Should the Drinking Age be Lowered?
From the Winter 2010 issue of The Delta
Why is the Drinking Age Back in the News?
A new debate is emerging about what the minimum legal drinking age should be – more than 20 years after all 50 states adopted “Legal Age 21.”
Historic Perspective
Minimum drinking age laws were established in the United States after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933; most states set the age at 21. But when the voting age changed from 21 to 18 in 1971, many states lowered the drinking age to 18 or 19. Studies in the 1970s and 1980s highlighted a significant increase in the number of alcohol-related automobile crashes involving 18- to 20-year-olds in states that had lowered the drinking age. Concern over this increase led to the establishment of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in 1980 and the President’s Commission on Drunk Driving in 1982.
Of the many commission recommendations, the one that carried the most weight resulted in the passage of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984. This law advocated 21 as the minimum age for purchasing and publicly possessing alcoholic beverages. While the right to set the minimum drinking age remained in the control of each state, any state not adopting the federal standard would lose 10 percent of federal highway funding. By 1987, all 50 states had adopted what often is referred to as Legal Age 21.
From 1987 through 2002, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that the increase in the drinking age has saved 21,887 lives in the United States and continues to save 1,000 lives each year. NHTSA reports that alcohol was involved in 60 percent of U.S. vehicular fatalities in 1982; today, that number is 30 percent.
What’s the Problem?
Those advocating a new dialog – or debate – on what the minimum drinking age should be point out that this reduction in vehicular fatalities is partially attributable to other safety measures – such as increased use of seat belts and air bags – achieved in the last 20 years. They also point toward evidence that they believe indicates that Legal Age 21 has contributed to an increase in the dangerous misuse of alcohol by 18- to 20-year-olds.
Studies in the 1970s and 1980s showed a significant increase in the number of alcohol-related automobile crashes involving 18- to 20-year-olds in states that lowered the drinking age.
For example, those advocating that the issue be re-opened have cited research recently conducted by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron and former student Elina Tetelbaum that demonstrates that states that raised the drinking age to 21 since 1984 experienced no statistically significant decrease in traffic fatalities for 18- to 20-year-olds. Their study compared traffic fatality rates in these states before and after the law change. They also examined fatality rates in states that adopted the higher age prior to the federal mandate in 1984. They found that the reduction in traffic fatalities came primarily from those few states that adopted 21 as the minimum drinking age early on rather than from those states that raised the age following the federal mandate.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism – an organization that supports Legal Age 21 – provides this statistic: of the approximately 5,000 Americans under the age of 21 who die of alcohol-related causes each year, only 1,900 result from traffic fatalities. The remaining 3,000 occur off the highway, including 1.600 as a result of homicides, 300 from suicide and the remaining from other injuries.
Choose Responsibility proposes a series of policy changes that would allow 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds to purchase, possess and consume alcohol beverages once they have received mandatory education, certification and provisional licensing to do so.
Those advocating that Legal Age 21 be reviewed believe there is a growing body of evidence that the drinking culture among young adults has changed for the worse since 1984. They argue that Legal Age 21 has pushed drinking behind closed doors, resulting in dangerous overconsumption that can lead to injury, death or a lifetime of alcohol-related problems.
Many cite a 2001 study by the Harvard School of Public Health that concluded that while fewer college students consumed alcohol than did a decade ago, many of those who did consume did so excessively, sometimes with fatal consequences. As compared to its College Alcohol Study conducted in 1993, more 18- to 24-year-old students who chose to drink in 2001 were drinking excessively defined by the frequency of drinking occasions, frequency of drunkenness and drinking to get drunk.
John McCardell and others believe that Legal Age 21 has pushed drinking behind closed doors, resulting in dangerous over-consumption that can lead to injury, death or a lifetime of alcohol-related problems.
