University of California President Mark G. Yudof released a statement last month announcing his decision not to sign the Amethyst Initiative, a petition calling for debate on the effects of the current legal drinking age in the U.S.
The petition was launched in July 2008 and has currently been signed by 130 chancellors and presidents of U.S. universities and colleges.
But Yudof, along with all the UC college presidents, unanimously decided against signing the initiative, according to the statement.
“Neither I nor my campus colleagues believe there is a compelling reason to change the present law,” Yudof said in the statement. “Nor is there a scholarly consensus that lowering the drinking age to 18 can be expected to yield health and safety benefits for young Americans.”
Eight college presidents drafted the statement with the nonprofit organization Choose Responsibly, which addresses the issues of alcohol abuse on college campuses, Grace Kronenberg, assistant to the director of Choose Responsibly, has said.
Representatives from Johns Hopkins, Duke, Ohio State and Tufts have signed the statement, along with representatives from other well-known universities.
Amethyst Initiative supporters such as Kronenberg believe “21 isn’t working,” she said.
The minimum drinking age has been 21 years old since 1984, and some evidence suggests there have been a decreased number of suicides, car crashes, alcohol abuse and fatalities since then.
But the initiative contends that if adults under the age of 21 are able to vote, sign contracts, serve on juries and enlist in the military, they should also have the right to consume alcohol, according to a statement on their Web site.
According to the UCOP statement, Yudof’s belief is that alcohol abuse in the U.S. is a serious issue.
“The chancellors and I are not persuaded at this time that enabling legal alcohol use by those aged 18 to 20 years old is the correct solution,” Yudof said in the statement.