A very interesting article I saw on CNN.com today. Several college presidents have signed on to lower the drinking age to 18. It is part of something call the Amethyst Initiative. Interestingly enough, my alma mater, the University of Maryland, College Park is signed on to this. No other large local schools seem to have signed on.
I'm debating this in my head. Obviously lowering the age would cause concern about alcohol accessibility for a less mature group of people. However, at the same time, we have a number of arguments for this.
- If they want it, they'll find it. I had my first sip of beer at 11 or 12. After that, I had a wine cooler at 17 the day after high school graduation and nothing else until 21. But I had an understanding with my parents that I could get it if I wanted.
- Military - you are old enough to die for your country, you should be old enough to order a drink.
- Maturity - When I was at College Park, I knew plenty of students who were responsible and under 18. Conversely, there were immature ones at 21+. 21 is an arbitrary number.
I know this is not an easy thing to handle, but it's an interesting debate.
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