Kris Breeden
Staff Reporter
Though more than 130 colleges have joined a “reconsider the drinking age” initiative, McDaniel College has opted to tackle concerns about alcohol abuse through other routes.
The movement, dubbed The Amethyst Initiative, is an organization initiated by John McCardell, founder of Choose Responsibility. It is made up of U.S. college presidents and chancellors that, in July 2008, officially called for the reconsideration of U.S. drinking age laws, particularly the minimum age of 21 as established nationally by the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984.
Many presidents at colleges that McDaniel competes against athletically have signed up for the Initiative, including Dickinson College, Gettysburg College, Goucher College, Johns Hopkins University, Moravian College, and Muhlenberg College.
Other local schools have signed up as well: College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Towson University, and University of Maryland?College Park.
The current total signatory count is 130 schools nationwide.
Beth Gerl, Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs, notes that the 130 signatories is an interesting number.
She says, “Only eleven schools have signed on since mid-August, and I’m not sure what that means, but it’s interesting.”
It seems the program could already be coming to a standstill.
According to Gerl, the program has also faced federal funding issues, which she says is “clearly why some schools are not signing on.”
She adds, “It’s not about the 130 that have signed; it’s about all the schools that haven’t.”
Amethyst is traditionally believed to ward off intoxication, which is why the founders of the Amethyst Initiative thought the stone to be an appropriate symbol for their mission.
One of the main arguments, as described in the Amethyst Initiative’s statement on their website, is that “adults under 21 are deemed capable of voting, signing contracts, serving on juries and enlisting in the military, but are told they are not mature enough to have a beer.”
Gerl feels that the process is more complicated than simply dropping the drinking age.
She says, “It’s great that college presidents are coming together, but there are many other issues regarding the abuse of alcohol that ought to be focused on.”
It’s true that one can enlist and vote at 18, but it concerns Gerl “that a lot of high school seniors are 18. We need to be realistic. It’s an age of experimentation and testing your boundaries.”
Gerl says she likes to speak to students, particularly first year students, about making smart choices about alcohol consumption.
“Students need to be taught at a young age how to be responsible. We take a more educational approach in the hope that people will learn and won’t repeat the same actions.”
She feels talking to students about alcohol at an even younger age could be very beneficial.
“We’ve got to do a better job in this nation,” she says, “at helping parents to have these important conversations very early.”
When asked about alcohol consumption at McDaniel, Gerl seems optimistic.
“I’ve seen some more responsible use of alcohol. I’ve seen friends, teammates, brothers and sisters from sororities and fraternities come to faculty to discuss concerns about their friends’ alcohol use,” Gerl explains.
She adds, “These are good steps.”
Gerl supports programs such as Late Nights, which encourage students to come together and help their peers. She elaborates, “It gives students other things to do. They can look at their own life and what role alcohol is playing there.”
All of this won’t stop students from drinking, but it does allow for more openness about alcohol. If students choose to consume, Gerl wants them to be informed on how to do so responsibly.
“We keep updating, keep trying to come up with creative ideas,” says Gerl. “I think we’re making some good headway.”