Amethyst Initiative

Last updated
Amethyst Initiative
Purpose Legal drinking age reform

The Amethyst Initiative is an organization made up of U.S. college presidents and chancellors that, in July 2008, launched a movement calling for the reconsideration of U.S. legal drinking age, particularly the minimum age of 21.

Contents

The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 requires all US states to raise their minimum age for purchase and public possession of alcohol to 21 or face a reduction in highway funds under the Federal-Aid Highway Act.

Background

The Amethyst Initiative was initiated by John McCardell, founder of Choose Responsibility, [1] a former professor of history at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont and current Vice-Chancellor of Sewanee: The University of the South, and is currently supported by 136 [2] college presidents who signed a statement proclaiming, "It’s time to rethink the drinking age". [3] [4]

The idea of the organization's name came from a Greek and Roman legend, that amethysts protected their owners from drunkenness.[ citation needed ]

Purpose

The Amethyst Initiative states that, in their experience as university presidents, they have observed, "Alcohol education that mandates abstinence as the only legal option has not resulted in significant constructive behavioral change among our students," and therefore they urge lawmakers "to invite new ideas about the best ways to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol". [5]

Gustavus Adolphus College President Jack R. Ohle said in a statement that the initiative is not about lowering the drinking age, but to open a debate on alcohol policies that affect young people and their choices about alcohol use.

We need serious, sustained, unfettered debate about the drinking age and the reality of life on a college campus and how these two things are aligned. I signed the statement in hopes that it would encourage debate on our campus about the seriousness of drinking in general but more importantly the high-risk drinking that has become so common on college campuses today. As an educator, I feel a responsibility to encourage a discussion about responsibility. That responsibility rests with not only the students but with those of us who work to provide for their education, safety, and well being. We must engage in civil, informed, and dispassionate debate and consider all policy alternatives no matter how controversial. [6]

Statement

The Amethyst Initiative states the following: [2]

It’s time to rethink the drinking age

In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which imposed a penalty of 10% of a state's federal highway appropriation on any state setting its drinking age lower than 21.

Twenty-four years later, our experience as college and university presidents convinces us that…

Twenty-one is not working

A culture of dangerous, clandestine “binge-drinking”—often conducted off-campus—has developed.

Alcohol education that mandates abstinence as the only legal option has not resulted in significant constructive behavioral change among our students.

Adults under 21 are deemed capable of voting, signing contracts, serving on juries and enlisting in the military, but are told they are not mature enough to have a beer.

By choosing to use fake IDs, students make ethical compromises that erode respect for the law.

How many times must we relearn the lessons of prohibition?

We call upon our elected officials:

To support an informed and dispassionate public debate over the effects of the 21-year-old drinking age.

To consider whether the 10% highway fund “incentive” encourages or inhibits that debate.

To invite new ideas about the best ways to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol.

We pledge ourselves and our institutions to playing a vigorous, constructive role as these critical discussions unfold.

Signatories

Signatories of the initiative include: [7]

Public reaction

The initiative's proposal has been criticized by several groups and government and industry officials, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Joining MADD's criticism are other groups, including the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the American Medical Association, and the National Transportation Safety Board. [8] A spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association told The Washington Post that university leaders "are really just punting on the issue and leaving the high school principals to deal with it." [9] However, Amethyst Initiative's parent organization, Choose Responsibility, proposes that only high school graduates should be eligible. [10]

In a press release, MADD argues that lowering the drinking age would result in greater numbers of fatal automobile accidents, and that the presidents are "looking for an easy way out of an inconvenient problem" and "misrepresenting science." [8] [11] MADD cited former U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, and current University of Miami president Donna Shalala statement that "maintaining the legal drinking age at 21 is a socially and medically sound policy that helps parents, schools and law enforcement protect our youth from the potentially life-threatening effects of underage drinking." [8]

In addition, MADD debates that: "minimum drinking ages have saved approximately 25,000 lives", "[l]owering the age will cause even younger people to begin drinking", and that "[b]inge drinking on college campuses should be combated with stricter enforcement of current laws." [12]

Choose Responsibility argues that scientific evidence supports the Amethyst Initiative's views and goals, [13] and refutes some of MADD's past claims. [14] Sanford Ungar, president of Goucher College and signee of the initiative argues that opponents should not fear because the Amethyst Initiative is about opening up the debate to improve alcohol policy. He brings about the misconception that they want to "polarize" the issue at hand, but instead wishes to find a better alternative to the current drinking age. [15]

Radley Balko, of Reason, wryly noted inconsistency in opponents' arguments and supporting evidence against the Amethyst Initiative in that they believe that it "would be a "national tragedy" to, for example, allow 19- and 20-year-old men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to have a beer in celebration of completing their tours of duty." [16] Balko, also, noting research showing that underage drinking laws had not reduced highway deaths. [17]

