Some college presidents are pushing for the drinking age to be returned to 18 instead of the present 21. They've given their campaign the harmless name of Amethyst Initiative.
Their thinking is that the laws forbidding legal drinking by college students have encouraged an underground culture of binge drinking on many campuses and have tied the hands of college officials who want to discuss ways for underage kids to drink safely, assuming they won't accept abstinence.
What these "intellectuals" fail to realize is that there will always be kids who drink before they reach the legal age. If this age is reduced to 18, you will have 15 year olds either trying to get a drink, or succeeding with false ID's. And there will surely be bartenders who will serve 15 year olds.
At least with the 21 year limit, it will be much harder for a 15 year old to pass for 21 than it would be for that same teenager to pass for 18.
The solution to underage drinking is to raise children who respect the laws and don't try to fudge on them and, also to put severe restrictions and punishments on anyone who sells or serves to underage kids, or even anyone who does a kid "a favor" and buys their beer or liquor.
Making it easier to drink is not the solution to ending underage drinking.
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