Lower the legal drinking age to 18 say some univ professors

[musicman]

College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking.

Other schools in the group include Syracuse, Tufts, Colgate, Kenyon and Morehouse.

But even before the presidents begin the public phase of their efforts, they are already facing sharp criticism.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving says lowering the drinking age would lead to more fatal car crashes. The group accuses the presidents of misrepresenting science and looking for an easy way out of an inconvenient problem.

MADD also made statements to parents questioning whether their children would be safe attending the schools mentioned.

full article

[livincinco]

College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking.

Makes sense. It's not like your average 18 year old college student has any difficulty getting beer regardless of the drinking age.

[20thStDad]

I'm undecided. I think most 18 year olds are idiots, like I was, but at the same time lowering the age might in a weird way throw some responsibility on the 18-20 year olds drinking. Right now with it being illegal there is automatic irresponsibility. Kind of like saying, here, now you can drink, and don't be an idiot about it. Eh, but there will be so many idiots anyway. I don't care. Lower the drinking age to 18 and raise the driving age to 22.

[sarahiki]

Lower the drinking age to 18 and raise the driving age to 22.

More or less what I was thinking. Young drivers, and I include younger me in that group, tend to be incredibly irresponsible and dangerous. Raise the driving age to 19 or 20 and we'd solve a lot of problems. Even with a lower drinking age.

[bachanon]

isn't the drinking age attached to millions of dollars in federal highway funds? drinking was legal for me when i was 19, but while i was 20, texas upped the drinking age to 21 because the feds were going to reduce highway funds if they didn't comply (or something like that).

i agree that drinking responsibly should be taught during teenage years. unfortunately, irresponsibility will not disappear because of lowering the drinking age.

in the current "anti teen drinking" climate we are in, parents who attempt to teach responsible drinking are frowned upon publicly.

[marmer]

Having been in college during the exact period when the drinking age was raised, I know it is extremely hard to check ID's and prevent underage drinking when half of your population is legal and half not. Especially when the smartest ones are often very committed to beating the system. Drinking responsibly is drinking responsibly at either eighteen or at twenty-one. But having to be in potential legal jeopardy because of a basically arbitrary age limit is a very difficult position for administrators to be in. Especially when enforcement efforts, legal settlements if any, and costs of increased regulations and training all have to come out of a budget which could go toward curricular programs or facilities.

[Mark F. Barnes]

I don't drink, so I could care less, besides I'm forty years past my eighteenth birthday, but I look at it this way. If a person is old enough to go take a bullet for their country, they are old enough to have the ability to choose whether of not they want to drink. Kids are going to drink regardless of their age, but our troops shouldn't have to sneak around or take a chance of being arrested. Make it drinking age eighteen with a military ID. Just a thought.

[Jeebus]

I don't drink, so I could care less, besides I'm forty years past my eighteenth birthday, but I look at it this way. If a person is old enough to go take a bullet for their country, they are old enough to have the ability to choose whether of not they want to drink. Kids are going to drink regardless of their age, but our troops shouldn't have to sneak around or take a chance of being arrested. Make it drinking age eighteen with a military ID. Just a thought.

I agree 100%

[Mr. Chenevert]

I'm on the fence. While I have no problems with 18 year olds drinking, I think Universities make a safer environment to do so. We had a drunk bus in college that took us back to the dorms no questions asked. It was rowdy, but it got you home safe. Taxi's after 2am were only $1/passenger to get you back to your house. They took the need to drink and drive out of the equation and you rarely if ever heard of a drunk driver related accident.

However, what about the 18 year olds that do not go to college. Not that they shouldnt be allowed to drink, but is their world set up in such a way to keep them off the road?

Will they have a drunk bus that takes them from the bars to their home at 4am? Will they have cheap taxis readily available? Probably not. So they may be on the roads at 4am after a full night of drinking.

That would be an issue.

[Vertigo58]

Kids are going to experiment no matter what. That's just the way it is.

We always had older looking teens buy it for us.

Then we got sick so the joke was on us.

[marmer]

I don't drink, so I could care less, besides I'm forty years past my eighteenth birthday, but I look at it this way. If a person is old enough to go take a bullet for their country, they are old enough to have the ability to choose whether of not they want to drink. Kids are going to drink regardless of their age, but our troops shouldn't have to sneak around or take a chance of being arrested. Make it drinking age eighteen with a military ID. Just a thought.

Yes. I'm with you, and in fact, I believe this is why the "age of majority" for marriage, legal responsibility, voting, and drinking was changed back in the 60s -- because so many eighteen and nineteen-year olds were being drafted. The only reason why the drinking age was changed back to 21 was because MADD and its lobbyists were able to equate "not being in favor of raising the drinking age" with "being in favor of teenage drunk driving" in the eyes of the media and the general public.

[KinkaidAlum]

When was the last time Congress passed a law that made sense?

