YOU DON'T have to live at the University for long before you see that drinking, for better or worse, is a cornerstone of University life. Although many of our parents warned us not to break the law and educated us about the dangers of alcohol abuse - and even though Student Health goes so far as to put drinking warnings in bathroom stalls - students are strangely unaffected by all of the anti-drinking propaganda. Even though underage drinking is against the law, a recent survey conducted by the Department of Behavioral Sciences found that 76 percent of University students have had some alcohol in the past month, and a vast majority of those drank on more than one occasion. Over half the student body even admitted to drinking during high school.
Clearly, drinking is here to stay. Despite the best efforts of parents, peer educators, and student education campaigns, alcohol remains the beverage of choice for most students on a Friday night. The fact that drinking is still against the law for 18- to 21-year-olds is absurd. It is a law-enforcement nightmare and an assault on our personal freedom.
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In a recent interview, University Police Captain Michael A. Coleman said that the reason why drinking is against the law for this age group is "purely a safety issue." He said drinking prohibitions have reduced traffic fatalities and violent crimes.
All of this makes sense, and it is a shame that some people show bad judgment and get hurt, but it is nothing but age discrimination in the form of protective laws denying some legal adults' rightful personal liberties. Blacks may commit a disproportionate number of violent crimes, but racial profiling is against the law. Older drivers are famous - fairly or not - for being slow, not being able to hold their lane and causing more than their fair share of accidents. In both these cases, society has deemed it unacceptable to increase public safety by penalizing all members of a group for the actions of some, but in the case of 18- to 21-year-olds, there is no such outrage. Because this age cohort is not as politically organized as others, politicians can trampel their rights without fear of opposition.
When an American boy comes of age, he receives a draft card in the mail. The card has blanks for his height and weight, field of study and preferred branch of military service. When he puts the card in the mail, he has to face a sobering reality. If the government ever needed him, it would be able to rip him out of his daily routine. With or without his consent, he can be put under enemy fire and risk his life for his country. He would have to make split second decisions of life and death, and there would be no guarantee that he would come back. If 18-year-olds are mature enough for all of that, they should be trusted with beer.
These crazy 18-year-olds also can vote. Society believes that 18-year-olds are mature enough to evaluate candidates, understand complex issues and play a part in deciding the fate of our country. It is legal for 18-year-olds to get married, buy property, buy guns, gamble, smoke and do anything else that full citizens can; they should be allowed to drink. Nothing magic happens at 21. This is simple age discrimination.
If that isn't enough, laws against underage drinking prohibitions are inconsistently enforced. On any given weekend night, Rugby Road is lit up with parties where everyone knows that people under 21 are drinking. Resident assistants tell their halls at the beginning of the year not to drink in the dorms, but RAs cannot do anything about people drinking elsewhere. "Our job, as far as drinking is concerned," said senior RA Thad Hughes, "is to stop drinking in the dorms." Students can drink elsewhere and come back drunk, and RAs are powerless to stop them.Cops cruise around the University at night knowing without a doubt that, within any given fraternity house, there is ample beer on tap for underage drinkers, but they only break up parties that are getting out of hand. What would happen if a fraternity gave out marijuana at one of its parties? There would be police swarming all over the place in minutes, and the scandal would make national headlines.
The fact that law enforcement passively accepts underage drinking at parties but RAs come down hard on students for drinking in their rooms is absurd. If it is against the law to drink, it should be against the law for anyone, and that law should be enforced uniformly, but that's impractical.
Alcohol is so available to those 18 to 21 that the law is pointless. Students can get alcohol whenever they want. There is a black market ready to supply them whatever they want at very little additional cost. A lot of University students have fake IDs, older suppliers or secret dorm room stashes. Some can get alcohol simply because they look older than 21.
It is amazing that underage drinking is still against the law. Legalizing it would solve many problems and everyone under 21 could drink to that.
(Mark Jensen is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)
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