May, 20 2012
Betty Bernstein
College Presidents call for debate on lowering the drinking age to 18
I read the article “College Presidents call for debate on lowering the drinking age to 18”, which was published in the Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly Newsletter on September 8, 2008.
In my opinion, there is not a lot of value and credibility to this article. John McArdell, the President of Middlebury College is the head of a group called Amethyst Initiative. It is a group of 129 college presidents that would like to see the legal drinking lowered to 18 years old. This article lacks credibility as there is no statistical data to support that alcohol abuse and binge drinking would decrease by lowering the drinking age. (The problem isn’t underage drinking per se, according to John McArdell, president emeritus of Middlebury College in Middlebury, VT and spokesman for the Amethyst Initiative. The problem is that underaged drinking is now forced off campus, leading to a “culture of clandestine, binge-drinking”, according to the group’s statement, signed by the 129 college presidents. (Periodicals, 2008))
I am confused by the above statement. I fail to see how when underage drinking occurs on campus, there is less binge-drinking versus being off campus. I would think that binge-drinking is binge-drinking and can be done anywhere. I live near Middlebury College and have observed the behavior of Middlebury College students both in the public eye and in the emergency room at the local hospital. Based upon my experience, there is a lot of underage drinking that occurs on-campus. I have been in the ER when students have been brought in from alcohol poisoning, etc. I would need to see substantial evidence that lowering the drinking age to 18 would in fact make an impact in communities nationwide.
The President of NAATP issued an open letter to the college presidents. ( To Center the attention on “at what age should it be legal to use the drug of alcohol” completely misses the larger issues of how we as a society respond to a serious public health dilemma, said the letter, which criticized the “issuing of vitrioloc statements” as ignoring the real problem, alcohol abuse and alcholism. (Periodicals, 2008))
The information that was given by the Amethyst Initiative did not seem very reliable as again, there was no supporting evidence. It makes me wonder if there are personal reasons behind these actions. Do they want the drinking age lowered, so the students are less of a liability? Based upon what I have seen, I would think that to be true. Yes, an 18 year old can enlist in the Armed Forces and vote, are they really, truly that responsible to make good decisions about consuming Alcohol?
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
Throughout this article, the issue that is brought up numerous times is that it would be a poor and consequential idea to lower the drinking age in the United States. He backs up his issue with examples of authority positions who argue for lowering the drinking age for military personnel, as well as a college president and various slogan creators. The author doesn 't really state where the evidence he gets comes from, the only way he refers to it is as research without giving any references. Unfortunately, that makes Voas 's argument and stated issue much less believable.…
- 498 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
There is a huge problem with underage drinking in the U.S. Some states have already lowered the drinking age such as Maine, Massachusetts, and Michigan. One main point on why it shouldn’t be lowered is because of a higher chance of depression in teens. Second, it increases health and educational problems in teens also. Lastly, it would increase the amount of alcohol related accidents because of teens brains not being fully developed.…
- 429 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Cited: John McCardell (Founder of Association). Welcome to the Amethyst Initiative: Rethinking the Drinking Age. July 2008. 20 October http://www.amethystinitiative.org Courtney Carignan. Daily Campus: Commentary Section. 5 September 2008. 20 October 2008. http://media.www.dailycampus.com/media/storage/ Associated Content. Amethyst Initiative: Debate of Lowering the Drinking Age has M.A.D.D. Ready to Fight. 19 August 2008. 27 October 2008. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/966386/amethyst_initiative_debate_of_lowering.html?cat=5 Campus Crime. Education Department funds projects to Reduce Campus “Alcohol and Other Drugs”. MSUM Website. 2008. 20 October…
- 791 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Since July 17, 1984, when the United States Congress enacted the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, people only above the age of 21 could have the opportunity to legally purchase and publically possess an alcoholic beverage. The Congress’s purpose for establishing the law was primarily to combat motorist under the influence of alcohol, as the death rate of traffic accidents were significantly high before 1984 in the US where the typical minimum age to drink was 18. Which is the average age for a first year student in college, and apparently the age where minors become involved around alcohol. Meanwhile, it has been nearly unavoidable to prevent underage students in college the consumption of alcohol. As according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about four out five college students drink…
- 1643 Words
- 7 Pages
Better Essays -
Throm goes on to state, “Regardless of legality, teenagers in the United States will continue to indulge in alcohol, but perhaps changing social and cultural norms and educating students about how to safely drink alcohol will create a more positive environment where drinking isn’t taboo.” (Throm 22-24) Lowering the legal drinking age would be finally accepting young adults into the real adult world where they can make their own decisions. If an 18 year old can smoke and fill their lungs up with toxic chemicals that are deadly, there is no reason they should be prohibited from purchasing and consuming…
- 922 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
In 2009 it was reported that the 21- to 24-year-old age group had the highest percentage, 35 percent to be exact, of drivers in fatal crashes with blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) levels of .08 or higher (Steven C. Markoff). Coincidentally studies showed when the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) was lowered to 18, the fatalities in traffic accidents that were related to alcohol were decreased by nearly 7.5 percent. However, the argument as to whether biologically could an 18-year olds body sustain the damage that alcohol does to the body still persists. Premature alcohol consumption has been reported to hinder the development of the brain's frontal lobes, which could lead to health problems such as addiction, dangerous risk-taking behavior, reduced decision-making ability, memory loss, and other severe issues.…
