A brief glimmer of unexpected common sense

[Botnst]

Colleges: Drinking age 'not working'
Presidents say lowering from 21 may cut binges
By Stephen Kiehl
Sun Reporter
August 19, 2008
Top university officials in Maryland - including the chancellor of the state university system and the president of the Johns Hopkins University - say the current drinking age of 21 "is not working" and has led to dangerous binges in which students have harmed themselves and others.

Six college presidents in Maryland are among more than 100 college and university presidents nationwide who have signed a statement calling for a public debate on rethinking the drinking age.

"Kids are going to drink whether it's legal or illegal," said Johns Hopkins President William R. Brody, who supports lowering the drinking age to 18. "We'd at least be able to have a more open dialogue with students about drinking as opposed to this sham where people don't want to talk about it because it's a violation of the law."

The presidents of the University of Maryland, College Park; Towson University; the College of Notre Dame of Maryland; Goucher College; Washington College and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute signed the statement, along with the presidents of Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State University.

"How many times must we relearn the lessons of prohibition?" the statement says. "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."

Each state has the authority to set its own drinking age, but in 1984 Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which says that states with a drinking age lower than 21 will lose 10 percent of their federal highway money. After that law passed, all 50 states raised their drinking age to 21.

The first step for the presidents is to work for repeal of that law as part of next year's transportation reauthorization bill. They recognize the challenge, given the passions ignited by the issue, but say they are desperate to confront the problem of drinking on and off college campuses.

"We have this law that in effect prevents any state from exploring new ways of addressing the issue," said William E. Kirwan, chancellor of the Maryland state university system. "We have a crisis on our hands. We need some new ideas and new thinking."

He said the debate should not be just about lowering the drinking age. It's more important, he said, to focus on better alcohol abuse education on campuses or in driver education courses. But now, he said, new ideas can't be tested because of the federal law.

Advocates of the 21-year-old drinking age say it has saved thousands of lives. They say lowering the age will pass the drinking problem down the line to high school students and that national surveys have found the public supports keeping the age at 21.

"Drunk driving used to be a part of American culture until someone stood up and said we need to make a change, and 25 years later 'designated driver' is a commonplace term in every household in America," said Caroline Cash, executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving for Maryland and Delaware.

She said was disappointed that the university presidents did not talk with MADD before signing the statement. She said she also questions their commitment to upholding the law.

"It gives me great pause to think of sending thousands of students onto a campus where the person who is most accountable doesn't seem to be devoted to ensuring their health and safety," Cash said.

But university presidents say that is at the center of their concerns. They are worried about the binge drinking that underage students engage in before they go out - the goal being to get drunk as quickly as possible before going to public places where they won't be served.

"If they drink too much in the beginning [of an evening], they can get alcohol poisoning," said Baird Tipson, president of Washington College in Chestertown. "They're really not aware of how their judgment is impaired. We hope they don't get into a car. Or, if they're a young woman, go to a fraternity party. It's just not healthy."

He said at least 90 percent of the disciplinary cases that have come before him - including physical and sexual assaults - involve alcohol. And because underage drinking is forbidden of college campuses, students do it off-campus. That means getting home can be a problem, the presidents said.

"A lot of young people feel that they are afraid of enforcement" on campus, said Sanford J. Ungar, president of Goucher College. "They tend to get in a car and go someplace else - and that's very, very dangerous. I worry about it every weekend."

Several students interviewed yesterday at Johns Hopkins said lowering the drinking age could reduce binge drinking. "I think alcohol is seen, a lot of times, as a forbidden thing, and people want it," said Jamie Hittman, 20, a junior from Columbia. "It's almost like contraband. Once you get it, you have to drink all of it."

Katie Buckheit, 19 and also a junior, said if people were exposed to drinking at a younger age, they would be more mature about it. "Maybe I'm being idealistic, but in Europe you can drink once you can see the bar," she said. "I think we should maybe take a lesson from what other countries are doing."

But Laura Kranish, an 18-year-old sophomore from Silver Spring, said students would drink as much they do no matter what the drinking age is.

Robert Caret, the president of Towson University, says he personally believes 18 is a more reasonable drinking age than 21, but he is not working toward that end. Rather, he said, he welcomes the discussion on the issue.

"Let's debate the age and look at the pros and cons," he said. Caret, like the other presidents, knows he is treading on delicate ground. But the officials say they have seen too much tragedy and too many lives ruined by alcohol to abide the current policies.

"I really think we've got to somehow be able to control it better because what we have done now is driven it underground, and we can't do anything about it," said Tipson, the Washington College president. "There are a lot of things we could do if it wasn't underground."

(Maybe someday they'll discover Cannabis)

[Dee8go]

Making drinking such a big deal is probably one reason underaged kids do it. It is my observation that homes where moderate drinking is present, kids are less interested in sneaking around and going on drinking binges.

Any time you have a taboo, people seem to be iresistably drawn to it.

