildings, packed balconies and busy bars that draw large crowds of students and visitors.

An extensive News Media investigation, based on interviews with more than 30 students, bartenders and venue employees, depicts a nightlife culture where underage drinking remains common around The Square. Those interviewed described fake IDs, borrowed identification and other straightforward tactics used to get past age restrictions.

Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill and Police Chief Jeff McCutchen said, in response to the reporting, that the city treats underage drinking, fraudulent IDs, illegal drug activity and the safety of students, residents and visitors as serious concerns.

“We are not suggesting that underage drinking, fake identification, illegal drugs or other safety concerns do not exist in Oxford. Our own enforcement numbers demonstrate that these challenges are real,” Tannehill and McCutchen said in a joint statement.

According to Oxford police, officers confiscated 759 fraudulent identification cards and recorded 378 violations involving minors possessing alcohol, along with 98 citations for fake IDs during the calendar-year reporting period.

PART I: PREVALENCE & LOOPHOLES

‘EVERY STUDENT, EVERY BAR’: Underage drinking grips ‘The Square’

In Oxford, underage drinking is not an isolated or particularly secretive practice.

A sophomore student said obtaining a fake ID often relies on simple word-of-mouth connections, arguing that the practice reaches across campus communities. “I think it’s everyone, it’s everyone … like every student, no matter if you’re in a sorority or fraternity.”

“The bar you go to depends on what year you are,” another female freshman said.

Fiser said some establishments are viewed as “upperclassmen bars” that attract older students, while venues operating under Mississippi’s 18-plus model tend to draw younger patrons.

THE FRAT OMERTÀ: WHISTLEBLOWER WARNS OF ‘CODE OF SILENCE’ AFTER OLE MISS DEATHS, ALLEGED PENN STATE COKE RING

Bars typically identify patrons under 21 with hand stamps and those over 21 with wristbands, but people working in Oxford’s nightlife industry said those safeguards can become difficult to enforce when venues are crowded.

One bartender pointed to an establishment that regularly serves customers under 21, saying it happens “all the time.”

Fiser also warned that low-priced drink specials at 18-plus venues can add to the risk. “Their whole concept is like cheap drinks … That feels a little sticky,” she said.

‘PASSING AROUND THE SAME FAKE’: Bouncers battle ID sharing

Getting past door security rarely requires complex methods; patrons routinely rely on simple hand-offs and ID sharing in line.

“I’ve heard stories of people passing around the same fake, just… back to the person behind them, and it working because people don’t pay attention,” Fiser told News Media. “And a lot of people don’t [try to hide it] because they know they’ll get away with it.”

Local bouncer Haj Bah confirmed catching ID-sharers in real time outside the bar where he works, denying entry to three underage patrons Friday evening — including a pair caught sharing an ID in line.

It all happened just moments before his interview with News Media.

RELATED: Fitness entrepreneur Sam Wood axed after domestic violence charges

A security officer outside flagged a patron handing an ID to another person waiting behind him.

“As soon as they came up I said, ‘No.’ And for that person who passed the ID over, we asked that person to leave too,” Bah said.

He went on to say, “giving that fake ID is the same as a bartender giving alcohol to the child. In my eyes, that is the same thing.”

While bouncers work to intercept hand-offs, freshman student Drew Ferra noted “how easy” it can be to get served under 21, but argued that venue owners shouldn’t bear full blame when patrons present “fakes.”

“The bars here are very strict, but if you have a fake ID, I feel like you can’t blame the bar,” Ferra said. “You’re presenting them something that proves you’re 21. In my opinion, should you do it? No. It’s gonna happen though, right?”

Meanwhile, some long-standing Oxford establishments were praised by sources for aggressive vetting.

“Their bouncers are very trained on what to look for,” Fiser noted. “There is a reason why I feel like those places have lasted.”

PART II: BEYOND THE BARS

Students, industry workers point to illicit drug use

News Media’s investigation also found concerns about illicit drug use extend beyond The Square and into campus Greek life.

Three students, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told News Media they had witnessed cocaine use at fraternity houses and parties.

One bartender interviewed by News Media separately corroborated the students’ accounts, saying illicit drug use at fraternity houses can spill over into the late-night bar scene.

PART III: OFFICIAL ENFORCEMENT DATA

‘THESE CHALLENGES ARE REAL’: City data confirms hundreds of fake IDs, arrests

Following News Media’s investigation, Mayor Tannehill and Chief McCutchen issued a joint statement addressing safety concerns, alcohol enforcement, and fake IDs on The Square.

