Drinking Age Should Remain at 21

A Statement Regarding the Amethyst Initiative


Ripon College has officially endorsed the Amethyst Initiative (AI), a potentially controversial initiative borne out of conversations within the Annapolis Group, a cadre of the nation’s finest liberal arts colleges, of which Ripon College is a member. The degree to which this initiative stirs controversy is wholly dependent upon whether the public understands its intent and why it is being supported by nearly 130 institutions nationwide. I would like to take a moment to a) clarify the tenets of the document Ripon College has signed, and b) explain its importance.
The National Minimum Age Drinking Act was passed by Congress in 1984, which basically forced states to raise the drinking age from 18 to 21 through the threat of reduced federal highway fund appropriations. Suffice it to say that many young adults below the legal drinking age do not view this law to be a significant hurdle in the procurement and consumption of alcohol. In fact, the law as written may have helped create an illicit culture of so-called “binge” drinking that pervades the college experience from coast to coast. The Amethyst Initiative represents a commitment by college presidents to do three basic things:
Support an informed and dispassionate public debate over the effects of the 21 year-old drinking age.
Consider whether the 10% highway fund “incentive” encourages or inhibits that debate.
Invite new ideas about the best ways to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol.
It is important to note that none of these objectives specifies lowering the drinking age or any other particular solution to the issue. I and other AI signatories do not question the validity of good research, nor do we deny that the 21 drinking age law has had some positive effects over time. We are simply saying that if “conditions on the ground” are any indication, the law as it stands does little to mitigate the effects of irresponsible drinking on college campuses. Therefore in the interest of our students’ health, safety and well-being, we believe that investigating alternative policies is a worthwhile endeavor. As educators, we have a responsibility to challenge the status quo even when doing so may be unpopular or controversial.
We feel that a three-year (or more) disparity between the driving, voting, marriage, military-service age, and the drinking age is disingenuous at best. A young man or woman can get married, pay just about every kind of tax, vote for their leaders and fight (and die) for our country for three full years before he/she can legally drink under any circumstances. It sends a mixed message: Society believes you are mature enough to make virtually any life-changing decision, but not mature enough to drink responsibly. It is a mixed message that does not give our young people the credit they deserve.
I believe that the current generation of college students is one of the most academically serious and civically engaged I have served. They have plans and résumés. They contribute meaningfully to their communities through service. They are largely color-blind when it comes to race and culture. They value teamwork and fairness. The phenomenon of social networking has created a sort of real-time accountability in ways that my generation has not fully understood, as much of their lives are chronicled online for perpetuity. We need to listen to them, respond with clarity and consistency, and then hold them accountable for their actions.
My point is simply this: For as many college students in this country who drink irresponsibly, there is a vast and growing majority whose actions and attitudes demonstrate that they are capable of making smart life decisions - even about alcohol.
College leaders will continue to combat underage drinking on our campus. I do not claim to know the best solution to this national problem, but I do know that the current policy simply isn’t working well. Senior leadership at Ripon College is united in its belief that a tenable solution to this very serious problem is possible through a vigorous public debate – one which we are happy to lead. Indeed, to oppose such a debate would be antithetic to one of Ripon’s most cherished core values, the promotion of “honesty, fairness, candor, respect, responsibility, trust, inclusiveness, and openness.”



Here is what I think. I would first look for studies that compare drunk driving deaths in states which had a 21 drinking age and then switched to 18. Is there a significant difference in the number of deaths? If there is, then one can say that it does make a difference and it does save lives.

A good friend of mine from Wisconsin tells me how, in his estimation the subtly infectious culture of alcohol had a role in taking his boyhood innocence away. The vaunted bottle of beer is worshiped on the TV screen, at college town bars, at graduation parties, anniversaries and American weddings. There is something intuitive in me that sounds a silent alarm in my mind, "Something is wrong here." Like me my friend from college(let's call him Glen) will often reflect on what path my life and career would have taken if I had made different decisions in college. I too was drawn into this culture of drinking. The drinking age was 18 when I went to Ripon College. I feel that my life was negatively affected by this kind of culture in some subtle way.

I have a friend named Tim who almost died from alcohol. Tim clings to his Christian faith and says God saved his life. I tell Tim that he should take more credit for pulling himself out of the meaningless muck of alcohol abuse. Tim's story is one of true courage and I will always respect him for that. What will lowering the drinking age do to future Tim's or Glen's who whose innocence is confronted by a chemical force beyond their control? Alcohol is overrated. It like what writer John Updike called the "vaunted orgasm." It provides a buzz and a false sense of confidence and security for awhile, but it doesn't last and you wake up with a headache and sometimes a guilty conscience in the morning. Glen says he wants to send a letter to Dr. Joyce to tell him about some of the lives he sees that were corrupted or ruined by the permissive alcohol culture at Ripon. I urged Glen not to get too graphic and to stay the course with logical arguments. I hope Dr. Joyce gets to read Glen's letter and perhaps there is a chance that common sense will prevail, that reinforcing such a culture is turning a blind eye to the right way to live.

As I closed my phone conversation with Glen tonight, I agreed with him that we as citizens must strive to make the right decisions in life because we don't have much time to get it right. We both agreed that in our late 40's, we are still working hard to get it right. The learning doesn't stop and it may be time to give some heartfelt advice to young and impressionable Ripon College freshmen.

(to be continued)