purchase it legally at 21 or 18. It isn’t so much the alcohol that creates dangerous situations in college, it’s the freedom to make your own decisions that makes everything possible.

Our country is WAY too conservative to allow a reduction in the drinking age.

I’m not holding my breath though.

suck it minors!!!!

I live in a frat so there’s always someone to get it for me, but this will save me money from the occasional douche who wants added money because getting it is a “felony”. Fuckin fratboys…

“discriminated against”? That’s a bit strong, doncha think? I fully agree that the drinking age should be 18, but still. It may be an unfair law, but discrimination it isn’t.

Presidents of prestigous schools such as listed above think the drinking age is bad.

Translate as: Presidents of prestigious schools such as listed above want to foist the problem of binge drinking and its effects onto high schools and parents and away from their prestigious universities.

If you can vote, why shouldnt you be allowed to drink? Okay that doesnt have much ground…but still, 18 year olds can buy cigarettes and gamble .

16-17 is a bit young but 18 would be fine. If someone really wants it, they’ll find a way to get it. Weed is illegal for everyone but still, people of many ages still obtain it pretty readily.

I wouldnt mind if between 18-20 they had harsher DUI rules than the normal 21. The main probblem wityh young drinking is how their drunkeness affects others. I always thought mid-college was an odd time to finally be allowed to drink. Kids under 21 will still drink and that is where the issue of house parties comes into play. There would be less of those if everyone (well almost…some like me enter college at 17) was just allowed to go to the bars…a designated drinking place. I am sure there may be more of an issue of who’s the designated driver. But it usually is someone over 21 whjo is the DD anyway I found.

I think it would not eliminate binge drinking of course BUT binge drinking would be lowered to high school ages…which most HSers are still under the guardianship of parents which would make it “safer” and more controllable than in college where there are virtually no rules, no parents. Not saying parents can control their kids, they cant always and dont, but they are a heck of a lot easier to control within a mile of their house (or even at theirr house) than possibly states away at college

that it is rather silly that they not be allowed to drink. However, I’d prefer we do it Canada-style and move the drinking age to 19, thus effectively denying any high schoolers the pleasure.

Even better would be a drastic change in the way alcohol is viewed in our culture. Some people are never going to learn how to drink responsibly; there will always be drunk drivers, alcoholics and binge drinking deaths. Unfortunate, but true. If our priorities weren’t so out of whack, though, it would go a long way towards lessening such occurrences. Alcohol is simultaneously glamorized and demonized, which is as sure a way as any to ensure that people who have no business messing with it will try to do so as soon as possible.

In my family, throughout my childhood and teenage years, the image of “THE DEMON RUM” prevailed. Although the motivations are often different than they were in my household, this sort of thing isn’t all that uncommon. Kids aren’t stupid though, and they know all sorts of people enjoy alcohol with few ill effects. If they’re not getting any constructive advice about responsible alcohol use, though, they figure it out on their own, and the results can be disastrous.

I probably started drinking way too early, but luckily, nothing all that bad happened. I’ve certainly overindulged a time or two hundred in my day as well. I also realized when it was time to grow up, and when I wasn’t capable of going out and getting hammered on a Wednesday night with few ill effects the next day. I still drink, but typically now it’s a beer after work and maybe a beer before bed. (The weekends are a different story, but fuck it, you’re only young once.)

Until we drop this whole “no mixed messages about drugs or alcohol” bullshit that seems to be the prevailing wisdom these days, binge drinking in college will continue to be the rule rather than the exception. And until we enact penalties for drunk driving that are an actual deterrent, drunk driving will continue to be a huge problem. An 18 year old can vote, buy cigarettes, go to a strip club and join the military, but cannot legally buy a six-pack and unwind at home on a Friday night. An adult of legal drinking age can get arrested for DUI, and after 90 days of treatment and no jail time served, they’re allowed to drive a car again. It’s absurd.

Driver’s License, Alcohol, Tobacco, Voting, Military. All of it.