- 1575 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
In July 2008 Mr. John McCardell (Founder, Amethyst Initiative; Former President, Middlebury College) formed the Amethyst Initiative, which states, the drinking age in Maryland should be lowered on the premises of college campuses. A majority of major league college presidents concur with this, because they too believe the drinking age should be reduced, spending thousands of dollars per year to regulate students and ensure the underage students aren’t drinking. Because so much money is put towards patrolling the drinking, it is taken from the money that could’ve been used for educational purposes.…
- 92 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
Cited: D 'Aquisto, Joe. "Legal drinking ages throughout the world. Should the US lower the age to 18?" 24 August 2009. Examiner. 05 september 2009 http://www.examiner.com/x-14096-Tucson-World-Travel-Examiner~y2009m8d24-Legal-drinking-ages-throughout-the-world-Should-the-US-lower-the-age-to-18.…
- 537 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Seth Hurtwitz is a guy who has traveled the world and when he was in countries that had no drinking age he noticed that some of the kids that weren’t drinking weren’t drinking because of the drinking age but because they didn’t want to. “kids are going to drink if they want to drink” (Hurtwitz). That is a big heresy that most United States citizens have. If the United States changes the drinking age to 18 doesn’t mean that every 18 year old is going to start drinking and get drunk all of the time. There is going to be some of the docile 18 year olds that just won’t drink because they don’t want to, drinking isn’t insipid but the difference is that they get a choice on what they want to do and how they want to live…
- 1096 Words
- 5 Pages
Good Essays -
According to procon.org” Normalizing alcohol consumption as something done responsibly in moderation will make drinking alcohol less of a taboo for young adults entering college and the workforce.” What they mean is that if the drinking age is lowered down to the point of adulthood then it would diminish the thrill that your breaking the law. If the age is lowered to 18 it would decrease the number of drunk driving accidents also. According…
- 444 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
There is a giant debate on what the legal minimum drinking age should be in the United States. Many people think that it should remain at 21 years old and others believe that it should be lowered to 18. While both have their own various reasons, this has been an important topic in our country for a long time. President Ronald Reagan signed and passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Law in 1984 which obligated states to raise their legal drinking age to 21 or suffer reductions in Federal highway funds. The highway funds and drinking age was linked together by the young lives lost on our highways. Even though this was a satisfactory reason to raise the drinking age there are still more reasons to why it should be 18. Despite what most people…
- 1237 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
In their pamphlet and website, the National Youth Rights Association claims that United States should lower the drinking age from 21 to a younger age. They claim that at the age of 18, youth are able vote, serve their country and fly airplane. Therefore, they should be able to drink as well, since it is has less responsibility associated with it.…
- 440 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
The legal drinking age is a topic that has come up for, and will continue to come up for, many years. The main question that needs to be answered is what is it that determines when a person is able to drink. Should we continue to base the drinking level on age or should we look at other characteristics. Those enrolled in the military have special benefits when it comes to drinking. In the year of 2011, the legal drinking age in the United States for all non-military people is 21 years of age. There is research for both sides of the spectrum. Some believe that the age should be lowered from 21, while others believe 21 is the perfect age. Then there are the people who say that the drinking age should be taken even higher than 21. Some want the drinking age to be as high as 25. Will lowering the drinking age stop teens from binge drinking? If we take the drinking age higher, will it simply cause rebellion in the teen world?…
- 940 Words
- 4 Pages
Powerful Essays -
In 1984, the Uniform Drinking Age Act, a law which would severely penalize states who failed to restrict the drinking age to 21 or higher, was signed into law (Hoover). It is odd to think, in today’s day and age, that 35 years ago the drinking age was below 21 in over 70% of US states (“Minimum Legal Drinking Age…”), however, this all changed when the federal government took away highway funds and dangled them in front of these states like a carrot, waiting for them all to raise their legal age for consumption of alcohol. For a law that is broken by over 70% of those to whom it is applicable (Muhlenfeld), this age has been given relatively little debate, mostly because it has been so engrained in our culture that underage alcohol is wrong. The national de facto drinking age of…
- 2084 Words
- 9 Pages
Powerful Essays -
"A comparison of college students attending schools in states that had maintained, for a period of at least ten years, a minimum drinking age of 21 with those in states that had similarly maintained minimum drinking ages below 21 revealed few differences in drinking problems" (Hanson, "The Legal Drinking Age: Science vs. Ideology"). For example, a large study of young people between ages of 16 and 19 in Massachusetts and New York after Massachusetts raised its drinking age revealed that "the average, self-reported daily alcohol consumption in Massachusetts did not decline in comparison with New York" (Hanson, "The Legal Drinking Age: Science vs. Ideology"). College students, young teens and drinking will always be inevitably associated with each other regardless of the circumstances or rules. So what is the point of conceiving and enforcing a policy that is already failed and is doomed to fail? Cocco 3 Administrations cannot stop alcohol abuse, but they cannot ignore it either. With the college administrations ignoring it with the hopes that it will go away is simply unaccepted and should not even be an…
- 912 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays