Dunn seeks dialogue on alcohol issue
By TOM BERRY
Staff Writer
Murray State University President Randy Dunn is supporting a move by many college presidents nationwide to begin a public discussion concerning current laws and educational efforts regarding the use of alcohol by 18 to 20-year-olds, but some local groups and officials disapprove of a change of the legal drinking age.
Dunn and more than 100 of his colleagues across the country have signed the “Amethyst Initiative,” so-named for the Greek gemstone said to ward off intoxication, according to the group's Web site at www.amethystinitiative.org. The effort is intended to find ways to deal with culture of alcohol abuse and binge-drinking among college students through an “informed and dispassionate” public debate.
According to an Associated Press report, signers of the initiative believe current law encourages binge drinking and pushes alcohol into the shadows. Two of the original signers have withdrawn their names, but at least 20 others have signed on bringing the total to at least 123. Supporters included presidents of private universities such as Duke, Dartmouth and Johns Hopkins and public schools including Ohio State and the University of Maryland.
Dunn said that by signing the document he is not advocating a change in the law, but is encouraging public debate on the issue.
“Some of the reporting is saying that college presidents want to do away with the legal 21 years-of-age and that is not what this is saying. It can come off sounding like I'm advocating for 18 and I am not,” Dunn said. “What we are saying is that there is enough uncertainty about this that it is probably time to engage in some public dialogue.
“I would not stand before anyone and say I advocate changing the legal age,” he added, “but I do think that what we've had hasn't worked and it hasn't changed this culture.”
In citing his reasons for signing, Dunn also noted his respect for the leadership and character of university presidents across the nation advocating debate on the issue as a way to learn more about how to deal with underage drinking.
According to a copy of the document, current law is promoting a culture of “dangerous, clandestine binge-drinking” that most often is conducted in unsupervised locations off-campus. It also states that alcohol education mandating abstinence as the only legal option has not resulted in significant constructive behavioral change among students.
While well-aware of the problem of underage drinking in Calloway County, Sheriff Bill Marcum is also opposed to changing the law. Marcum said he did not have readily-available statistics concerning the number of DUI, public intoxication and other crimes related to underage drinking, but said you don't have to look far to see evidence that it's happening.
“Of course you really can't base that on how many arrests you've made,” Marcum said. “On any given afternoon around 5:30 or so, but especially when it starts getting into the later evening, you can drive around some of the (college student) residential areas other than the campus and you can get your own opinion about how much drinking is going on.”
To read the complete article, see Wednesday's Murray Ledger & Times. The paper also has an article on what universities are doing to try to control dangerous off-campus behavior by students.
Story created Aug 27, 2008 - 11:12:22 EDT.
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