Agreeing to drinking age discussion a positive move for SU

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Posted: 8/26/08

One glance at the crowd in a Marshall Street bar on a weekend and it is clear not everyone is 21 or over. Underage drinking is prevalent on college campuses all around the nation, and school leaders are trying to start a conversation with lawmakers to lower the drinking age.

Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor is one of more than 100 presidents and chancellors of colleges and universities to sign the Amethyst Initiative, an initiative to lower the legal drinking age.

SU has a reputation of being a liberal college campus. Cantor's support of the initiative on behalf of the university reinforces the progressive atmosphere the Chancellor is attempting to build. Cantor's move also gives students an outlet to express their long ignored frustrations on the issue of underage drinking.

College campuses are the ideal platform for launching this initiative. According to a study performed in 2007 by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, abuse of alcohol and drugs on college campuses has been on the rise since the mid-1990s. Because of the high incidence of drinking on college campuses, the power of college presidents on this initiative will be much more persuasive than prior efforts to change the drinking age.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who played a large role in passing The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 - ultimately changing the drinking age from 18 to 21 - has a point when it says lowering the drinking age is a risky move. It could potentially enable more young people to drink without exercising discipline over their drinking.

This initiative, coupled with alcohol education programs such as the already implemented AlcoholEDU, would avoid MADD's concern. It can be the first step to a safe and responsible transition to a lower drinking age. Cantor's signature is a clear call to action: recognizing that the current laws are not effectively curbing binge drinking or drunk driving, and something must be done.

Though lowering the drinking age has potential of doing more harm than good, at least colleges are beginning to realize that binge drinking with underage students is a problem that requires more than just getting fined.

A gradual change of perception of drinking is an issue that should be seriously examined. In an environment where students take the plunge into independence, teaching students to make responsible decisions regarding alcohol is just as important as getting a degree.