A career college educator and past president of Middlebury College in Vermont, John McCardell, Jr., became concerned about changes in the culture of drinking on college campuses across the country. Shortly after he stepped down from his Middlebury post in 2004, McCardell wrote an op-ed piece in The New York Times that turned quite a few heads. A section of the editorial denounced the Legal Age 21 as bad social policy and a terrible law. McCardell cited binge drinking as a major problem on college campuses and proposed that reducing the drinking age would give colleges the chance to educate students about the appropriate use of alcohol.
“The drinking age has effectively banished alcohol from public places and public view,” said McCardell. “It has done little to reduce drinking. If you were to design the ideal venue for binge drinking, you would not design a student union, a dining hall, a restaurant or any public gathering place, you would instead design a locked dorm room, an off-campus apartment, a farmer’s field—in short, a place conducive to clandestine behavior.”
McCardell’s article prompted the Robertson Foundation to provide him with the funds to found Choose Responsibility in 2007. The non-profit organization’s focus is stimulating public discussion about the presence of alcohol in American culture and to seek consideration of policies that will empower 18- to 20-year-olds to make mature decisions about alcohol use.
John McCardell: “Some of the signers think it [the minimum age] should be lowered and others don’t. We all agree it’s time to take our heads out of the sand and determine if changes are warranted.”
Choose Responsibility proposes a series of policy changes that would allow 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds to purchase, possess and consume alcohol beverages once they have received mandatory education, certification and provisional licensing to do so. The program would combine incentive and reward for responsible, lawful behavior and punitive measures for illegal, irresponsible behavior.
A year after founding Choose Responsibility, McCardell invited his academic colleagues to join the discussion about the effectiveness of Legal Age 21 by signing the Amethyst Initiative. The Amethyst Initiative is a statement that does not prescribe a particular policy change but does reflect the belief that the problem of irresponsible drinking by young people continues despite Legal Age 21 and that there is a culture of dangerous binge drinking on many campuses. Currently, the Amethyst Initiative is signed by 135 college and university president. Signatories represent private and public colleges and universities, both large and small, such as Dartmouth and Occidental colleges, Duke and Ohio State universities and Virginia Tech.
“The Amethyst Initiative isn’t an organization, it’s a statement,” said McCardell, who continues to teach history at Middlebury and serves as president of the board of Choose Responsibility. “Some of the signers think it [the minimum age] should be lowered and others don’t. We all agree it’s time to take our heads out of the sand and determine if changes are warranted.”
Among the issues signatories would like elected officials to consider are whether the loss of federal highway funds encourages or inhibits debate about the effectiveness of Legal Age 21 and what new ideas might best prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol.
When news of the creation of the Amethyst Initiative was made public last year, MADD, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the American Medical Association (AMA), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Governors Highway Safety Association called on signatories to remove their names from the list and support Legal Age 21.
Some did remove their names, but others have signed on. Organizations and individuals on both sides of the issue have been widely covered in the media, including on CBS’s “60 Minutes.” The topic is a hot one on many college campuses and legislators are interested as well as some states begin to consider the questions being raised.
James Fell, a former national board member of MADD, supports keeping Legal Age 21. He is senior program director at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE), an independent, non-profit organization that focuses on individual and social problems associated with the use of alcohol and other drugs.
Approximately half of the national fraternities use the GreekLifeEdu program today, and according to [Brandon] Busteed, there has been tremendous progress made by fraternities in the area of reducing binge drinking, a common term for overconsumption of alcohol.
“When the lives and well-being of so many young people are at stake, it is appropriate for the federal government to step in and protect the public,” said Fell. “States are still free to set their drinking age lower than age 21, so long as they are willing to accept the increase in youthful deaths and give up federal highway monies; the federal government is not directly coercing any state to adopt 21 as the drinking age. The National Uniform Drinking Age 21 Act has been a balanced, effective and popular tool in helping to combat the many problems associated with youth drinking, and repealing it would be a grave mistake.”
