2008 Woodie Awards
The great drinking debate
Ben Williams, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 9/5/08 Section: News
University of Massachusetts Chancellor Robert Holub and President Jack Wilson recently signed a statement challenging the 21-year-old drinking age.
The statement is being circulated by a group called the "Amethyst Initiative," which has been quietly amassing the support of college chancellors and presidents in the past few months.
They now have 129 signatures, including the presidents of Hampshire, Smith and Mt. Holyoke, as well as larger schools like Duke and Ohio State.
The initiative calls for "an informed and dispassionate public debate over the effects of the 21-year-old drinking age [and] new ideas about the best ways to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol."
"Binge drinking and alcohol abuse by college students are serious national issues," said Chancellor Holub. "They require a wide-ranging debate about all aspects of alcohol use, including the effectiveness of current policies and laws. The Amethyst Initiative can serve as a tool to launch an informed and open debate about reducing student drinking and the related behaviors it produces."
The initiative brings a number of charges against the 21-year-old drinking age, saying, "A culture of dangerous, clandestine 'binge-drinking'-often conducted off-campus - has developed, [and] alcohol education that mandates abstinence as the only legal option has not resulted in significant constructive behavioral change among our students."
The initiative thinks there are moral and ethical issues at hand, also noting that "Adults under 21 are deemed capable of voting, signing contracts, serving on juries and enlisting in the military, but are told they are not mature enough to have a beer, [and] by choosing to use fake IDs, students make ethical compromises that erode respect for the law."
Not everybody agrees with Amethyst however, with one of their most vocal opponents being Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
MADD says lowering the drinking age would lead to more fatal car crashes. It accuses the presidents of misrepresenting science and looking for an easy way out of an inconvenient problem. MADD officials are urging parents to think carefully about the safety of colleges whose presidents have signed on, according to the Hampshire Gazette.
The statement is being circulated by a group called the "Amethyst Initiative," which has been quietly amassing the support of college chancellors and presidents in the past few months.
They now have 129 signatures, including the presidents of Hampshire, Smith and Mt. Holyoke, as well as larger schools like Duke and Ohio State.
The initiative calls for "an informed and dispassionate public debate over the effects of the 21-year-old drinking age [and] new ideas about the best ways to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol."
"Binge drinking and alcohol abuse by college students are serious national issues," said Chancellor Holub. "They require a wide-ranging debate about all aspects of alcohol use, including the effectiveness of current policies and laws. The Amethyst Initiative can serve as a tool to launch an informed and open debate about reducing student drinking and the related behaviors it produces."
The initiative brings a number of charges against the 21-year-old drinking age, saying, "A culture of dangerous, clandestine 'binge-drinking'-often conducted off-campus - has developed, [and] alcohol education that mandates abstinence as the only legal option has not resulted in significant constructive behavioral change among our students."
The initiative thinks there are moral and ethical issues at hand, also noting that "Adults under 21 are deemed capable of voting, signing contracts, serving on juries and enlisting in the military, but are told they are not mature enough to have a beer, [and] by choosing to use fake IDs, students make ethical compromises that erode respect for the law."
Not everybody agrees with Amethyst however, with one of their most vocal opponents being Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
MADD says lowering the drinking age would lead to more fatal car crashes. It accuses the presidents of misrepresenting science and looking for an easy way out of an inconvenient problem. MADD officials are urging parents to think carefully about the safety of colleges whose presidents have signed on, according to the Hampshire Gazette.
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