Laws & Politics
College presidents want drinking age lowered
By Ben Wasserman
Aug 22, 2008 - 6:48:05 PM

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Friday August 22, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- At least 123 college presidents as of this week have signed up to petition the government to lower the drinking age, news media reports.

The college leaders argued that lowering drinking age can reduce incidence of binge drinking and make it easy for colleges to enforce the drinking law.

Currently, the federal drinking age is set at 21. Some states attempted to lower the drinking age, but did not seem to get enough support. The federal government has made it clear that states that pass any law to lower the drinking age will have their access to federal highway funds limited.

The petition called "Amethyst Initiative" which has already stirred up a fierce debate nationwide was initiated by former Middlebury College President John McCardell.

McCardell has enlisted a big company of college presidents with many from prestigious institutions and public schools such as Duke, Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins, and public schools including Ohio State and the University of Maryland.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the International Association of Chiefs of Police opposed any attempt to lower the drinking age which said in a statement that changing the law is a "terrible idea" that would "jeopardize the lives of more teens", The Associated Press reported.

A health observer affiliated with foodconsumer.org said that college presidents should know the fact that alcohol is a carcinogen - a cancer causing agent that can raise risk of cancer. Although not all drinkers get cancer, some will because of drinking.

He said lowering the drinking age could give a wrong message to young students that drinking alcohol is okay boosting consumption of alcohol.

He suggested that parents should do their home and should not leave their children in the hands of college presidents. Regardless of the drinking age law, college students should know that drinking can pose a health risk for some people and should drink responsible, the foodconsumer.org observer urged.