Do you support the Amethyst Initiative or MADD?
by Miki SaxonImage credit: SyntheticD CC license
College presidents want to take a radical approach to dealing with underage drinking on university campuses—lower the drinking age.
It’s an interesting debate, with more support than you might expect.
“Opinion polls suggest most Americans support enforcing current drinking laws,” but I wonder if that’s a knee-jerk reaction or well thought out reasoning.
The college presidents and their supporters cast it as a choice between “just say no,” which is the only option until age 21, or the ability to teach responsible drinking without breaking the law.
I’m not sure what makes these houses of higher education believe that they’ll have more success teaching responsible drinking between 18 and 21 than the parents, churches, and various other groups had during years 0-18.
Unfortunately, today’s kids tend to listen to their peers for better or worse, so the major benefit may be keeping their record clean for when they finally grow up—assuming they do.
(Hat tip on this to Jean at Small Business Boomers.)
What do you think?
