Considering what an important issue the Amethyst Initiative is, there should be much more discussion between students about it.
Fairfield University recently joined 128 other schools in signing the Amethyst Initiative, a petition among colleges across the country to promote a discussion or debate about the current drinking age. In doing so, the colleges and universities acknowledge that a problem exists with the legal drinking age and that it needs to be addressed.
I was more than surprised when I found out Fairfield had joined the initiative, but I must give University President Fr. Jeffrey von Arx and the administration credit for realizing that yes, the current drinking age isn’t working.’
‘What we are calling for is to have a discussion on the impact of the effectiveness of the 21 drinking age,’ said Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students Tom Pellegrino.’
Especially on this campus, to deny that the drinking age is even remotely followed is to be either blind or stupid, and definitely naive. But it’s not just here that there’s an issue ‘- clearly 128 other colleges have noticed something similar.
Signing the Amethyst Initiative does not necessarily mean that the colleges are in favor of lowering the drinking age, but what else would really make sense in this situation? Raising the drinking age would be even more ridiculous.
There has been a popular argument that essentially points out the unfairness of the current drinking age, specifically noting that at 18, you are legally considered an adult: you can vote, you’re treated and tried as an adult, and you can join the army, but for some reason it was decided that you cannot yet go into a store and buy a case of beer.
It’s an issue that concerns everyone, but it’s interesting to see how it’s viewed by colleges and college students in particular.
‘This law does have a unique influence on college campuses,’ said Pellegrino in a recent interview with The Mirror.
Even von Arx mentioned that ‘it’s a conversation in which we would like to engage our students in.’ But where is this conversation? Mentioning the Amethyst Initiative to my friends, none of them had a clue what it was. And I have yet to see the administration take a more assertive role in making students aware of the discussions that are supposed to be happening.
Many students would be more than supportive of talking about the issues related to this, and many with the hopes that maybe in the near future the drinking age would be lowered. And while I think many colleges and universities feel that this is a legitimate solution, it’s the bigger picture that’s preventing change.
The 10 percent highway fund ‘incentive’ as it’s being called on the Amethyst Initiative Web site points out that any state who lowers the drinking age below 21 loses 10 percent of the funds devoted annually to their highway appropriation.
Is the possibility of losing federal revenue the reason why nobody wants to discuss the drinking age, and whether or not this is safe for those it affects? That’s dumb, but of course it has to revolve around profits and money because that’s where so many of our national issues come from.
Still, there should be no reason why this has to affect the discussion of what’s at hand with the drinking age, and especially how it affects the college population.
It’s the most prevalent in these places, and the split between students who are currently of legal drinking age and those who aren’t leads to unique situations that involve both public safety and the police.
There’s no question in my mind that the drinking age should be lowered, and at least some people are ready to talk about it, Fairfield as a whole being one of them. And while I think there should be more done to promote awareness on what’s happening nationally throughout college campuses concerning the drinking age, hopefully this signifies a move in the right direction.
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