Amethyst Initiative

interested in reducing the drinking age due to the amount of drinking happening on college campuses and not enough faculty to enforce the laws. “As of November 2009, presidents and chancellors of 135 colleges and universities have signed on to the Amethyst Initiative calling for a public debate about lowering the drinking age” (5). College officials argue that having the law at 21 years old is not being effective enough to prevent youths from consuming alcohol and suffering the negative…

many groups have been trying without success to reduce the age limit for the consumption of alcohol. An initiative known as Amethyst Initiative was signed in the year 2008 by a group of college presidents who were not satisfied with the minimum legal age (Williams et al. 170). There was public awareness conducted to educate the society on the benefits of reducing the legal age to 18. This initiative used responsibility as their base of argument because they believed that when people are allowed…

responsibilities not included though is the right to drink alcoholic beverages. 18 year-olds can vote, smoke, marry, drive, fly, pay taxes, take out loans, hold public office, serve on a jury and fight for their country, so what’s the big deal (Amethyst Initiative, "Statement”)? Let’s stop spending all this tax money and law enforcement officer time fighting a loosing battle (M. Wolfson, A. Wagenaar, and G. Hornseth, "Law Officers' Views on Enforcement of the Minimum Drinking Age: A Four-State…

Following, Dengenhardt and colleagues’s survey ( 2013, p.1) showed that 52% of boys and 34% of girls between 14 and 15 years reported binge drinking past week of experiment and 90% of male and 70% of female early onset teenage drinkers continued their binge drinking pattern till their young adulthood time. Consequently, Jennison (2004, p.659) also verified college binge drinkers are more likely to develop one or more alcohol related diagnostic criteria such as alcohol abuse and dependence in…

journal "College Presidents Call for a Debate on Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 by Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly journal state “according to John McArdell, president emeritus of Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont and spokesman for the Amethyst Initiative. The problem is that underage drinking is now forced off campus, leading to “a culture of dangerous, clandestine binge-drinking,” according to the group’s statement, signed by the 129 college presidents “(1). In other words drinking at…

Lowering the drinking age can give parents and schools more of an opportunity to educate kids on alcohol consumption. Donald R. Eastman the president of Eckerd College and one of the signatories to the Amethyst Initiative states that the current MLDA of 21 does not educate younger kids on the possible dangers of alcohol but criminalizes their actions (Eastman). It is only natural for people under the age of 21 to be curious about alcohol, especially considering…

Students would be drinking alcohol in controlled environments, without having to hide their drinking in an unsafe matter. There is an awkward age gap between when one becomes an adult and when they can legally drink alcohol. The Amethyst Initiative argues, “A minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of 21 has created a culture of heavy alcohol use on college campuses by making drinking secretive and extreme” (Saylor 3). This articles explains that the age restriction law has not stopped binge…

Back in the 1820’s many Americans were unhappy because of the prohibition laws. The backslash of prohibition caused other social problems in the 1820’s (4). Today we are repeating history and making the same mistakes that occurred in the past. Prohibition didn’t work then and it’s not working now (4). The United States had many criminals operating in speakeasies and other illegal drinking bars during the “roaring twenties”. Al Capone was one of the main criminals during this time. Between…

Underage drinking is a problem in the United States. Why do many teenagers drink illegally? What makes teenagers drink and commit outrageous, dangerous activities like drunk driving? What makes a teenager think its okay to break the law? High school and college parties nowadays mostly have alcoholic beverages such as beer and vodka. Most students at these parties are under 21 and if someone at the party were to get into an accident that requires medical attention especially at a high school…

Several arguments have been put forth such as how it will stimulate growth for businesses and how the current policy results in the United States are more dangerous than if it were lower. The Amethyst Initiative as well as several others believe age 18 is a common age and lowering the age could be a lesson for teenagers to face before they are independent from parental guardians. This paper will help motivate that age 21 is not the optimal age for the…