Choose Responsibility

Last weekend, Central Washington University students learned first-hand the danger of caffeinated “alcopops,” when several were hospitalized after consuming the beverage Four Loko.  Four Loko, sometimes referred to as “blackout in a can,” contains the alcohol and caffeine equivalent of six beers and two cups of coffee, respectively. It is marketed and purchased for the sole purpose of acute intoxication.

We view products such as Four Loko as unwelcome contributors to the culture of dangerous drinking that is pervasive among young people, both on and off college campuses.

Cheers to the Memphis Commercial Appeal for its thorough treatment of the drinking age debate this past Sunday, May 31. The paper took an editorial position in support of an open, honest debate around the 21 year-old drinking age that looks at all the effects of the law, especially those beyond the highways. Their stance is taken a step further in Jerome Wright’s issue analysis with comments from John McCardell and Amethyst Initiative signatory presidents Stephen Jordan and George Dennison (University of Montana-Missoula). Dr. Jordan, currently president of Metropolitan State College of Denver, stated that, “My concern and that of many of the other presidents who signed the initiative is that we aren’t doing our students a favor by avoiding [the binge drinking problem]. Saying that keeping the minimum age at 21 is reducing highway deaths is ignoring the bigger problem.”

If you’re interested in learning more about what a student-led debate on the drinking age actually looks like, check out this video of a recent event at Clarkson University in New York. The video of the second half of the event – a community panel discussion – is available here.

Click on the widget above to watch Haze free online. The documentary features interviews with John McCardell and [CR] Board Member Barrett Seaman.

Yesterday, [CR] President and founder John McCardell testified during a hearing on college drinking organized by the New Jersey Senate Education Committee. Ana Ayala of the Star-Ledger has the details on the hearing. WFMZ-TV and FOX NY have video of the proceedings.

This week is National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week. You can learn more about [CR]‘s plans for the week here. Remember to celebrate by making responsible choices about alcohol – changing the culture begins with you!

A Center for Disease Control and Prevention study, which took place from 1993-2001, found that twenty-one to 25 year-olds have the highest rates of binge drinking. Eighteen to 20 year-olds have the second highest rates. . . further evidence that the 21 year-old drinking age exacerbates abusive drinking, if nominally reducing overall consumption.

We are pleased to announce Choose Responsibility’s newest project, the Amethyst Initiative. For the last few months, we have been working quietly with a group of college presidents to produce a statement on Legal Age 21 and to reach out to colleges and universities across the nation who feel similarly. As of today, we have a growing list of over 100 college and university presidents who have signed a statement that declares 21 is not working and calls on elected officials to support open debate, re-consider the 10% highway fund “incentive” that has kept the drinking age at 21 in every state, and to discuss new ideas about the best ways to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol use.

This effort was made public to the press by an outside source late last week and was covered Monday in an Associated Press story that will likely be featured in your local paper on Tuesday. Please share the story with your friends, colleagues, and classmates. Check out the list of signatories—is your alma mater listed there? If not, we hope you will consider writing to your president and asking him or her to consider joining the Amethyst Initiative.

We encourage you to follow this developing story and keep posted for updates.

A new Associated Press study, announced yesterday, has revealed that 157 college-age people (aged 18 to 23) drank themselves to death between 1999 and 2005, and that the number of alcohol-poisoning deaths per year rose from 18 in 1999 to 35 in 2005.  Interestingly, 83 of the people who died were under the legal drinking age of 21. 

Additional analysis revealed that college students are more likely to die from binge drinking-related alcohol poisoning than non-college students, and that freshmen are most at risk during their first semester at college.  With the legal drinking age set at 21, people (especially underage drinkers) are dying from binge drinking, and the number of deaths is continuing to climb due to the common mentality of “if you’re under 21 and someone’s got alcohol, you’ve got to drink it, because you never know when somebody’s going to have it again.”   

Some colleges have begun to adopt programs to educate students about responsible drinking—an important first step that will hopefully have some good consequences in the future.  Regardless, this new study really points out a vital question:  Is 21 working?

Brian Threet was not a big drinker, but one night of heavy drinking – a seemingly normal event in the life of a college student — was one too many. Brian, a 20-year-old student at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, lost his life to alcohol – not as a result of drinking and driving, but because of excessive alcohol consumption itself. 

 The drinking environment that led to Brian’s tragic death was risky, underground, and unfortunately, all too common in college settings. America’s youth needs to change its attitude towards alcohol, and we need to provide them with the means of doing so.