Spring Break
Drinking: an option for adults of any age
The Traveler Editorial Board
Issue date: 8/29/08 Section: Opinion
"It's time to rethink the drinking age," proclaim the 129 signatories of the Amethyst Initiative petition.
These petitioners are not eager-to-drink 18-year-olds. They are well-educated and presumably conscientious administrators, including the presidents of Duke, Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins.
Nor is the Amethyst Initiative a sloppy student movement with a trippy title. It's a thoughtful, concerned campaign that began when a group of college presidents "discovered a common desire to reopen public debate over the drinking age," according to the Amethyst Initiative Web site.
Those who have signed the petition believe "21 is not working as well as the public may think."
According to the Amethyst Initiative official statement, a culture of dangerous, clandestine binge drinking has developed among college students.
Whether such a binge drinking culture has developed is debatable.
Certainly, on- and off-campus observation at the UA seems to indicate that a significant proportion of our own student population has, at some point, consumed more alcohol than could be called prudent.
But that observation is just that - observation. And statistics regarding youthful consumption of alcohol- if you look in the right places - are encouraging.
For example, according to statistics collected for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the proportion of non-drinkers among college students in the U.S. recently reached a record-breaking all-time high.
Perhaps students are finally figuring out that alcohol is not required to have both a meaningful and an entertaining college experience.
But regardless of whether a culture of binge drinking poses "increasing risks to young people," as the members of the Amethyst Initiative claim, the prestige and credibility attached to those members indicate that the direction of the underage alcohol debate has shifted.
Instead of patronizing students with admonitions that imply college students do not know and act in their own best interests, the signees of the Amethyst petition are engaging the 18- to 21-year-old adults on their campus as adults.
These petitioners are not eager-to-drink 18-year-olds. They are well-educated and presumably conscientious administrators, including the presidents of Duke, Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins.
Nor is the Amethyst Initiative a sloppy student movement with a trippy title. It's a thoughtful, concerned campaign that began when a group of college presidents "discovered a common desire to reopen public debate over the drinking age," according to the Amethyst Initiative Web site.
Those who have signed the petition believe "21 is not working as well as the public may think."
According to the Amethyst Initiative official statement, a culture of dangerous, clandestine binge drinking has developed among college students.
Whether such a binge drinking culture has developed is debatable.
Certainly, on- and off-campus observation at the UA seems to indicate that a significant proportion of our own student population has, at some point, consumed more alcohol than could be called prudent.
But that observation is just that - observation. And statistics regarding youthful consumption of alcohol- if you look in the right places - are encouraging.
For example, according to statistics collected for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the proportion of non-drinkers among college students in the U.S. recently reached a record-breaking all-time high.
Perhaps students are finally figuring out that alcohol is not required to have both a meaningful and an entertaining college experience.
But regardless of whether a culture of binge drinking poses "increasing risks to young people," as the members of the Amethyst Initiative claim, the prestige and credibility attached to those members indicate that the direction of the underage alcohol debate has shifted.
Instead of patronizing students with admonitions that imply college students do not know and act in their own best interests, the signees of the Amethyst petition are engaging the 18- to 21-year-old adults on their campus as adults.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
LeeWood
posted 8/29/08 @ 4:54 PM CST
This seems like a way for colleges to get out from under any lawsuits that stem from underage drinking.
If the legal drinking age is lowered to 18, the university will have far fewer incidents, and liabilities, to contend with in regards to underage drinking and their (the university's) responsibility to help uphold the law. (Continued…)
toni
posted 9/03/08 @ 11:59 AM CST
Maybe Dr. McMath is right, and 18 year old students should be treated as immature children who need to be protected of their own bad judgment, who cannot be trusted with a glass of beer. (Continued…)
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