By Tytianna Wells
College and alcohol have been synonymous for years. Whether it’s a wild party or a simple drink among friends, liquid courage is as much a part of college culture as textbooks and study halls. Still, there are many consequences to be endured when college students go too far and put themselves in danger due to irresponsible drinking. According to the Journal of Studies on Alcohol, one in five college students meets the criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence.
A group of more than 100 college presidents from across the nation, however, has a radical approach to decreasing binge drinking: lowering the legal drinking age from 21 to 18.
As a result, this controversial issue has begun to spread across many of the nation’s college campuses, creating both a sense of urgency and opportunity in the lives of many college-age students.
“I think they should lower it because you [can] be in the war [at that age],” said Courtnee Huffman, a sophomore nursing major. “How do you expect people to risk their lives, but be banned from drinking alcohol?”
Miguel Sanchez, a senior political science major, also agrees with the proposal to lower the legal drinking age.
“If you’re going to be an adult legally, you shouldn’t be discriminated on your maturity level,” said Sanchez. “It’s like a probationary period to be an adult.”
The college presidents proposed lowering the legal drinking age nationwide from 21 to 18, banding together under the moniker the Amethyst Initiative.
The group is concerned that continuing to forbid legal drinking from those underage would foster what many call the “binge-drinking culture.”
According to recent polls, nearly half of college students, regardless of age, confess to binge drinking. One in five male freshmen responded that they regularly drink more than 10 drinks at a time.
Though many think that this culture is not a constant presence in the lives of college students, there are those who have had different experiences.
Tyler Ashby, a senior history major found opposition with the issue: “When alcohol is made illegal, it only makes underage people more interested in hiding it and wanting to drink excessively.”
An analysis of federal records conducted by the Associated Press found that 157 college-age people drank themselves to death from 1999 through 2005. Researchers have also found that more than 40 percent of college students reported at least one symptom of alcohol abuse or dependence.
“What’s terrible is seeing the kids who can’t drink at the bar passed out all over the place because they spend an hour before the party taking shots to the face,” said Sanchez.
Another study has estimated more than 500,000 full-time students at four-year colleges suffer injuries each year related to drinking.
About 1,700 students die in such accidents.
According to professor Deborah Keeling, who serves as the justice administration department chair, “The college presidents are trying to prevent this underground culture that is different in other countries.”
In Europe, where the legal age for drinking alcohol tends to be 18 or under, drunkenness occurs in only 1 of every 10 drinking occasions, according to the latest statistics.
In the U.S., where alcohol is not cultural but is regulated under law and behavior is learned from peers, drunkenness ensues about half the time.
According to research by the Centers for Disease Control, however, raising the drinking age effectively reduces drunk-driving deaths.
“Figuring out how to teach is the central issue to drinking responsibly and not engaging in binge-drinking,” said Keeling.
A concern for this has resulted in the same college presidents who are trying to lower the legal drinking age looking to raise awareness through programs and events on campuses to educate college students about taking precaution when consuming alcohol as responsible subjects.
On the other hand, there are those who think that, in spite of education to prevent irresponsible drinking, lowering the legal drinking age would still be detrimental to young students.
“This issue is neither cut nor dry,” said Jerald Smith, a senior chemical engineering major. “Lowering [the drinking age] will only increase underage drinking because it will filter throughout society’s stereotypes of underage drinking.”
Tara Bridwell, a freshman justice administration major, disagreed with the lowering of the legal drinking age.
“It gives you more time to mature and understand responsibility when the bar for drinking alcohol is twenty-one,” said Bridwell in defense of the status quo.
Bridwell is certainly not alone in her assessment of the drinking age debate, as many organizations have come forward to condemn the notion of lowering the drinking age. Especially opposed to the proposal is Mothers Against Drunk Driving; in a recent press release, the group stated that lowering the legal drinking age to 18 years is “a misguided and dangerous thought.
Still, though, some students are looking to compromise or consider laws that would rely on a number besides age: blood alcohol level.
“If there was a limit on the intake level of alcohol then I think that lowering the legal drinking age would be a good idea,” said Zachary McKee, a senior political science major.
McKee, however, realizes that no law will be perfect.
“However, I think that people could also take it for granted.”
