Group of college presidents want drinking age re-examined

The presidents of Ohio State University and about 100 other schools nationwide say drinking-age laws actually encourage binge drinking among students. They want legislators to reconsider the law. The Amethyst Initiative statement signed by college and university presidents does not explicitly call for a younger drinking age. Rather, it seeks "an informed and dispassionate debate" over the issue, and the federal highway law that made 21 the de facto national drinking age by denying money to any state that bucked the trend. Opposing any lowering of the drinking age is Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The organization contends that lowering the drinking age would lead to more fatal car crashes; it urges parents to think carefully about the safety of colleges whose presidents have signed on to the initiative.