UPDATE: W.Va. Joins Battle
BETHANY, W.Va. (AP) - Two West Virginians are among 100 college presidents supporting a national debate over the idea of lowering the legal drinking age from 21 to 18.
Bethany College President Scott Miller has signed onto the Amethyst Initiative, along with President G.T. Smith of Davis & Elkins College.
Larger schools like Duke, Dartmouth and Ohio State are on board, too. They argue that current laws encourage secretive binge drinking.
Miller issued a statement Monday saying a person old enough to vote and serve in the military should be informed enough to make mature decisions about alcohol consumption.
The group's name stems from the belief in ancient Greece that the purple gemstone amethyst could ward off drunkenness if used in drinking vessels and jewelry.
ORIGINAL STORY
UNDATED (AP) - College presidents from about 100 of the nation's best-known universities -- including Ohio State -- are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18.
They say current laws actually encourage dangerous binge drinking on campus.
The movement called the Amethyst Initiative began quietly recruiting presidents more than a year ago to provoke national debate about the drinking age. Schools represented in the group also include Duke, Dartmouth, Kenyon and Morehouse.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving says lowering the drinking age would lead to more fatal car crashes. MADD officials are even urging parents to think carefully about the safety of colleges whose presidents have signed on.
Both sides agree alcohol abuse by college students is a huge problem.