Legal drinking age may no longer be adequate for colleges
Ben Holbrook Critic Editor
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: News
When alcohol is the number one drug problem in the country for young adults under the age of 21, what is the answer to such a dilemma?
There isn't one, but one college professor is working at solving the question.
Dr. David Jernigan, a professor of health, behavior and society from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, addressed this issue on campus before a group consisting of counselors and health professionals with only a few students mixed in. Jernigan's predominant talking point dealt with why the legal drinking age should stay at 21.
The lecture covered the areas of research being conducted on how to prevent, or at least reduce, the number of underage drinkers in the country, while also highlighting successful strategies for preventing underage drinking.
However, despite reductions in the number of alcohol related traffic fatalities and a lower percentage of high school students who are binge drinking, Jernigan noted there were too many factors to be able to combat underage drinking effectively. The most difficult obstacle for Jernigan to surmount when dealing with underage drinking is the amount of money alcohol companies are able to spend on advertising. "The alcohol industry is more innovative; last year they spent $4 billion on advertising," Jernigan said.
A more innovative and better funded alcohol industry isn't the only point of contention for Jernigan; he must also address The Amethyst Inititiative.
The Amethyst Intitiative is a college related initiative calling for an open debate about the issue of whether the 21-year-old drinking age is adequately doing its job. Currently, about 135 of the 4,000 college presidents have signed the inititative, Jernigan said. President Carol Moore, President Barbara Murphy of Johnson State and President David Wolk of Castelton have all signed the initiative.
One proponent of the bill, John McCardell, former president of Middlebury College and founder of Choose Responsibility, spoke before the Vermont legislature about lowering the drinking age to 18. McCardell's main topic of focus was on the national debate dealing with the penalties states incur if they lower the drinking age, says the speech McCardell delivered before legislature on Jan. 22.
There isn't one, but one college professor is working at solving the question.
Dr. David Jernigan, a professor of health, behavior and society from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, addressed this issue on campus before a group consisting of counselors and health professionals with only a few students mixed in. Jernigan's predominant talking point dealt with why the legal drinking age should stay at 21.
The lecture covered the areas of research being conducted on how to prevent, or at least reduce, the number of underage drinkers in the country, while also highlighting successful strategies for preventing underage drinking.
However, despite reductions in the number of alcohol related traffic fatalities and a lower percentage of high school students who are binge drinking, Jernigan noted there were too many factors to be able to combat underage drinking effectively. The most difficult obstacle for Jernigan to surmount when dealing with underage drinking is the amount of money alcohol companies are able to spend on advertising. "The alcohol industry is more innovative; last year they spent $4 billion on advertising," Jernigan said.
A more innovative and better funded alcohol industry isn't the only point of contention for Jernigan; he must also address The Amethyst Inititiative.
The Amethyst Intitiative is a college related initiative calling for an open debate about the issue of whether the 21-year-old drinking age is adequately doing its job. Currently, about 135 of the 4,000 college presidents have signed the inititative, Jernigan said. President Carol Moore, President Barbara Murphy of Johnson State and President David Wolk of Castelton have all signed the initiative.
One proponent of the bill, John McCardell, former president of Middlebury College and founder of Choose Responsibility, spoke before the Vermont legislature about lowering the drinking age to 18. McCardell's main topic of focus was on the national debate dealing with the penalties states incur if they lower the drinking age, says the speech McCardell delivered before legislature on Jan. 22.
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