University Presidents Join the Fight to the Lower Drinking Age
While the minimum drinking age has been a source of debate for decades now, in recent months, the fight to lower the drinking age from twenty one to eighteen has received some unlikely supporters. More than one hundred university presidents from colleges across the country have voiced their support of the Amethyst Initiative, a nonprofit group dedicated to re-examining youth drinking and the minimum drinking age.
The group was founded back in June 2008 by Middlebury College President John McCardell, who felt that having the drinking limit set at age twenty one was unintentionally encouraging negative consequences for the nation's young adult population. The Amethyst Initiative clearly asserts the signatories' belief that the drinking age limit is not working as well as the public is led to believe and that the current age limit has created a "culture of dangerous, clandestine binge-drinking".
Supporters of the Amethyst Initiative have stated that as a direct result of the restrictive drinking age limit, when under-age individuals come into contact with alcohol, they are more likely to overindulge and participate in unsafe alcohol consumption practices. Under the current law, individuals who consume alcoholic beverages prior to turning twenty one are forced to keep their consumption a secret, which creates an environment where underage drinkers are disinclined to ask for help out of fear of potential punishment.
According to McCardell and his supporters, an individual's choice to engage in underage drinking practices also encourages a variety of associated illegal activities, such as the use of a fake I.D. in order to purchase alcohol. Members of the Amethyst Initiative say that these illegal practices encourage the compromise of an underage individual's ethics and morals, which erode general respect for authority and the law.
Finally, university presidents and students alike argue that if an individual is old enough to vote, get married, and fight for one's country, that individual should also legally be allowed to indulge in an alcoholic beverage. Even students who are under the age of twenty one and do not drink have voiced their approval of the Amethyst Initiative, stating that it is more about fairness in the law than the ability to consume alcohol earlier on in life that has earned their support of reexamining the minimum drinking age.
However, the Amethyst Initiative has been met with strong resistance nationwide from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), who have argued that lowering the drinking age would lead to an increase in individuals who choose to drive while under the influence of alcohol. MADD also cites a variety of statistics which assert that the 21 Law saves lives, both on and off the road. In support of this research, MADD has paired up with stakeholders from scientific, medical, and public health organizations to form the Support 21 Coalition. The group is committed to highlighting the lifesaving impact of the current drinking age limit.
In addition, members of MADD have voiced their concern that the presidents who have signed the Initiative will be much less diligent at enforcing the current drinking age on their campuses. MADD members have even asserted that university presidents who have signed the Amethyst Initiative did so in order to make their lives easier and as a precaution to protect themselves against the legal liability associated with underage drinking that university presidents inevitably face. MADD President Laura Dean-Mooney recently issued a statement arguing that parents should think twice before sending their teens to colleges that have "waved the white flag on underage and binge-drinking policies".
The Amethyst Initiative has sent out approximately two thousand letters to college presidents across the country requesting support of their cause. Currently, one hundred and thirty university presidents have responded favorably by signing the Amethyst Initiative.
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