Some Colleges Want Lower Drinking Age

August 2008

College presidents from across the country are asking lawmakers to consider a proposal they think will decrease the amount of dangerous binge drinking that occurs on campuses. The movement, called the Amethyst Initiative, seeks to lower the legal drinking age from 21 to 18.

Those in support of the Amethyst Initiative believe that underage students drink more dangerously because the activity is illegal. They say that current drinking laws push students to consume alcohol "underground and off campus where there is great risk." Several executives from western Pennsylvania schools, including Chatham University, Robert Morris University, and Washington & Jefferson College, have joined the organization.

Others are in strong disagreement with the initiative's logic. The Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization asserts that lowering the drinking age would lead to more fatal car crashes, and some college administrators do not think that lowering the drinking age will reduce the amount of alcohol consumed on campuses. Research has found that more than 40 percent of college students report at least one symptom of alcohol abuse and that more than 500,000 full-time students at four-year colleges suffer drinking-related injuries each year.