In November 2008, the Student Senate at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse rejected a proposal to urge that university's chancellor to sign the Amethyst Initiative. [18] Supposedly the first such attempt by a student body to ask a president or chancellor to sign on, the measure at UW–L was defeated 14–19 after three weeks' debate. Chancellor Joe Gow said this vote, "certainly defies the 'conventional wisdom' regarding young people being eager to lower the drinking age." [19] [ unreliable source? ]

In 2014, a pair of researchers published a literature review in Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs of studies on the effect of the drinking age in response to the Amethyst Initiative; the review indicates support for the drinking age remaining at 21. [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adult</span> Animal that is fully grown

An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term adult has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a non-adult or "minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of majority and is therefore regarded as independent, self-sufficient, and responsible. They may also be regarded as a "major". The typical age of attaining legal adulthood is 18, although definition may vary by legal rights, country, and psychological development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Driving under the influence</span> Driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of an impairing substance

Driving under the influence (DUI) is the offense of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs, to a level that renders the driver incapable of operating a motor vehicle safely. Multiple other terms are used for the offense in various jurisdictions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mothers Against Drunk Driving</span> Nonprofit organization

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization in the United States, Canada and Brazil that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and strive for stricter impaired driving policy, whether that impairment is caused by alcohol or any other drug. The Irving, Texas-based organization was founded on September 5, 1980, in California by Candace Lightner after her 13-year-old daughter, Cari, was killed by a drunk driver. There is at least one MADD office in every state of the United States and at least one in each province of Canada. These offices offer victim services and many resources involving alcohol safety. MADD has claimed that drunk driving has been reduced by half since its founding.

John Malcolm McCardell Jr. is an American historian and academic administrator. He served as the President of Middlebury College from 1992 to 2004 and as the Vice-Chancellor and President of Sewanee: The University of the South from 2010 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legal drinking age</span> Minimum age at which a person can legally purchase or consume alcoholic beverages

The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary between countries and many laws have exemptions or special circumstances. Most laws apply only to drinking alcohol in public places with alcohol consumption in the home being mostly unregulated. Some countries also have different age limits for different types of alcohol drinks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Minimum Drinking Age Act</span> 1984 U.S. law which indirectly raised the nationwide minimum drinking age to 21

The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 was passed by the United States Congress and was later signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on July 17, 1984. The act would punish any state that allowed persons under 21 years to purchase alcoholic beverages by reducing its annual federal highway apportionment by 10 percent. The law was later amended, lowering the penalty to 8 percent from fiscal year 2012 and beyond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Durden</span> Dickinson College Alumnus and President

William G. Durden is a former president of Dickinson College. He was a Fulbright scholar and a recipient of the Klingenstein Fellowship from Teacher's College, Columbia University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol consumption by youth in the United States</span> Alcohol consumption by individuals under the age of 18 in the country

Although the minimum legal age to purchase alcohol is 21 in all U.S. states and most territories, the legal details for consumption vary greatly. Although some states completely ban alcohol usage for people under 18, the majority have exceptions that permit consumption.

Choose Responsibility is a non-profit organization in the United States, that promotes public awareness of the dangers of excessive and reckless alcohol consumption by young adults. The main goal is to lower the minimum legal drinking age by educating the public. It was founded and is directed by Dr. John McCardell, Jr., president emeritus of Middlebury College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles R. Middleton</span>

Charles R. Middleton served as the President of Roosevelt University from 2002 to 2015 when he retired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youth rights</span> Equal rights movement

The youth rights movement seeks to grant the rights to young people that are traditionally reserved for adults, due to having reached a specific age or sufficient maturity. This is closely akin to the notion of evolving capacities within the children's rights movement, but the youth rights movement differs from the children's rights movement in that the latter places emphasis on the welfare and protection of children through the actions and decisions of adults, while the youth rights movement seeks to grant youth the liberty to make their own decisions autonomously in the ways adults are permitted to, or to lower the legal minimum ages at which such rights are acquired, such as the age of majority and the voting age.

Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.org), formerly known as the Century Council, is an American not-for-profit organization founded in 1991 and funded by a group of distillers that aims to fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking and promotes responsible decision-making regarding alcohol use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. history of alcohol minimum purchase age by state</span>

The alcohol laws of the United States regarding minimum age for purchase have changed over time. In colonial America, generally speaking, there were no drinking ages, and alcohol consumption by young teenagers was common, even in taverns. In post-Revolutionary America, such laxity gradually changed due to religious sentiments and a growing recognition in the medical community about the dangers of alcohol. The more modern history is given in the table below. Unless otherwise noted, if different alcohol categories have different minimum purchase ages, the age listed below is set at the lowest age given. In addition, the purchase age is not necessarily the same as the minimum age for consumption of alcoholic beverages, although they have often been the same.

