College presidents belly up to lower the drinking age
By Mallory Stutts, Staff Writer
Has the legal age of 21 made any difference on how much students drink?
A recent study showed that 50-percent of students have had their first drink before they were 17.
Each year, students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol. With the increased drinking age, it has made binge drinking more dangerous than ever.
College presidents urge that the legal drinking age to be lowered to 18 by joining the Amethyst Initiative. Over 100 of the nations best-known universities and colleges are asking lawmakers to consider this change.
Dartmouth College President Dr. James Wright said, “I think we would all be better off if the drinking age were 18.”
Wright also states that the law enforced does not treat students as adults.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) say that lowering the drinking age would lead to more fatal car crashes. MADD officials are urging parents to reconsider the safety of the colleges whose presidents have signed on. Both sides do agree though that alcohol abuse by college students is a huge problem but disagree whether raising the legal drinking age to 21 has saved lives.
Here are some Pros and Cons of lowering the drinking age according to organizations that have studied the issue:
Cons
- The United States has the oldest drinking age in the world.
- A lower drinking age could lead to less binge drinking, experts say, since 18 to 20 year olds will not have to imbibe surreptitiously.
- At 18, Americans can marry, serve in the military, vote, buy tobacco products and enter into legally binding contracts but cannot drink.
Pros
- Safer roads. Laws setting the drinking age to 21 have cut traffic fatalities by 13-percent involving drivers 18 to 20.
- Some studies say that adolescents’ brains are still developing past the age of 18 and significant alcohol could interfere.
- Since states laws differ, the result of 18 to 20 year olds traveling across state lines to buy or consume alcohol could sometimes have disastrous results.
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