ASWC President Brody Levin signs Get REAL
Amethyst Intiative inspired petition encourages dialogue about current legal drinking age
Sarah Pike
Issue date: 10/13/09 Section: Campus
This September ASWC President Brody Leven became the 15th student representative in the nation to sign a statement encouraging the reconsideration of the legal drinking age.
"We needed to get something started," said Leven. The concept for the Get REAL (Responsibility, Education and Leadership) campaign originated from the Amethyst Initiative, which launched in July 2008.
The Amethyst Initiative, signed by President Michael Bassis in August 2008, is a public statement made up of college and university chancellors and presidents throughout the nation. The official Amethyst Initiative website says, "The Amethyst Initiative supports informed and unimpeded debate on the 21 year-old drinking age. Amethyst Initiative presidents and chancellors call upon elected officials to weigh all the consequences of current alcohol policies and to invite new ideas on how best to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol use."
As of Oct. 4 there were a total of 135 signatures to the Amethyst Statement, including Bassis-the only Utah college president on the list of signatories. The Amethyst Statement does not suggest a particular policy change, but it says the current set legal drinking age of 21 is not working. The list of signatories includes representatives from institutions such as Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins University, Virginia Tech and Ohio State University.
And now Leven is on board too, signing the Student Body President version of the Amethyst Initiative-the Get REAL campaign. "It's to try to encourage a responsible, honest, open dialogue to best serve these needs that have gone unmet," said Leven. "I think it's pretty unrealistic to say that the current drinking laws are solving all drinking problems."
Although there is much criticism from organizations like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) who have said lowering the legal drinking age would result in more incidents of drunken driving, university presidents and student representatives are continuing to sign both the Amethyst Initiative and the Get REAL Campaign to prevent irresponsible drinking by college students. Leven said "This is in no way trying to lower the drinking age, but just to have this dialogue that is often pushed aside, and to try and open that up."
"We needed to get something started," said Leven. The concept for the Get REAL (Responsibility, Education and Leadership) campaign originated from the Amethyst Initiative, which launched in July 2008.
The Amethyst Initiative, signed by President Michael Bassis in August 2008, is a public statement made up of college and university chancellors and presidents throughout the nation. The official Amethyst Initiative website says, "The Amethyst Initiative supports informed and unimpeded debate on the 21 year-old drinking age. Amethyst Initiative presidents and chancellors call upon elected officials to weigh all the consequences of current alcohol policies and to invite new ideas on how best to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol use."
As of Oct. 4 there were a total of 135 signatures to the Amethyst Statement, including Bassis-the only Utah college president on the list of signatories. The Amethyst Statement does not suggest a particular policy change, but it says the current set legal drinking age of 21 is not working. The list of signatories includes representatives from institutions such as Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins University, Virginia Tech and Ohio State University.
And now Leven is on board too, signing the Student Body President version of the Amethyst Initiative-the Get REAL campaign. "It's to try to encourage a responsible, honest, open dialogue to best serve these needs that have gone unmet," said Leven. "I think it's pretty unrealistic to say that the current drinking laws are solving all drinking problems."
Although there is much criticism from organizations like MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) who have said lowering the legal drinking age would result in more incidents of drunken driving, university presidents and student representatives are continuing to sign both the Amethyst Initiative and the Get REAL Campaign to prevent irresponsible drinking by college students. Leven said "This is in no way trying to lower the drinking age, but just to have this dialogue that is often pushed aside, and to try and open that up."
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