Medical amnesty policies are laws or acts enacted protecting from liability those who seek medical attention as a result of illegal actions. Such policies have been developing most notably in colleges in the United States regarding alcohol use by students. Schools such as Cornell University have implemented such policies to protect students seeking medical attention from illegal action for underage drinking and possession of alcohol and/or other drugs. The purpose of such policies is to reduce the hesitation caused by fear of legal action to seek medical attention. Similar policies are applicable at many levels: colleges and universities, local communities, as well as state governments. In 2012, The Medical Amnesty Initiative was started with the specific purpose of advocating for the introduction, passage, and education of medical amnesty legislation throughout the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol law</span> Law pertaining to alcoholic beverages

Alcohol laws are laws relating to manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol or alcoholic beverages. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, (hard) cider, and distilled spirits. Definition of alcoholic beverage varies internationally, e.g., the United States defines an alcoholic beverage as "any beverage in liquid form which contains not less than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume". Alcohol laws can restrict those who can produce alcohol, those who can buy it, when one can buy it, labelling and advertising, the types of alcoholic beverage that can be sold, where one can consume it, what activities are prohibited while intoxicated, and where one can buy it. In some cases, laws have even prohibited the use and sale of alcohol entirely.

Binge drinking is the practice of consuming excessive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. Due to the idiosyncrasies of the human body, the exact amount of alcohol that would constitute binge drinking differs among individuals. The definitions of binge drinking are also nuanced across cultures and population subgroups. For example, many studies use gender-specific measures of binge drinking. The epidemiology of binge drinking likewise differs across cultures and population subgroups.

The legal drinking age varies from country to country. In the United States, the legal drinking age is currently 21. To curb excessive alcohol consumption by younger people, instead of raising the drinking age, other countries have raised the prices of alcohol beverages and encouraged the general public to drink less. Setting a legal drinking age of 21 is designed to discourage reckless alcohol consumption by youth, limiting consumption to those who are more mature, who can be expected to make reasonable and wise decisions when it comes to drinking.

Youth is an age group in the demographics of the United States. In 2010, it was estimated that 20.2% of the population of the United States were 0–14 years old.

Charles A. Hurley, commonly known as Chuck Hurley, is an American road safety campaigner. He was the Mothers Against Drunk Driving CEO from 2005-10.

References

  1. ↑ "Choose Responsibility announces Amethyst Initiative". Archived from the original on 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  2. 1 2 "Amethyst Initiative » Statement". Archived from the original on 2014-12-07. Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  3. ↑ "Amethyst Initiative front page". Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  4. ↑ The Associated Press "College presidents seek debate on drinking age". Archived from the original on 21 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  5. ↑ "Amethyst Initiative » Statement". Archived from the original on 2 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  6. ↑ "Statement from President Ohle Regarding Amethyst Initiative". Gustavus Adolphus College. Archived from the original on 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  7. ↑ "Amethyst Initiative Signatories". Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  8. 1 2 3 "MADD press release: Some University Presidents Shirk Responsibility to Protect Students from Dangers of Underage Drinking" (Press release). Archived from the original on 23 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  9. ↑ "Lower drinking age is criticized" Archived 2018-07-12 at the Wayback Machine (free registration required), The Washington Post , August 1, 2008
  10. ↑ "Choose Responsibility: drinking age proposals". Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  11. ↑ "Mothers Against Drunk Driving – Amethyst Initiative Underage Drinking Response". Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  12. ↑ Esposito, Greg (27 June 2009). "Debate for the Ages: John McCardell, founder of the Amethyst Initiative, is at the center of the drinking-age storm". Roanoke Times. Archived from the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
  13. ↑ "Legal Age 21 – National Minimum Drinking Age – FAQ with citations". Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
    "Drinking and Culture: International Comparisons with citations". Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
    "Drunken Driving Fatalities with citations". Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  14. ↑ "Myths and Realities about drinking with citations". Archived from the original on 2008-10-14. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
    "Not Convinced?". Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-08-26.
  15. ↑ "Changing Drinking Age to 18 | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Archived from the original on 2017-05-09. Retrieved 2021-09-16.
  16. ↑ Balko, Radley (August 25, 2008). "Amethyst Initiative's Debate on Drinking a Welcome Alternative to Fanaticism". Fox News . Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  17. ↑ Miron, Jeffrey A.; Tetelbaum, Elina (2009). "Does The Minimum Legal Drinking Age Save Lives?" (PDF). Economic Inquiry . 47 (2): 317–336. doi:10.1111/j.1465-7295.2008.00179.x. S2CID   1048320. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-11-04. Retrieved 2018-11-04.
  18. ↑ "UW–L students say no to drinking age debate, La Crosse Tribune , Retrieved on 2008-12-15
  19. ↑ "Amethyst Initiative debate finally over, The Racquet , Retrieved on 2008-12-15
  20. ↑ DeJong, W; Blanchette, J (2014). "Case closed: research evidence on the positive public health impact of the age 21 minimum legal drinking age in the United States". Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Supplement. 75 (Suppl 17): 108–15. doi:10.15288/jsads.2014.75.108. PMID   24565317.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.