Sloshed and savvy drivers

The prospect of Thanksgiving in Florida was enticing. Everything was organized, up to the drive to Indy at 4 a.m. on a Friday morning -- American hospitality is such a wonderful thing.\nUntil 4:30 loomed, the scheduled time of departure, and still no ride up Highway 37 had appeared. A drastic last-minute contingency plan placed us at the Indianapolis airport, but the plane departed two exchange students lighter. What had happened to our trusty chauffeur? Road accident? Car blocked in? \nSlowly the story unfolded -- while we were basking in pre-Florida glory, she had made an attempt to sleep off copious amounts of alcohol and had slept through her alarm.\nDid I hear this correctly? Our ride had thought it completely normal to drink before driving us an hour north? This is a prime example of the immaturity on our campus in regard to alcohol. This was no exception; this was the icing on the cake. \nEvery weekend, there are bountiful numbers of boozed students at the helm, feigning soberness while clasping the wheel in their beer sodden clutches. Since my arrival this semester, I have heard of students driving back from the pubs completely sloshed on too many occasions.\nA combination of being able to get one's driver's license at 16 and not being allowed to drink officially until one's 21st creates, in my eyes, the perfect setting for immature drinking behavior, alcohol abuse and drunk driving. \nThe National Minimum Drinking Age Act was signed by Reagan on July 17, 1984, and set the stage for irresponsible drinking conduct. What do you get when you place countless numbers of underage students, freshly weaned from home, together in a college campus setting? When there is limited opportunity for young adults to drink in controlled settings, the alcohol consumed is done so recklessly, as reasoned by Ruth Engs, an applied health sciences professor at IU. She has conducted years of research on college drinking and the effect on students and describes the increase in the drinking age as enticing the "forbidden fruit" (www.indiana.edu/~engs/). \nI recall my favorite business ethics session at a professor's residence in the Netherlands; beer and wine flowed liberally and stimulated profuse ethical debates in our final "class." But not a single student left his abode displaying anything less than complete soberness. The Netherlands is widely acknowledged as a land of liberalism. Only a minimum purchasing age is enforced -- 16 for beer and wine, 18 for alcohol above 15 percent -- but children often learn how to drink at home, under parental supervision before reaching 16.\nFor me, ordering a beer at 18 in my freshman year was about as exciting as ordering a steaming cup of Twinning's Earl Grey. The students would often have a quick beer at lunch -- not to get plastered but just to quench their thirst. After all, it was completely legal, and there was no added "cool" to be achieved by securing a Heineken in the hand. \nProhibiting alcohol for college kids stimulates the lure to be rebellious and increases irresponsible behavior. I believe taking away the temptation, like the Netherlands has done, is one way to clean up the act of our IU college kids' stance towards getting smashed, and fumbling for the keys.