From colleges the size of Ohio State to Kent State, Youngstown and all sizes in between, college presidents are asking for the national dialogue on the drinking age to be opened anew.
Specifically, they're wondering aloud if more effective programs to curb drinking in young adults could be used if the drinking age was lowered from 21 to 18 again, as it was before the push in the mid-1980s.
The pro-and-con lineup began as soon as it was known that the college presidents had signed onto the Amethyst Initiative, a petition drive to start the discussion.
The college leaders acknowledge that even with the age at 21, young adults are binge drinking, often with fatal consequences. The factors are the usual ones: young men and women on the first part of their adult journey, enjoying freedom of being away from home, in the fun atmosphere of college life, where alcohol has long been a part of the festivities.
The thought is that even with drinking illegal for the under-21 crowd, the alcohol is obtained and, because the drinking is not done in public, the binges occur out of sight of those who might be able to stop the drinkers. With the younger drinking age, colleges will be able to acknowledge, advise and enact programs to deter drinking, the colleges say.
The supporters of the lower drinking age also note that 18-year-olds are eligible for military service, can vote, get married and live like adults in every way except the freedom to drink in a bar.
Opponents, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which led the push to raise the drinking age, say the concept is a bad one. A younger drinking age will merely lead to more traffic crashes, binge drinking deaths and alcohol-related societal problems in young adults. Opponents also say it's ludicrous to think that allowing more people to buy and consume alcohol would actually lead to less problem drinking. Kids will still buy, go back to the dorm or the party and binge some more. Further, it's possible to point to the problems of alcohol among children down to even elementary school age and ask how being more lenient will solve anything.
We say the dialogue would be a vital one.
That there is binge drinking occurring is no secret. As soon as the school year begins, there will be tales from across the nation of students with sometimes-fatal alcohol poisoning, often in young men and women spending their first weeks away from the watchful eyes of mom and dad.
Acknowledging the problem exists is the first step in dealing with any problem.
Further, states had set the 18-year-old drinking laws prior to the mid-1980s push to raise them. The states didn't willingly just go along with raising their drinking age but were cajoled into it by the threat of not receiving federal highway funds if the drinking age in the state wasn't 21.
The entire concept gets back to the lessons learned during Prohibition: Saying something is societally unacceptable doesn't necessarily mean society agrees or is willing or even able to enforce its will.
It's good to talk about such issues.
Both sides have valid points, and a generation has passed since the legal drinking age was raised.
It's time to study, to learn again.