Perhaps this past week in nightlife has given us yet another clue as to what our industry does when something goes terribly wrong.  I reported earlier in the week on the death of 17 year old Nicole Johns, daughter of an American ambassador, child socialite.  As the trail leading up to her death from the 25th floor of a skyscraper in Herald Square led us through her footsteps back to the velvet rope at Tenjune, the city and the blogging world began to buzz about who let her in, who let her drink, who gave her her fake, and who, just who in the world could get this child so drunk in New York City.

In our world, we market parties, nightclubs, events and style through imaginative photographs and sexy descriptions of the places you love the most.  In getting you pumped for a night out on the town in the city where nightlife is so crucial to the social scene, have we somewhere, somehow, drawn in a clientele far too young to be a responsible part of our fairytale land?  I believe, that as adults in nightlife, we have choices to make, but as a group of people, we are not responsible for making the choices of others.  So, in playing the blame game of who is responsible for this young girl's horrific death, we must stop and think, is it really responsible of us to go on a witch hunt for bottle hostesses, promoters, owners and even DJs who had nothing at all to do with this girl using a believable fake ID to gain access to one of the most revered nightclubs in New York City?  I think not.

I keep this in mind as we help Tenjune recover from this media frenzy and the investigation into its staff, and I find it hard to believe that underage entry doesn't happen every night at every club across the country.  As tragic and unfortunate as this is, I stop and consider the other 364 nights of the year where New York nightlife exposes some of the best music internationally, lights up the downtown skyline to a world only dreaming to be part of our culture, and gives us a place to revel amongst friends.  We have a responsibility to the industry we love, and I have a responsibility to you.  My express wish is to bring you the best of Clubland and to celebrate our world with you.

-Chet Jordan-