According to McCardell, Choose Responsibility and other voices in favor of reconsidering Legal Age 21 think this is the moment to consider whether or not the United States would be better off with the highway funds incentive removed. Without the threat of the loss of those funds, McCardell believes that discussion of Legal Age 21 would take place not only at the national level but at the state level.
“The most important lesson we’ve learned is that merely adjusting the minimum drinking age is not enough,” said McCardell. “By itself it cannot save the problem of the day.”
Sigma Nu’s Approach
“This emerging debate is certainly interesting and important,” said Brad Beacham, Sigma Nu’s Executive Director. “Regardless of the outcome, however, Sigma Nu will continue to expect its members to respect and uphold the law of the land and the Fraternity will continue its endeavors to provide state of the art, effective education and prevention programs that help our Brothers make healthy decisions regarding alcohol use.”
Alcohol-related injuries and accidents contribute significantly to the increasing cost of insurance for Greek organizations and their undergraduate members.
Sigma Nu’s Director of Leadership Development, Scott Smith, spends much of his time administering the Fraternity’s education program. The LEAD Program (Leadership, Ethics, Achievement and Development) is a multi-phased ethical leadership development program that provides a unique curriculum for Sigma Nu collegiate members during each stage of their college life.
“The LEAD Program empowers our student members in a number of ways,” said Smith. “Some sessions of the LEAD Program focus on risk management and alcohol misuse and we encourage all members to participate in our premier misconduct prevention program, GreekLifeEdu. The way we make progress on the issue of alcohol misuse is not with a silver bullet, but a whole armory of weapons. Talking about alcohol use shouldn’t be a taboo subject, and whatever happens about the debate over the minimum drinking age, education needs to play a role in the solution.”
“The average undergraduate today will spend $100 to $225 per year on an insurance and risk management program,” said [Ned] Kirklin. “Ninety percent of claims that occur with fraternities involve the consumption of alcohol by those who contribute to the injured party…”
Since 2004, Sigma Nu has partnered with Outside the Classroom to offer AlcoholEdu, an interactive, online alcohol misuse and abuse prevention program. In partnership with Outside the Classroom, Sigma Nu recently developed and implemented GreekLifeEdu which focuses on the prevention of alcohol misuse, hazing and sexual assault. “Alcohol frequently plays a role in hazing situations and in the vast majority of sexual assaults, so it made good sense to develop this program that tackles all three issues simultaneously,” said Smith.
Customized to each member, the course provides an experience that impacts both individual behavior and community culture. First, participants learn what is in a "standard drink," different factors that affect blood alcohol concentration (BAC), how to help a friend who experiences an alcohol overdose, and guidelines for being a safe party host. Next, students identify different forms of hazing, learn how states legally address hazing, and create a personal plan that includes goals and activities for their chapter. Finally, members learn about the facts and myths surrounding sexual assault, define the term "consent," and identify strategies that can be used to intervene in a situation that might lead to a sexual assault.
“Last year, more than 1,750 Sigma Nus participated in GreekLifeEdu,” said Smith. “Participants showed significant knowledge gains about alcohol, hazing and sexual assault as a result of the program with a mean exam score increase of 24 percent from the pre-test to the final exam.”
Smith added that about 30 days after completing GreekLifeEdu, Sigma Nu participants were queried about their alcohol consumption and reported significant decreases in risk behaviors associated with drinking. “This is the most effective program in reducing self-reported alcohol misuse that we have seen,” said Beacham. “We hope that every single member of the Fraternity will eventually complete it.”
According to Brandon Busteed, founder of Outside the Classroom, Sigma Nu is a pioneer in the field of alcohol misuse prevention. Approximately half of the national fraternities use the GreekLifeEdu program today, and according to Busteed, there has been tremendous progress made by fraternities in the area of reducing binge drinking, a common term for overconsumption of alcohol.
“My opinion is that a lower minimum drinking age would demystify issues of alcohol use and decrease binge drinking,” he [Kirklin] said. “When you look at cases of alcohol poisoning, we have more of an issue now than 20 or 30 years ago. It’s more difficult to obtain alcohol, but students get it and pre-party behind closed doors.”
