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College chiefs urge new debate on drinking age

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  • College chiefs urge new debate on drinking age

    College chiefs urge new debate on drinking age - CNN.com

    College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities, including Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State, are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus.

    ....
    Any opinions?

    My opinion is leave it at 21 ... only 3 more months to go for me

    On the serious side I feel that if we were to lower it to 18 then we would have even more problems with binge drinking and juvenile alcoholism as it would be even more available (its not like restaurants and stores do more then ask for an ID and fake IDs are very easily obtainable from underground sources as well as corrupt DMV employees) and it would lead to even more cases of DUI.

    Remember that in many European nations, the police generally have more leeway in dealing with DUI (ex. they can test EVERY driver instead of every 3 or whatever it is here or they can do unannounced checkpoints) and in some countries the penalties are also stricter then here in the US where DUI is basically treated like a joke even if someone is killed or seriously injured.

  • #2
    I think I mentioned it in an earlier thread but imho the U.S. does not different laws concerning the drinking age, but a different approach whatsoever. Here you usually drink your first beer as a teenager with your family. You grow into it, you "learn" how to drink.

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    • #3
      It should be lowered to 18 for no other reason than being able to vote and an legal adult who suffers the consequences of being an adult.

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      • #4
        Originally posted by ChrisF202 View Post
        Any opinions?

        My opinion is leave it at 21 ... only 3 more months to go for me

        On the serious side I feel that if we were to lower it to 18 then we would have even more problems with binge drinking and juvenile alcoholism as it would be even more available (its not like restaurants and stores do more then ask for an ID and fake IDs are very easily obtainable from underground sources as well as corrupt DMV employees) and it would lead to even more cases of DUI.

        Remember that in many European nations, the police generally have more leeway in dealing with DUI (ex. they can test EVERY driver instead of every 3 or whatever it is here or they can do unannounced checkpoints) and in some countries the penalties are also stricter then here in the US where DUI is basically treated like a joke even if someone is killed or seriously injured.
        If you're about to turn 21 and you don't know about drunk driving check points here in the U.S., you'd better stay away from bars on your birthday.

        DUI is not treated like a joke here - it's gotten exponentially more serious just in my lifetime. Hell, MN is now a .08 state. I don't feel like I can even have a SINGLE drink and not run the risk of huge fines, embarrassments, loss of my CCW permit, and other sundry things.

        Kinda silly, actually.

        -dale

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Blademaster View Post
          It should be lowered to 18 for no other reason than being able to vote and an legal adult who suffers the consequences of being an adult.
          Given that voting usually doesn't have the potential consequences of imbibing alcohol, I have to disagree.
          “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

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          • #6
            Originally posted by dalem View Post
            If you're about to turn 21 and you don't know about drunk driving check points here in the U.S., you'd better stay away from bars on your birthday.

            DUI is not treated like a joke here - it's gotten exponentially more serious just in my lifetime. Hell, MN is now a .08 state. I don't feel like I can even have a SINGLE drink and not run the risk of huge fines, embarrassments, loss of my CCW permit, and other sundry things.

            Kinda silly, actually.

            -dale
            I guess its different here in NY, here you can steal a car, drink yourself silly and then go run over 2 people and cause them life long disabilities and get away with 6 months in county jail plus probation. That is a joke to me.

            And I very rarely drink and when I do is hardly more then a few sips.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
              Given that voting usually doesn't have the potential consequences of imbibing alcohol, I have to disagree.
              Considering the way the voters vote nowadays and the depth of their knowledge, I don't think the consequences of imbibing alcohol outweighs the consequences of voting.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Blademaster View Post
                Considering the way the voters vote nowadays and the depth of their knowledge, I don't think the consequences of imbibing alcohol outweighs the consequences of voting.
                You know I was thinking that exact same thing as I was typing my reply above.
                “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

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                • #9
                  It should be 18 as reflected by most other rights and responsibilities as an adult. Here in Canada, depending on which province you live in it's 18 or 19. It probably should be set before driving age, but I doubt that would pass any politcal muster on this side of the pond.

                  Frankly, if I were an American, I'd be pissed at the way the Feds use Federal Aid Highway Act monies to "encourage" states to keep the limit at 21.

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                  • #10
                    Eighteen

                    You can die for your country at seventeen. Maybe too young but eighteen isn't. I grew up in Wisconsin with an 18 yr. old min age. It was a mess but alcohol, generally, is messy regardless of age.

                    I know what the actuary tables might say about alcohol and youth but I'll believe that we're all serious about road safety when the interstate speed limit is dropped to 55mph again.

                    That makes a crapload more sense than 21 or older to drink. I guarantee that I didn't become exponentially wiser at 21, if ever since.
                    "This aggression will not stand, man!" Jeff Lebowski
                    "The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool." Lester Bangs

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                    • #11
                      I heard a report on this on the radio today and I heard a very interesting perspective. One of the presidents interviewed said they could not even have this discussionwith their student bodies as it would be considered illegal in their state.

                      It was 18 when I went to college...and I have to say I witnessed less alcohol problems when I was in school than when my brother went through 7 years later and the age was 21.

                      A good friend of mine is a prof at a small liberal arts college here in the Cnetral VA. He states the problems are worse on campus since 21 than when they were 18.
                      “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                      Mark Twain

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                      • #12
                        I was eighteen just a few days after what they decided was going to be the cutoof date when they changed the law in 1985. For the three years while I was in the military I couldn't legally drink. I think it was one of the dumbest damned ideas in the first place. It is a prime example of how our legislators try to legislate common sense, which of course cannot be done. Like many laws passed in the last 40 years they are being re-examined as dismal failures. IE, most all gun laws. You can make 10 laws prohibiting the same thing, but if you do not enforce it then the paper it was written on may have been better put to use in the toilet.

                        I get a little cracked up at how Missouri thought that dropping the limit from .10 to .08 was giong to accomplish something. I would really like to know what difference it has made. Hey! Here's an idea, lets get rid of all the alcohol so nobody can drive drunk. Then, lets ban cigarettes, because that kills people too. My avatar sums it perfectly for me. How stupid can we get as a society? The limits are boundless I'm sure.

                        I say leave it right where its at. Screw 'em all, what was good for me is good for them.
                        Last edited by Blue; 25 Aug 08,, 00:20.

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Blademaster View Post
                          It should be lowered to 18 for no other reason than being able to vote and an legal adult who suffers the consequences of being an adult.
                          That and about 85% of the 18-20 year olds are doing it anyway.
                          F/A-18E/F Super Hornet: The Honda Accord of fighters.

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                          • #14
                            I think it should remain 21, however, people do stupid things when they drink regardless of their age, if they don't know how to pace themselves and drink just for the sake of getting drunk! Maturity doesn't necessarily come with age!
                            “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” ~ Jimi Hendrix
                            "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
                            sigpic

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                            • #15
                              In India, legal drinking age is different in each state, its 18 where I live, but in some areas its as high as 25....
                              When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep? - George Canning sigpic

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