2008 Woodie Awards
Admins: Use leverage to lower drinking age
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: Editorial
Last update: 11/8/07 at 7:13 AM EST
Last update: 11/8/07 at 7:13 AM EST
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Some current and former college administrators have already spoken out about the issue. John McCardell, the former president of Middlebury College, argued in a 2004 guest editorial in The New York Times that the current law needs to be changed because it does not appear to have served the intended function of discouraging underage drinking-on college campuses and elsewhere.
McCardell also argues that colleges need to be more progressive in teaching students about drinking responsibly. He writes that "colleges should be given the chance to educate students, who in all other respects are adults, in the appropriate use of alcohol, within campus boundaries and out in the open."
This board urges Duke administrators to take a strong stand on this issue and help lead the charge to reduce an outdated and ineffective law.
A few days ago this board suggested that President Brodhead needed to redefine his legacy. A strong stand on this issue would be a bold statement toward that.
McCardell also argues that colleges need to be more progressive in teaching students about drinking responsibly. He writes that "colleges should be given the chance to educate students, who in all other respects are adults, in the appropriate use of alcohol, within campus boundaries and out in the open."
This board urges Duke administrators to take a strong stand on this issue and help lead the charge to reduce an outdated and ineffective law.
A few days ago this board suggested that President Brodhead needed to redefine his legacy. A strong stand on this issue would be a bold statement toward that.
Viewing Comments 1 - 10 of 11
rml
posted 11/08/07 @ 9:05 AM EST
Yup, the whole lacrosse thing problably would not have happened if students could still party on Main West. All restrictions on drinking are doing is driving drinking further and further away from campus. (Continued…)
DukeProf
posted 11/08/07 @ 9:23 AM EST
The current alcohol regulatory environment is ridiculous. I'm not sure what it is based on other than the tradition of 21 years old being an important lankmark birthday. (Continued…)
rgb
posted 11/08/07 @ 11:00 AM EST
Speaking as a double Duke alum as well as professor who attended Duke when the drinking age was 18 for beer and wine (and when of course there was little practical regulation of hard liquor at campus events) as well as a parent of two boys in the age range 17-20, I have the following comments. (Continued…)
Rudy
posted 11/08/07 @ 11:20 AM EST
Dr. McCardell helped found "Choose Responsibility" an advocacy group that would combine education and licensing with lowering the drinking age to 18. (Continued…)
Rob
posted 11/08/07 @ 12:41 PM EST
Why not make the drinking age 19? A strong counter-argument to an 18 year old drinking age is that high schoolers turn 18 their senior year and will flood high schools with alcohol. (Continued…)
Anonymous
posted 11/08/07 @ 12:50 PM EST
I would be in favor of lowering the drinking age to 18 or 19 coupled with VERY STRICT ENFORCEMENT of drunk driving laws. First DUI offense, your license is supended for a year, and if you are caught driving without a license, you go to prison for a year. (Continued…)
Almu8284
posted 11/08/07 @ 12:58 PM EST
rgb does a very good job explaining a lot of this. I was at Duke for the last years before the drinking age changed and am very aware of how it was changed. (Continued…)
Locomotive Breath
posted 11/08/07 @ 2:00 PM EST
Part of the history of this issue is the role of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) in getting these laws enacted. Here's what Candy Lightner had to say as she left the organization she founded. (Continued…)
hc
posted 11/08/07 @ 3:56 PM EST
RGB,
Although I agree with most of your comments, the Supreme Court has squarely held that the trying of highway funds to a reduction in drinking age is constitutional under the general welfare clause. (Continued…)
Concernedparent
posted 11/08/07 @ 5:15 PM EST
I'm a mother and I am against drunk driving, but I think it the current drinking age is absolutely wrong for a number of reasons. First, we don't know that driving fatalities are down because the drinking age is 21--it could be because of seat belts and bigger cars. (Continued…)
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