An ‘Impossible Situation’ on Campus Drinking?

Speaking today at the NAICU Annual Meeting, Middlebury College President Emeritus John McCardell argued that the nation’s current drinking age puts campus leaders in an “impossible situation,” as they are increasingly expected to control student drinking behavior that has moved off-campus and become more dangerous in the past 10 years.

McCardell called the federal law that effectively raised the legal drinking age to 21 in 1984, an “abysmal failure.” The law has driven student drinking underground and has led to irresponsible drinking habits, McCardell said.

Statistics presented by McCardell show that binge drinking by 18-20-year olds grew 56 percent between 1993 and 2001. Ninety-percent of all alcohol consumed by underage drinkers is consumed during binge drinking.

McCardell, who is now president of Choose Responsibility, described his organization’s four-part proposal to allow states to waive the 21 drinking age without losing federal highway funding.

An alternative view on the 21 drinking age is available on the Mothers Against Drunk Driving web site.

Watch John McCardell's PowerPoint presentation here.

View C-SPAN's coverage of this session.

Listen to audio from the session.