Researchers: law makes students irresponsible

Nineteen-year-old Andy Herche can kill people for his country and buy a handgun from the local gun shop if he wishes, but he can't legally drink a glass of wine or a can of beer in his own home. \nBut he said he will anyway.\nHerche, a sophomore, like other underage IU students, does drink, does attend keg parties with other underage friends and does what he can to obtain alcohol, despite that the law states that to buy and consume alcohol, one must be 21 years of age.\n"I think it's funny how lawmakers think this law will deter us from drinking," Herche said. "It just makes us do it irresponsibly."\nThe legal drinking age was changed from 18 to 21 in The United States during the early 1980s because of the large number of highway deaths reported due to intoxicated young people, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported.\nThe National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that raising the legal age to 21 has reduced traffic fatalities by 13 percent. \nTwo University professors argue that raising the legal age has not deterred students from drinking but has instead created an "underground drinking" environment in which young people are binge drinking and rebelling against authorities.\nProfessor Ruth C. Engs has done extensive research on underage drinking. Engs, who works in the applied health sciences department, said she feels that binge drinking on college campuses occurs because of students' lack of knowledge of responsible drinking behaviors. She fears alcohol has become "demonized" and that young people have to start taking responsibility and must have the chance to do so legally. She compared the situation to prohibition that took place in the 1920s. \n"Prohibition did not work then and prohibition for young people under the age of 21 is not working now," Engs said. "Responsible drinking should be taught through role modeling, and abstinence sentiments should be replaced by those of moderation."\nIU, like many other colleges, has had problems due to underage binge drinking and alcohol-related deaths among students Engs said. Most recently, Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity was expelled because of alcohol violations -- the fifth fraternity chapter expelled within the last 18 months. \nIU Police Department Lt. Jerry Minger said the underage drinkers who are drinking responsibly at home are not the ones that get arrested. It's the ones out committing vandalism or hanging out at boisterous parties.\n"I know that expecting underage students not to drink is an unrealistic expectation, but we hope to act as a deterrent," said Minger.\nMany feel that 21 is an appropriate legal age due to the "trickle down theory." Supporters of this theory feel that if the legal age is reduced to 18 then the legal 18-year-olds would influence younger high school students of the ages of 15-17 to drink. These ages are considered too young to handle the responsibilities of alcohol.\nEngs completed a 1993 U.S college study that showed that there were more heavy drinkers amongst the under-21 age group. Fifteen percent of students 21-and-over were reported as being heavy drinkers compared to 24 percent of students under 21. A heavy drinker was defined as someone that has five or more drinks in a sitting, once or more a month. \nSusan Kay Arndt, a researcher and author of books related to alcohol abuse, said she feels that peer pressure is a huge issue among young people.\n"Many have a fear of adolescents," Kay, who completed a three-year study on teenage drinking, said. "The adolescent experience is a complex one."\nThe United States has the highest drinking age in the modern world and yet when compared to other countries, its alcohol-related problems are often worse, Arndt said. \nIn Canada, for example, the legal drinking age is 18-19, depending on the province. An extensive study done by Engs comparing young Canadian and American drinkers showed that American students drink more and generally have more problems with alcohol than Canadian students. University of Western Ontario Professor Bob Vigars believes that problems with alcohol among the young are universal, but the U.S. is, \n"… somewhat misguided in limiting the legal age to 21, since it is a denial of reality of human nature and does nothing useful to help young students learn how to deal with alcohol in a mature manner."\n Herche said he agrees that the law as it stands now is ineffective.\n "You can build a fence around a pool to prevent children from drowning," Herche said, "but if you know they will climb this fence, don't you think you ought to teach them to swim"