“We take concerns involving underage drinking, fraudulent identification, illegal drug use, drink tampering and the safety of our students, residents and visitors seriously,” Tannehill said.

She went on to say, “We are not suggesting that underage drinking, fake identification, illegal drugs or other safety concerns do not exist in Oxford. Our own enforcement numbers demonstrate that these challenges are real.”

McCutchen said that over the calendar-year reporting period, Oxford Police reported:

• Approximately 2,800 restaurant and alcohol-establishment checks
• 759 false identification cards confiscated
• 673 public intoxication arrests
• 378 alcohol-possession-by-a-minor violations
• 98 fake-ID citations
• 43 open-container violations
• 38 violations for furnishing beer or wine to a minor
• 10 violations issued to establishments for violations of Oxford’s alcohol ordinance

“Our responsibility is to evaluate concerns based on reported incidents, current trends, investigations, enforcement activity and the evidence available to us,” McCutchen said.

READ: Full official statement from Oxford’s mayor and police department:

News Media reached out to the University of Mississippi, Ole Miss’s Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, and various bars for comment.

Nearly a year after a controversial California couple was accused of operating a troubling surrogacy scheme, their attorney has offered an explanation for why they sought to have almost two dozen children.

Guojun Xuan and his partner, Silvia Zhang, were 65 and 38 respectively when they were arrested on May 9 last year. The pair were taken into custody on suspicion of child abuse and neglect at their castle-like $4.1 million mansion in Arcadia.

Arcadia police discovered 21 children born through surrogacy at several properties owned by the couple. The children ranged in age from two months to 13 years.

Xuan’s attorney said his client wanted to raise a large family because he believed the children could make valuable contributions to society as adults.

Mitchell Krems told ABC News 7 that his client’s motivation was “rooted in a desire to help create good citizens.”

Krems said Xuan wanted to use his financial resources to educate his children and prepare them to make a positive difference in the world.

The couple has remained under state and federal investigation since last summer. Both were released on $500,000 bail and have largely stayed out of the public eye since their arrests.

The Daily Mail photographed Xuan at one of his buildings, located less than 10 miles from the Arcadia mansion, in August 2025.

Addressing the couple’s decision to have so many children, Krems said: “On the surface, it seems like it’s very eccentric, but I have gotten to know Mr Xuan on a very personal level as his attorney, and it has become apparent to me that his desire to have so many kids emanates from his altruism.”

He continued: “The reason he has all these children is because he wants them to contribute to society.”

“He is not a man who is self-indulgent. Some who are wealthy might spend on jewelry or cars, but he is actually spending his resources to help his children become educated so that they can be the philosophers, the physicians, the researchers and the inventors that help society,” the attorney said.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Who is Monica Sementilli, and What Allegations Does She Face? – NewsFinale

Krems was also asked whether any of the children had been abused inside Xuan’s mansion.

“I can’t comment due to confidentiality as to search warrants or any pending case, but what I will say is any general accusation that my client is abusive in any way whatsoever is categorically false,” he said.

Xuan and Zhang were arrested after a local hospital alerted police that their two-month-old son, Walter, had been brought in with traumatic head injuries, according to the warrants.

A search warrant obtained by ABC News 7 revealed that their son suffered an apparent head injury when the couple’s nanny, Chunmei Li, was captured hitting the baby on security camera video inside the home.

The warrant stated that footage showed the baby cried for a few seconds ‘until a thud or hit is heard,’ and that the crying stopped suddenly.

Xuan and Zhang’s former staff told The Daily Mail that working for the couple felt like serving under a military regime. They claimed that employees were subjected to constant threats, screams and physical harm.

In one of the still photos taken from the video surveillance footage, a child was seen lying on his belly on top of a table with his pants down as he was allegedly being spanked by a nanny, according to the search warrant.

The Daily Mail had also revealed last year that Xuan was one of the top contributors to disgraced Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang, who pleaded guilty in June to charges that she was an illegal agent for China and helped spread propaganda in the US on behalf of the Chinese government.

He was a top contributor to Wang’s first election campaign in 2022 and provided the Chinese operative with $4,900.

The couple has had at least five more surrogate-born babies in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Georgia after the controversy, CBS News reported in January.

