Not all underage drink

The Red & Black’s Wednesday take on underage drinking, “Time to change law,” exaggerates the frequency of underage drinking at UGA. Nearly one out of three UGA students under 21 chooses not to drink (30.4 percent), says the 2007 National College Health Assessment, an email-based survey administered at UGA every two years. These data suggest that underage drinking is far from “rampant,” as the editorial asserts.

Why are actual underage drinking rates lower than the editors’ anecdotal observations suggest? Evidence indicates that current enforcement measures employed by Athens and UGA Police successfully deter underage drinkers. In research presented at the 2009 Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities Symposium, I observe a significant decline in the number of underage students who report drinking following the decision of police to arrest underage drinkers rather than simply issue citations. Over the same time period, the proportion of students over the legal drinking age who consume alcohol remained constant.

This conclusion that strong enforcement measures reduce underage drinking agrees with a wide body of national research on the subject. Findings from the definitive Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol study suggest that the minimum legal drinking age is the most effective way to decrease alcohol use and its negative consequences among college students.

The editors should do their research before making such claims as “these laws do little to actually prevent underage drinking.” While many find a lower drinking age philosophically appealing, using unsubstantiated claims about the current law’s effectiveness diminishes the argument’s credibility. Public health and safety problems that arise from irresponsible drinking must be considered. The Red & Black’s cursory treatment of this issue renders its argument flat.

Bobby Rosenbleeth
Junior, Sandy Springs
International Affairs and Economics

Write about important issues

I would like to say a giant thank you to Marc McAfee for writing on a subject that is important and a current issue in the opinion column in Wednesday’s paper. There has been may times that I have picked up The Red & Black and sat it right back down after reading some of the opinion articles. Safe sex, public manners, and pure childish things should not be what is published in a college news paper. Be informative on important issues! Talk about what is happening around the community! capital hill! even the state! BE INFORMATIVE! There is more in the world than just HIV testing and safe sex. Knock off the safe sex talk and treat us like adults. I don’t need to be reminded to use condoms or be told that married college students are lame to hang out with. Give opinions about what is happening outside in the ‘real world.’

Alyson Davis
Sophomore, Covington
Wildlife