Mah Blerg

Youface

Yeah alma mater!

Statement from Washington College President Baird Tipson regarding the Amethyst Initiative

Along with more than 100 college and university presidents nationwide, I have signed my name to the Amethyst Initiative statement. Launched this past July, the Amethyst Initiative is made up of higher education leaders from across the United States who support a thoughtful, measured public debate on lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18.

Alcohol is a pervasive aspect of American campus life, an integral part of student socializing. A significant number of our underage students—men, women, Greek, non-Greek—drink, drink often, and believe they have a right to drink. To them the current law is hypocritical, and its existence undermines the respect that all citizens ought to have for any law.

The 21-year-old drinking age has created a dangerous student culture of clandestine drinking. I believe that young people old enough to defend their country and to vote are old enough to consume alcohol responsibly. The 21-year-old drinking age prevents us from modeling responsible drinking. We need to begin a conversation about the legal age at which people may purchase and consume alcohol.

Baird Tipson
President
Washington College

  1. elizabethanne reblogged this from peterwknox and added:
    good job Tipson. Johnny Toll must be proud.
  2. guardianofgimcracks reblogged this from peterwknox and added:
    Wow…I can’t believe WC has jumped on this bandwagon.
  3. peterwknox reblogged this from enteekaygee and added:
    Wow. Go WAC. As always, always too late.
  4. enteekaygee posted this