President Raines against petition

Concerned with binge drinking, college and university presidents from 129 schools signed a petition to lower the legal drinking age to 18, but The University of Memphis is saying no.

"I don't plan on signing," said Shirley Raines, University of Memphis president. "I am concerned with binge drinking, but I'm also very concerned about the number of deaths that have decreased because of the drinking age."

The petition, Amethyst Initiative, believes lowering the drinking age would prevent binge drinking and stop young people from making "ethical compromises that erode respect for the law" by making fake IDs.

Rhodes College President William Troutt agrees with Amethyst Initiative and recently signed the petition.

Troutt wants to encourage dialogue on "the problem of alcohol abuse among young people," he said in an Aug. 21 media release statement.

"It is not a call for a specific policy change," Troutt said. "It is a compelling call for dialogue because too many of America's young people are losing their lives, ruining their lives or not living up to their full potential, and the common cause is alcohol abuse."

Many students at The University of Memphis support Raines's decision to disagree with Amethyst Initiative and not sign.

"I don't think it'll do anything," said Emily Blow, senior art history major. "I know I wasn't responsible enough when I was 18. I was so immature at 18."

Fatal alcohol related car crashes decreased 60 percent between ages 16 and 17, and decreased 55 percent between ages 18 and 20, according to a 2006 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

Emily Greenberg, senior art history major, thinks people will see more alcohol related car accidents if the legal drinking age is lowered.

"I think it'll cause more drunk driving accidents. I don't think that's a good idea," Greenberg said.

Matthew Martens, associate professor for counseling psychology, said the brain is not fully developed at 18.

"Especially for men, there's a good deal of research that indicates that people are not fully mature at 18 years of age," Martens said.

Blow and Greenberg said 18-year-olds are more likely to drink and drive because they are living at home and want to get home before curfew.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving said lowering the drinking age is "a terrible idea" that would "jeopardize the lives of more teens" in a recent Associate Press story.

But some college professors don't see it that way.

"The vast majority of young people have already consumed alcohol by the time they arrive at college age," said John McCardell, former Middlebury College president, in the story. "It's hard to say the current drinking age has been very successful."

"Treating our students in a more adult way brings out the best in them," Ohio State University President Gordon Gee also said in the report.

Martens sees another reason why colleges want to lower the legal drinking age to 18.

"I can see why presidents and universities want to do it. It can be an enforcement issue. I could see that being appealing, if students are legally able to engage in the behavior...but that doesn't mean it's a good idea," Martens said.

Tim Morgan, junior foreign language student, does not think lowering the drinking age will stop binge drinking.

"What you need to do is get them into AA or better parents," Morgan said.

Raines said lowering the drinking age to 18 is a long way from legislation.

She would like to see the minimum drinking age remain at 21 because people who want to drink underage will think more about the decision they're making.

Martens believes thorough research is needed before a final decision is made.

"Basically, I don't think the kind of research we have would justify making this move. I think it's potentially worth studying," Martens said. "I think it would be premature right now to talk about changing it."