To begin with, the bruhaha begins with the premise that we are discussing "kids". Their legal status is "Adult" once they turn 18. This arbitrary number, like 19 or 20 or 21, is not a measure of maturity, ability or responsibility. Because we cannot quantify these subjective aspects of a person, we pick 18 for most things, except drinking. Younger, in some states, for marriage…but that is a different story, right? It sounds to me like the current discussion implies that "College Students" are the only 18 to 20 year olds (or for that matter any age) that get into drunken accidents, experiment with drugs or start the long march to degradation. What makes 18 any more secure than 21?
While it is great that this discussion is being brought up by college presidents, who will represent the other 75% of 18 to 20 year old adults in this matter. Are they to be considered less mature or less able to control themselves because they have not sat through Poli-Sci 101 or Bio 101?
And lastly, I can understand why it is true on-campus, but why is it the colleges' responsibility to keep students from drinking off campus? The students are adults, responsible for their own actions under the law. I certainly cannot blame my college Dean for a DWI or worse at 40, why can I (or my parents’ lawyers) do it at 20?
Title by: Mojo Nixon
