Drinking Age

[redbenn]

College presidents seek debate on drinking age - Yahoo! News

College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus.


The movement called the Amethyst Initiative began quietly recruiting presidents more than a year ago to provoke national debate about the drinking age.

continued...

 

[starBUCKS]

That law has always bothered me. I just can't get past the fact that this country will throw an 18 yr old into the middle east with an M-16 an expect them to take peoples lives, but they can be arrested for drinking a beer in the states.

 

[scooter1369]

That law has always bothered me. I just can't get past the fact that this country will throw an 18 yr old into the middle east with an M-16 an expect them to take peoples lives, but they can be arrested for drinking a beer in the states.

And actually go to real jail, not juvy, because they are a fucking adult...

Insult on inury

 

[ScriptOhio]

Re: How many times must we relearn the lessons of prohibition?" the statement says. "Adults under 21 are deemed capable of voting, signing contracts, serving on juries and enlisting in the military, but are told they are not mature enough to have a beer."

 

[Taosman]

Old enough to die for your country, but not old enough to drink? :(

 

[redbenn]

the problem with it is when everyone is under 21, they are pissed about not being able to drink... and say how the law should change, and they would do stuff to change it... then they turn 21 and stop caring, or are too drunk to care

 

[Dryden]

Of course, now there's a movement to drop the drinking age back down. All my older sisters were throwing keggers in high school and I'm the one that got screwed when they bumped it up to 21.

Bastards.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

People who want alcohol will get alcohol. Growing up it was the norm to have wine with dinner. When dining out with my parents I was allowed to order alcoholic drinks, it definitely took a lot of the allure off of party drinking. I agree completely that the drinking age should be 18.

Exactly! The more society demonizes alcohol as some forbidden fruit; the more it creates a culture of binge drinking. Raise kids to assume that responsible drinking is nothing special--in fact a normal part of dinner--and the allure of drinking oneself into a stupor is greatly decreased.

BTW, take MADD's pronouncements on this with a grain of salt. MADD stopped being about drunk driving a long time ago. Today, they're an organization hijacked by religious extremists attempting to, if not criminalize social drinking, then harass it out of existence.

 

[redbenn]

Exactly! The more society demonizes alcohol as some forbidden fruit; the more it creates a culture of binge drinking. Raise kids to assume that responsible drinking is nothing special--in fact a normal part of dinner--and the allure of drinking oneself into a stupor is greatly decreased.

sound a little like the war on drugs?

 

[AKAK]

BTW, take MADD's pronouncements on this with a grain of salt. MADD stopped being about drunk driving a long time ago. Today, they're an organization hijacked by religious extremists attempting to, if not criminalize social drinking, then harass it out of existence.

Who and why MADD was "hijacked" is open for debate (not that I have any interest in actually debating it, except to say that they have a big budget, make a lot of money and need to remain relevant to keep the gravy train rolling.) but, yeah, its a modern day temperence movement.

 

[Jake]

The problem is the feds took the issue out of the states' hands through legalized extortion, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. Anything under 21 and they withhold highway funding (that they took from you in the first place).

I remember when the law changed my sophomore year at OSU. I was the only person of legal drinking age on my dorm floor, so my popularity skyrocketed as word got around. It was a nice gig - for every case I purchase for you, you have to buy me a six. Oh, and wait at the corner because I'm not carrying your shit all the way home.

University Beverage never caught on, or didn't care...I'm guessing it was the latter. :cheers:

 

[cincibuck]

That law has always bothered me. I just can't get past the fact that this country will throw an 18 yr old into the middle east with an M-16 an expect them to take peoples lives, but they can be arrested for drinking a beer in the states.

Maybe because the 18 year-old with an M-16 reoresents less than .5% of the American population. The force is very small, there is no draft on, you have to volunteer to serve.

Don't know that the analogy works in today's situation.

 

[Mac]

One thing that is really stupid is when you are underage and you go into the store with someone who is of age. Before I turned 21 earlier this year, my sister and my brother in law came down for a weekend and we wanted some booze. So we went to the UDF on high street, and the cashier wouldn't let my brother in law buy the alchy because I walked in with them.

 

[redbenn]

One thing that is really stupid is when you are underage and you go into the store with someone who is of age. Before I turned 21 earlier this year, my sister and my brother in law came down for a weekend and we wanted some booze. So we went to the UDF on high street, and the cashier wouldn't let my brother in law buy the alchy because I walked in with them.

yeah, UDF is so paranoid like that...

 

[Mac]

yeah, UDF is so paranoid like that...

It's not just UDF, at giant eagle and other places stare at you like you just did something wrong. People just need to relax about this stuff