[TX76513]

Originally Posted by Dee8go

Making drinking such a big deal is probably one reason underaged kids do it. It is my observation that homes where moderate drinking is present, kids are less interested in sneaking around and going on drinking binges.

Any time you have a taboo, people seem to be iresistably drawn to it.

You are correct - Heck I probably scared my kids out of drinking

[WVOtoGO]

I agree 100%.
Good, open communication between parents and kids is a must.
Explaining everything you can about what may seem “taboo” to kids seems to take some of the draw away from it. Beats the hell out of letting them discover it through curiosity with who knows who when they’re off on their own. I've seen those results....not good.

(I don’t have any kids myself (I’m single, just like Mistress, Matt.) but I don’t live under a rock either.)

Cheers –
Shelby

(DJ and I need our own handle….Any ideas?)

[SwampYankee]

Originally Posted by WVOtoGO

Cheers –
Shelby

(DJ and I need our own handle….Any ideas?)

Please do, it would eliminate any more embarassing faux pas on my part.

[SwampYankee]

the current drinking age of 21 "is not working" and has led to dangerous binges in which students have harmed themselves and others.

The hell they say?!

[Zeus]

I would absolutely support lowering the age to 18. I never understood the drinking age in the US of 21.

I mean, at 18 the US army can send you across the world with a machine gun to kill other people in a tour in Iraq, but you can't have a beer when you get home?

It's 19 in Ontario and 18 in Québec. This disparity of 1 year has fuelled a steady stream of 18-yr olds in Ottawa, ON hitting bars in Hull, QC or even Montréal, QC then usually either:

a) driving home in some state of inebriation afterwards and/or
b) driving across the provincial border for a beer run ("B-doubleE-doubleR-U-N-beerrun", say it fast) and smuggling the contents back to Ontario to be drunk in a park or cottage somewhere

I say lower to 18, maybe less, and don't make it such a big deal. Similar to how it is in many European countries.

[Zeus]

Originally Posted by WVOtoGO

(DJ and I need our own handle….Any ideas?)

What's wrong with 'DJ'?

[Dee8go]

Originally Posted by WVOtoGO

I agree 100%.
Good, open communication between parents and kids is a must.
Explaining everything you can about what may seem “taboo” to kids seems to take some of the draw away from it. Beats the hell out of letting them discover it through curiosity with who knows who when they’re off on their own. I've seen those results....not good.

My younger daughter used to like to try and shock me by throwing out comments about sex, drugs, drinking, etc. I always used those opportunities to talk to her about them seriously. She got embarassed by that, but we can talk more openly about them now and it makes a big difference.
. . . .

Originally Posted by WVOtoGO

(DJ and I need our own handle….Any ideas?)

How about "Amelia?"

[Mistress]

If kids are taught about alcohol consumption as being a responsibility and not just some right of passage to getting into a frat house there might be less likelihood of alcohol poisoning and over comsumption. On the other hand as soon as any substance is taboo people want it more than ever. Think Prohibition.

[Dee8go]

"Stolen bread tastes sweet . . . . "

[pj67coll]

I used to have sips of my fathers beer when I was about 6 or 7. Couldn't stand the stuff. Used to have wine at dinner time occasionally too when I was a kid. Never felt the slightest desire for alcohol since. A drinking age of 21 is about the most stupidly arbitrary age law in the US.

- Peter.

[BobK]

I have always found interesting the idea that at 20yrs, 11mos, 30 days you are a bad risk, but next day the Holy "Spirits" descended upon you and you were now fully equiped to go out and get blasted.

[Angel]

BobK,

While I agree that the idea is not a good execution of ethics, I always remember that every other "age limit" runs under the same rules. at 17y and 11mo, a male cannot enlist in the military without a parent signing for him/her. A 25 y/o Having sex with a 17y/o is rape but having sex with an 18y/o is not...

I agree that the system/execution sucks. I cannot think of a better one though (some kind of national maturity test you need to pass....this has interesting seperate thread potential =)

Back on topic, I kinda think that there should be no drinking age, and the day we pass that as law (while watching the flying pigs...) we should brace ourselves for about 5 years of record alcohol-related injuries. (after 5yrs, it'll all be better.)


-John

[BobK]

Still remember the lesson taught by my health class teacher (in 1970 I think). He was stationed somewhere in Europe. Sitting in a bar, middle of hot day. High school kid comes in, sits at bar and orders a beer. Is served, pays for it, slowly drinks it, then wipes his lip and leaves. Kids was for sure under 18. Meanwhile, in same bar where two GIs getting blitzed and then puking in the street. Tell me which system works.
Yes we set age limits for many things. But to say you can enter contracts (including marriage) or fight and die for your country, but not drink....come on man, you gotta be kidding me.
Oh and for fun, try pulling the 990s for MADD. Wait until you see how profitable it is for these MADD executives to rail on about drinking. While being supported by the Stealth WCTU.