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The chatterbox: drinking age debate |
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Friday, 29 August 2008 |
By ANGELA WEAVER
Staff Writer
ST. MARYS — State governments across the country are talking of lowering the drinking age after a little more than 100 of college presidents from the nation’s colleges and universities have argued that lowering the drinking age would reduce the occurrence of binge drinking on campus.
The signing presidents, including E. Gordon Gee from Ohio State, are part of the Amethyst Initiative, which was started when a president emeritus from Middlebury College in Vermont contacted university presidents to find out their thoughts on the issue in June.
Dave Gossard, of St. Marys, agreed with the opinion that 18-year-olds can serve in the military and vote, so why shouldn’t they be allowed to drink.
“I think they should,” Gossard said. “You’re expected to serve your country at 18, so you might as well be able to drink a beer.”
Another argument is that the drinking age hasn’t stopped underage drinking in the past.
“I’m kind of iffy about it. Who’s to say they weren’t doing it before,” Barb Dieterly said.
Because of this, Jean Cates and Tom Dieterly Jr. said they thought lowering the drinking age would be a mistake.
The biggest obstacle that the state governments are encountering is a Federal act put in place in 1984 — the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. Under this law, which prohibits anyone under the age of 21 from purchasing or publicly possessing alcohol.
According to the law, any state that did not comply with the drinking age of 21 would face a 10 percent reduction in its highway funds, under the Federal Highway Aid Act.
The talks have ranged from lowering the age to 18, lowering it for military personnel only or letting 19- and 20-year-olds buy low-alcohol beer. Minnesota’s initiative would allow anyone 18 and older to buy alcohol in bars or restaurants but not in liquor stores until they turned 21.
“It used to be 18 a long time ago,” Tom Dieterly Sr. said. “I don’t see anything wrong with it. They can let them buy it, but they can’t let them go into the bars — us old people like to get rowdy.”
So far, seven states are considering lowering the drinking age. However Ohio is not on that list.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 03 September 2008 )
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