“Although they still have a slightly higher binge rate than college students generally, Greeks have decreased their binge drinking by 28 percent and their problematic drinking by 34 percent,” said Busteed. “Our data is from the Greek partners we work with but it represents more than 50 percent of the Greek population nationally. That said, the program is not a silver bullet and the Greek organizations we work with employ many strategies that are helping them achieve success on this front.”
Chris Brenton, a sophomore at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., and member of Sigma Nu’s Beta Tau Chapter, participated in GreekLifeEdu last spring. All members of the chapter have completed the program. Moving forward, completion of the program will be a requirement for initiation.
“So many programs try to take the parental approach; however, I do not believe that it is a successful approach to take,” said Brenton, Beta Tau’s Lieutenant Commander. “GreekLifeEdu does a great job at offering information at a student’s level, and there is somewhat of a friendship atmosphere created by the program. The jokes and animations break up the seriousness and monotony—it’s almost as if you were having the discussions with a couple of your peers.”
Ben Leader, an initiate of the Theta Zeta Chapter at Clemson University is a senior and serves as Commander. Leader said the program has been helpful as the chapter has updated its risk management procedures. “This is something everyone should have to participate in. People will leave their computers knowing more than they did when they sat down. The best part of the program are the realistic examples. Relating to modern-day college students has always been difficult, and this program does a great job mastering this aspect.”
Ned Kirklin is managing partner at Willis HRH in Omaha, Neb. His firm provides insurance services to Sigma Nu, as well as 56 other national Greek organizations; Kirklin is all too familiar with the risk management issues national fraternities face.
“The average undergraduate today will spend $100 to $225 per year on an insurance and risk management program,” said Kirklin. “Ninety percent of claims that occur with fraternities involve the consumption of alcohol by those who contribute to the injured party, and incidents typically take place between 6 p.m. on Thursday and 6 a.m. on Sunday.”
Kirklin added that risk is reduced when a fraternity is dealing with a person who is of legal age rather than someone who is underage, and that’s problematic, especially when 65 to 75 percent of chapter members are underage.
“My opinion is that a lower minimum drinking age would demystify issues of alcohol use and decrease binge drinking,” he said. “When you look at cases of alcohol poisoning, we have more of an issue now than 20 or 30 years ago. It’s more difficult to obtain alcohol, but students get it and pre-party behind closed doors.”
Like McCardell, Kirklin thinks a reduction in the drinking age must be teamed with an education component to be successful.
Don Challis has been a university police officer for more than 20 years and currently is chief of police for the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. Challis agrees with arguments on both sides of the issue but he’s not sure that lowering the drinking age is the answer.
“There is a new found freedom at college, and students are experimenting with all facets of their life,” he said. “Some are bad, some are good and some are neutral. With all, there is less oversight. Also, problems often arise when students experiment with alcohol and relationships at the same time.”
Challis’ priority is the safety of William & Mary students, as well as enforcing the law. He said he realizes Legal Age 21 is a difficult issue on college campuses and suggests that student organizations work with their university and local police to address any concerns.
“If you work with us, it gives us more latitude when things go sour,” he said. “If fraternities make law enforcement part of their events, fewer problems will occur. At William & Mary, the more a fraternity proves they don’t need us, the less they will see of us.”
Challis advises students at William & Mary to eat before they drink and to take a friend with them when they go to a party. He cautions students to take care of each other and to urge a friend to stop if they’re making a bad choice, to ask them questions to assess their situation and to encourage them to slow down.
“Law enforcement doesn’t have a choice in what the law is, and there’s no good answer to this issue,” he said.
Beacham concluded, “Whatever the minimum drinking age is, we must have a partnership between parents, students, colleges and universities, law enforcement and organizations if we want to achieve a sustained reduction in alcohol misuse. It is everyone’s responsibility.”
By Wendy Lovell
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