Spring Break
MATT BROWN:Stringent drinking laws and a high drinking age help no one
by Matt Brown
Staff Writer
Columnists | 4/17/07
Posted online at 11:07 PM EST on 4/16/07
/ Last updated at 2:35 AM EST on 4/16/07
It sometimes feels that, from an institutional standpoint, alcohol is anathema to the Office of Student Life. Bound by state and local laws-and the fiscal consequences if the University's liquor license is revoked-the department is perceived by students to be, for lack of a better term, a "hard-ass," at least when it comes to drinking. There's obeying the law and there's not coming within 10 feet of the law to avoid any possible violation-and Brandeis rarely passes up on the latter.
So administrators find themselves in this unfortunate position between not being fined and helping students-we are, after all, the reason why they work in that field (or so it is to be hoped). But by poor luck, or whatever you'd call it, Brandeis is located in a state with lingering strains of Puritanism-can you imagine any other city with so many "young" people shutting down so early? So there's an exaggerated aura of distrust and harshness that's framing this entire give-and-take.
But it is somewhat comforting to know that all this alcohol stuff isn't just an issue at Brandeis, or (charitably) Massachusetts. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the president emeritus of Middlebury College has started a campaign for a federal law to allow states to lower the legal drinking age to 18. (The current law is that any state whose drinking age is under 21 loses 10 percent of its highway funding.)
There is, however, a catch, one that is actually at least somewhat reasonable: 18-to-20-year-olds would need a separate "drinking license," much like the provisional drivers' licenses issued to young drivers in many states. If they break drinking laws-by drunk driving, public drunkenness and such-they would forfeit the license and have to wait.
But because of the fervent opposition of such groups as Mothers Against Drunk Driving-whose CEO, interestingly enough, is a man-this movement seems to have only a slightly better chance of success than the one to legalize marijuana use. But the fact remains: It doesn't make sense that an 18-year-old can be conscripted and vote, but not order a glass of wine with dinner.
So administrators find themselves in this unfortunate position between not being fined and helping students-we are, after all, the reason why they work in that field (or so it is to be hoped). But by poor luck, or whatever you'd call it, Brandeis is located in a state with lingering strains of Puritanism-can you imagine any other city with so many "young" people shutting down so early? So there's an exaggerated aura of distrust and harshness that's framing this entire give-and-take.
But it is somewhat comforting to know that all this alcohol stuff isn't just an issue at Brandeis, or (charitably) Massachusetts. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the president emeritus of Middlebury College has started a campaign for a federal law to allow states to lower the legal drinking age to 18. (The current law is that any state whose drinking age is under 21 loses 10 percent of its highway funding.)
There is, however, a catch, one that is actually at least somewhat reasonable: 18-to-20-year-olds would need a separate "drinking license," much like the provisional drivers' licenses issued to young drivers in many states. If they break drinking laws-by drunk driving, public drunkenness and such-they would forfeit the license and have to wait.
But because of the fervent opposition of such groups as Mothers Against Drunk Driving-whose CEO, interestingly enough, is a man-this movement seems to have only a slightly better chance of success than the one to legalize marijuana use. But the fact remains: It doesn't make sense that an 18-year-old can be conscripted and vote, but not order a glass of wine with dinner.
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