Amethyst Initiative

The Amethyst Initiative has a surprising solution to the problem of binge drinking on college campuses. They want the legal age lowered from age 21 to 18. According to them, such a move will result in far fewer incidents of problem drinking. ""This is a law that is routinely evaded," said John McCardell, founder of the Amethyst Initiative. "It is a law that the people at whom it is directed believe is unjust and unfair and discriminatory." Of course such a proposal has been met with fierce opposition. Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) said the initiative will just end with more underage people being ... Read Full Story

The presidents of more than 100 colleges and universities have signed a document urging lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age to 18. The educators say the 21-year-old drinking age is widely flouted and has led to a culture of binge drinking on college campuses. Anti-drunken driving groups say the law does work. They argue that colleges don’t want to be bothered with enforcing the law and are looking for an easy way out. John McCardell, the former president of Middlebury College in Vermont, says his group, the Amethyst Initiative, is against intoxication but supports responsible, adult behavior toward alcohol. College seems to be ... Read Full Story

Lowering the legal drinking age to 18 would discourage binge drinking, argue a group of college presidents from major colleges and universities. (Amethyst Initiative) signers think the current law isn’t working, citing a “culture of dangerous, clandestine binge-drinking,” and noting that while adults under 21 can vote and enlist in the military, they “are told they are not mature enough to have a beer.” Furthermore, “by choosing to use fake IDs, students make ethical compromises that erode respect for the law.” Drinking is going to be a problem on college campuses whether the drinking age is 18 or 21. But it might be easier ... Read Full Story

It looks like University Presidents really are listening to their students. Of course, if you can't hear all the 19-year-old college kids in this country clamoring for more beer, you must be deaf. In a move that I predict will be endorsed by more college newspapers than any initiative ever, dozens of university presidents have signed on to the Amethyst Initiative to open the debate to lowering the drinking age to 18. 18-year-olds celebrated this bold proposal by doing shots to Duke University President Richard Brodhead, who is one of the more prominent names on the initiative's list of signatories found here . I ... Read Full Story

     Steven Pare, Chairman of the Rhode Island chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Drivin has written an editorial which supports keeping the legal drinking age at 21.  Pare cites several studies which herald the virtues of keeping the drinking age artificially high.  Unfortunately, Mr. Pare glosses over some of the contradictions in the law.      In the United States, individuals are legally considered adults at the age of 18.  At this age, individuals are deemed responsible enough to make their own decisions, enter into contracts, run for political office, and serve in the military.  As a society, we deem them responsible enough to buy a ... Read Full Story