I doubt this will happen and we will continue to raise new generations of people who treat alcohol like a fat kid in a Hershey factory.

[crunchtastic]

When was the last time Congress passed a law that made sense?

we will continue to raise new generations of people who treat alcohol like a fat kid in a Hershey factory.

That was one of the best quotables I've heard all week.

Amen.

MADD is an organization that, IMO, completely misses the point of treating alcoholism as a public health issue, and prefers to focus on death and mayhem in order to raise $$$ for pet local projects that have little to do with health and alcohol education. And before any of you get your panties in a wad, yes, I had a close friend die in an alcohol induced crash.

[RedScare]

That was one of the best quotables I've heard all week.

Amen.

MADD is an organization that, IMO, completely misses the point of treating alcoholism as a public health issue, and prefers to focus on death and mayhem in order to raise $$$ for pet local projects that have little to do with health and alcohol education. And before any of you get your panties in a wad, yes, I had a close friend die in an alcohol induced crash.

Absolutely correct on MADD. When it was first formed, it brought sorely needed attention to a practice that was bragged about by drunk drivers...how drunk they were while driving home. Through relentless promotion, they changed society's views on drunk driving. However, they did not stop there. They have now adopted a puritanical approach to drinking, as evidenced by their knee jerk reaction to the presidents' petition. By legalizing 18 year olds, they are invited back into the bars, where trained staff (theoretically) can cut them off and call a cab. While this is clearly not a perfect system, it is a million times better than the unsupervised binge drinking that occurs now.

Great Britain found something sililar with their early bar closing times. People would load up just before closing. When the UK allowed 24 hour bars a few years back, they found that patrons no longer felt the need to chug at last call. The same can occur with 18 year old drinking. But, as long as we approach drinking like abstinence education, 18 year olds will get drunk....and pregnant!

[VicMan]

More or less what I was thinking. Young drivers, and I include younger me in that group, tend to be incredibly irresponsible and dangerous. Raise the driving age to 19 or 20 and we'd solve a lot of problems. Even with a lower drinking age.

In some rural areas, this would be very inconvenient. Many rural areas are completely dependent on the automobile.

In the city this would be more practical as we have public transportation.

[sarahiki]

In some rural areas, this would be very inconvenient. Many rural areas are completely dependent on the automobile.

In the city this would be more practical as we have public transportation.

True, but there could be a compromise... stricter rules about not allowing younger drivers to drive after 8:00 p.m. or some similar hour, and not allowing them to drive with other teenagers in the car... I've heard these rules before, and I think they make a lot of sense. Kids can still drive to school or work, but not to go out on the weekends. And if that's too inconvenient, too bad.

[TheNiche]

True, but there could be a compromise... stricter rules about not allowing younger drivers to drive after 8:00 p.m. or some similar hour, and not allowing them to drive with other teenagers in the car... I've heard these rules before, and I think they make a lot of sense. Kids can still drive to school or work, but not to go out on the weekends. And if that's too inconvenient, too bad.

I never had a single drink all the way through high school or through college, yet the most joyful memories from that time are of meandering through the countryside, aimless, destination unknown.

Your proposal is too inconvenient. Too bad...for you.

If you desire that people not drink and drive, the proposition you ought to make is a simple one. Up the punishment.

Edited August 21, 2008 by TheNiche

[BryanS]

I don't drink, so I could care less, besides I'm forty years past my eighteenth birthday, but I look at it this way. If a person is old enough to go take a bullet for their country, they are old enough to have the ability to choose whether of not they want to drink. Kids are going to drink regardless of their age, but our troops shouldn't have to sneak around or take a chance of being arrested. Make it drinking age eighteen with a military ID. Just a thought.

Suddenly, we'd have no shortage of military personnel in this country to fight two wars. At least, by counting all the (fake) military IDs...

[urban909]

At Camp Casey in S. Korea, my brother was stationed their before and after he turned 21. It was illegal for those under the age of 21 to drink. " The minimum drinking age on a DoD installation located outside the United States shall be 18 years of age. Higher minimum drinking age will be based on international treaties and agreements and on the local situation as determined by the local installation commander." http://usmilitary.about.com/od/justicelawl...drinkingage.htm The reason for this is because Camp Casey is pretty notorious (according to my brother) in the US Army to be pretty rough.

Now, turning to my thoughts on drinking. I do believe that the age should be lower and other mild-substances should be allowed to be legal in certain areas and/or under a certain amount. And before anyone jumps on that:

1. I have been in active recovery for over 5 years

2. I have worked in the field for those trying to recover

3. Making things, such as alcohol, harder to get the more people try to get it. Its simple teenager logic and I followed that logic by the book.

An interesting fact I read awhile back (and if i can find a link, i will provide it) is that the local population smoke less weed compared to tobacco (which ironically is illegal now to smoke in restaurants, public places, etc.