All the children were also taken into state custody and the couple are fighting for their custody across four states and suing some surrogates in the process, the outlet reported.

The Islanders and Belmont Park are finally entering the home stretch.

The past several weeks have brought major changes to Nassau County, where Belmont Park’s reopening is helping usher in a new era for the Islanders’ home next door at UBS Arena. Ideas for the connected properties are already taking shape as part of a true entertainment complex — including the possibility of staging an outdoor hockey game on the racetrack’s expansive infield.

“The NHL has talked about it as well,” Islanders director of business operations Kelly Cheeseman told The Post.

“I think we’d love to see that.”

The newly opened track will be fully operational months before June’s Belmont Stakes, when it can accommodate up to 50,000 spectators. It is already attracting hockey fans, offering a dramatic departure from Belmont’s former bulky concrete grandstand.

Several Islanders supporters in team jerseys paid $10 for general admission to Saturday afternoon’s races before walking a short distance to UBS Arena for the club’s dominant 6-0 home-opening victory over the Devils that night.

With its broad, open grounds, the redesigned park also creates an inviting setting for racegoers who may be attending a later event at the arena, which opened in 2021.

“It’s really a campus now,” NYRA CEO David O’Rourke told The Post before the opening.

O’Rourke believes the redesigned paddock will be one of the track’s biggest attractions for both first-time visitors and longtime racing fans, offering closer, face-to-face encounters with the horses.

“I think [the track] has something for everyone at this point.”

Cheeseman also envisions the acres of infield space and surrounding grandstands becoming venues for concerts, food festivals and wine events — possibilities that would give the complex another feature unique to the area once the infield is open to fans.

O’Rourke said the paddock, now twice the size of Belmont’s former version, could also function “as a mini amphitheater.”

“If you had a more quaint type of performance, you could do it right in the paddock.”

Because of the track’s expanded footprint, the Islanders moved several of their free, popular outdoor game-day activities to a tighter area near UBS Arena’s Amex entrance. The relocated attractions include shooting pucks at full-size nets with sticks used by former players, cornhole, fire pits, bounce castles and a stage.

Beyond the reduced space, the main change is that the area is no longer BYOB-friendly. A $5 beer garden has been added instead.

UBS Arena also has another new green space, with the venue set to host the NHL All-Star Game this February.

CONTINUE READING: Michael Douglas Opens Up About Brief Separation From Catherine Zeta-Jones

A golf simulator was recently added to the arena’s suite level, giving visitors virtual access to celebrated local courses including Bethpage and Shinnecock.

“We’re trying to really represent the culture of Long Island – golf is obviously one of those,” Cheeseman added.

The venue has also received several cosmetic upgrades, including synchronized light shows, smoke cannons and 90 additional seats.

Cheeseman said the focus this year is squarely on “fun and creativity,” particularly as the Islanders look to attract younger fans energized by an exciting group of young players already making an impact on the ice.

“Our young players like Matthew [Schaefer] and [Victor] Eklund, I think, speak well to the younger generation.”

The arena even introduced a kid-friendly frankenfood for the new season — a brie grilled cheese with gummy Nerds clusters melted that went viral quicker than a Schaefer wrist shot. 

More family-friendly action is planned for blue and orange fans across Hempstead Turnpike at the connected Belmont Park Village shops, including a fall maze and other fun Halloween haunts later in October.

The luxury retail district has also been coming into its own since August, with a major leap in eight new openings like G-Star, Kiton and Monica Vinader.

Another 12, including Kate Middleton-worn Reiss and Boss, are slated to open by Black Friday, according to village president Valerie Leon. 

“There’s a lot of curiosity and excitement,” she said, praising the expedited opening of the combined 20 storefronts.

A total 60 of Belmont’s 90 stores are game-ready this fall — with its final 30 good to go in early 2027.

Leon added that a “very exciting” upscale restaurant will also be announced in the new year.

Fans have plenty of Islanders and equestrian crossovers to look for ahead of that broader timeframe, as team-themed Dot cakes will make their way to kiosks at the open-air concourse, along with further activations around the All-Star Game.

Cheeseman anticipates the village doubling over for live music on game days.

Plenty is going on even when the Islanders are on the road, as the village will be holding SoulCycle partnership rides with Northwell Health on Oct. 17.

“It’s been a wonderful development, and we’ve definitely seen an increase in footsteps,” Leon said of the past few bustling weeks.