 "Photo: Audrey Hamoy")
The pros and cons of underage drinking and lowering the drinking age were debated Tuesday night in a forum hosted by Pi Sigma Alpha, the political science fraternity.
Robert Heath, president of Pi Sigma Alpha, and Aaron McVey, executive editor of The Parthenon, represented the portion of society that wants the drinking age to be lowered to 18.
Amy Saunders, coordinator of student health and education programs at Marshall, and Stephanie Southall, an underage drinking prevention specialist for the W.Va. Prevention Resource Center represented the portion of society that wants to keep the drinking age at 21.
McVey, who stressed his views and opinions in no way represented the views and opinions of The Parthenon, said social responsibility is the biggest issue when dealing with the idea of lowering the drinking age. He used statistics from the Center of Disease Control and the W.Va. Department of Criminal Justice to support his claim that the current drinking age does not work.
"I drank when I wasn't 21 and I think we can all agree that 21 doesn't work and come up with an alternative to that, whatever that might be," McVey said.
Southall said underage drinking is the number one youth health crisis.
"The number 21 is not an arbitrary age, but was a scientific decision that was made," Southall said. "Children who start drinking before 15 are scientifically proven to be more dependent than adults who waited until they became 21 to start drinking."
Southall used statistics from the "Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking," which showed the numbers of injuries, sexual assaults and deaths related to alcohol usage. Southall also emphasized her most compelling argument: Brain development is harmed by continued alcohol usage.
Heath, a senior political science major from Chester, W.Va., said if parents would teach their children social responsibility then the social change would occur over time.
"If young adults are willing to deal with the responsibilities when they drink, then we will be able to lower the drinking age which is in line with our other privileges like being in the military or voting at age 18," Heath said.
Saunders said if the drinking age were lowered to 18, then students in high school could provide an "access highway" to younger students searching for alcohol. She made the point that students at 18 are not mature enough to make decisions concerning alcohol usage.
"We need to strive to keep it out of the hands of younger students," Saunders said. " The drinking age was originally changed due to the fact that there were 18-year-old students in high school."
Both parties agreed that education was the main deterrent for underage drinking. Saunders and Southall said parents should educate their children on the issues of underage drinking, but more enforcement is needed because prevention through education alone was not working. McVey agreed that education was an important part of this issue, but parents talking to their children was not enough.
"You don't hand your 16-year-old a set of car keys and say, 'Figure it out'" McVey said, "Parents need to sit kids down at dinner and have a beer with them and teach them it's just a beverage. Show them it's not a means to get intoxicated, but something to be enjoyed."
Members of the audience had the opportunity to pose questions to the panelists after the debate was over.
Gig Robinson, spokesman for the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission and a member of the Governor's Committee for Crime and Delinquency, said the idea that students are not mature enough to handle a lowered drinking age was incorrect.
"I'm looking around the room and I see future teachers, doctors, lawyers and future parents who all have a support system," Robinson said. "We shouldn't talk down to you and say you're not mature enough because truly you are."
Robinson said not all students have a good support system and if the drinking age were lowered, the people who are already struggling with matters like health care, unemployment and education would not be helped.
Steve Hensley, dean of student affairs at Marshall, said the argument to keep the drinking age at 21 is an easier position to defend. He said the issue of underage drinking has a huge emotional impact on participants.
"I think all of the panelists did a fantastic job, but Amy and Stephanie had the facts on their side," Hensley said.
Brandon Smith, a junior political science major from Wheeling, W.Va., is vice president of Pi Sigma Alpha. Smith said his organization chose to host an underage drinking debate forum because it had never been done before.
"In the past our organization has not been that active, so in the future we plan on organizing more forums just like this involving the upcoming political campaigns and other controversial issues that might interest people," Smith said.
Megan Archer can be contacted at archer15@marshall.edu.
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