Fight to Lower Drinking Age
College Presidents Take a stand on the Legal Drinking Age
By KATHERINE PAXSON
Lynn student researching amethyst initiative online.
In an effort to reduce the risk of alcohol related tragedies, presidents from colleges and universities across the country have signed on to support an organization with intentions of persuading Congress to lower the legal drinking age from 21 to 18.
The organization came to call itself The Amethyst Initiative, branching off of the inspirational Choose Responsibility program founded by John McCardell, President of Middlebury College in Vermont. The organization is an open discussion forum, where presidents from colleges and universities in the United States can sign and voice their opinions about the legal drinking age laws being subsequently ineffective.
“I think the legal drinking age should be 18,” said Megan Meyers, senior. “If you are able to go to war, buy lottery tickets and smoke, you should be able to have a drink.”
Although the public forum does not depict a specific policy change, it enforces the need for one. More than 130 signatures have been acquired to support the cause of the association, all from well known universities. The organization believes that the ratio of students of the legal drinking age to underage students who drink increases and leads to unfavorable and even dangerous behavior with alcohol. The signatories, that have voiced their opinions, believe that the reality of underage drinking on college campuses should be addressed to form a law that can reflect the issue.
“At colleges and universities, the law does have other effects: it pushes drinking into hiding, heightening its risks, including risks from drunken driving; and it prevents us from addressing drinking with students as an issue of responsible choice,” wrote Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead.
Presidents that have signed the forum all share similar beliefs about the legal drinking age and the effect the law has on college campuses. Some say it causes youth to display immoral behavior, especially against law enforcement, because it forces them to acquire illegal identification cards and hide their drinking habits. This can lead to binge drinking and unhealthy choices that can be deadly.
“Some people are responsible with alcohol, but some are just not,” said Melissa Williams, junior.
Some signatories have stated that it is simply unfair to expect a youth or undergraduate student to be subjected to a drinking environment on and around a college campus and be abstinent. The organization encourages the public to step out of denial and into reality: that reality is that alcohol is everywhere and walks hand in hand with underage drinking. It is important to note that the group does not encourage any violation of the law or promote underage drinking.
“I think it is a wonderful idea,” said Gabby Perez, junior. “Honestly, a lot of students have fake I.D.’s, so if the age is lowered to 18 not as many students will get into trouble for sneaking around.”
The group was started in 2008 and has been working ever since to examine possible solutions. The views expressed by the forum suggest a more hands on approach to alcohol related issues in the youth of America.
