Colleges want lower drinking age

At least two metro Atlanta colleges are bowing out of a nationwide debate about lowering the legal drinking age.

Morehouse College and Emory University confirmed Thursday they are not taking part in the the Amethyst Initiative, a nationwide effort to get college presidents talking about urging lawmakers to lower the drinking age.
“While we welcome and encourage spirited public debate about appropriate standards of behavior, we do not support policies that would have the effect of encouraging or making it more likely that younger citizens would use alcohol or drugs,” Morehouse president Robert M. Franklin said.

Emory released a similar written statement: “Emory University has decided not to join the Amethyst Initiative. Emory will continue its long-standing commitment to educate students about the dangers of abusing alcohol and other drugs.”

College presidents from about 100 well-known U.S. universities — including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State — support of the issue, according to the Amethyst Initiative. The group plans to call on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus.

The movement began quietly recruiting presidents more than a year ago to provoke national debate.

“This is a law that is routinely evaded,” said John McCardell, former president of Middlebury College in Vermont who started the organization. “It is a law that the people at whom it is directed believe is unjust and unfair and discriminatory.”

Choose Responsibility, a national non-profit organization that promotes safe drinking, supports the Amethyst Initiative. Organizers say the initiative is to get people talking about underage drinking.

“The Amethyst Initiative is not calling for a lower drinking age, it’s not calling for an 18-year-old drinking age,” said Grace Kronenberg, assistant to the director of Vermont-based Choose Responsibility. “It’s a group of leaders in higher education are speaking out on an issue they know a lot about.”