ONEONTA _ This weekend, an untold number of SUCO students will break a law enacted in 1982. Even more will break the law that succeeded it in 1985.
They will drink alcohol.
The state raised its drinking age from 18 to 19 in December 1982. Three years later, the minimum age to buy a beer or other alcoholic beverage increased to 21.
Should that law be changed?
Yes, said several State University College at Oneonta students, who were preparing to begin the fall semester Wednesday. Classes begin at Hartwick College on Sept. 2.
Maybe, maybe not, said SUCO president Nancy Kleniewski.
Definitely not, said Otsego County Stop-DWI Coordinator Karen Liddle.
Presidents from 128 colleges and universities in the country are calling on lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18. Their effort to reopen the debate on the national drinking age is billed by them as the Amethyst Initiative.
Drinking ages are set by individual states, but the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 allows for the withholding of federal highway funds to states that allow those younger than 21 to drink. However, according to the Amethyst Initiative's website, the current drinking age is not working and has created a dangerous culture of binge drinking on campuses.
Adults younger than 21 may join the military, serve on juries and sign contracts, the group says in its mission statement.
The drinking age has also led also lead to students becoming accepting of unethical behavior associated with clandestine binge drinking, such as using fake identification, the statement continues.
"Drinking is always associated with college," said Kayla Scott, 18, of Holbrook.
Scott and a fellow freshman at SUCO, Amanda Schutt, 18, of Farmingdale, agreed it was not unusual to see college presidents bring about the Amethyst Initiative.
"The are looking out for the safety of their students," Scott said.
Binge drinking is a pattern of drinking that brings a person's blood-alcohol concentration to .08 percent or higher, according to the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. This typically happens when men consume five or more drinks _ for women, it's four or more drinks _ in about 2 hours, according to the NIAAA.
"It's more common to binge drink than to have one (drink)," Scott said, when asked about the drinking behavior of her peers.
But both women said lowering the drinking age to 18 would, after a period of adjustment, lead to young adults not drinking as much.
Lowering it to 18 would remove the thrill they get from doing something that is illegal, Schutt said.
"Part of that fun is the idea of getting caught," Schutt said. "It becomes almost like a game they play."
Kleniewski and her counterpart at Hartwick College, Margaret Drugovich, have not signed onto the Amethyst Initiative.
Both said they welcome a new debate on the subject but stopped short of saying if they support or oppose lowering the drinking age to 18.
"I think it's pretty clear that it's a good time to have the discussion about this," Kleniewski said. "I am aware that binge drinking has been a very serious problem on college campuses. The argument is made that students have been discouraged from drinking in places that are public and have pushed into parties and other uncontrolled venues."
Drugovich said she and the members of the Hartwick College Cabinet recently discussed the Amethyst Initiative.
"While I would hope that an informed and dispassionate debate on this subject might advance a discussion on the responsible use of alcohol, at this time, I have elected to not sign the letter supporting the proposed initiative," Drugovich said.
"Because we recognize that students may choose to drink, we provide educational programs that help students to make responsible choices and to be good stewards of their own health and safety, as well as the health and safety of others," she added.
Kleniewski said SUCO has a new alcohol awareness education program in the form of an online course to be taken by all incoming freshmen this semester.
"We are a dry campus and we enforce the law," Kleniewski said.
Although SUCO is officially a dry campus, that doesn't mean students are not drinking.
"There's definitely drinking on campus," said SUCO sophomore T.J. Treharne, 19, of Schaghticoke.
On-campus drinking is low-key with no more than six people in a room, he said.
But on the weekends, underage drinking occurs at larger parties in off-campus apartments and houses, he said.
Treharne said he generally agrees with lowering the drinking age _ except for one thing.
"The only concern about lowering it might be driving," Treharne said.
A change could lead to more drunken-driving deaths, he said, because 18-year-olds are often not as mature as 21-year-olds and might choose to drive when they shouldn't.
Liddle said she is steadfastly against lowering the drinking age, and that the college presidents who support it are not paying attention to data that shows the drinking age of 21 helps prevent drunken-driving deaths.
"The schools don't want to deal with it anymore," Liddle said, explaining why the debate has emerged.
Liddle also said it is not a valid comparison to say that it is unfair for an 18-year-old to be allowed to vote or serve in the military but not drink.
"The right to vote? They educate you in school on the government and voting and making a choice. They don't hand you a gun and say Go shoot somebody.' They train you," Liddle said.
The human brain also doesn't finish developing until people are 23 or 24, Liddle said, and the last part of the brain to develop deals with a person's ability to reason and use judgement.
"(People under 21) are not capable of knowing when to stop drinking," Liddle said.
Liddle said a lower drinking age would also encourage younger people to drink.
"It's just a very dangerous situation because of the trickle-down effect," Liddle said. "It's so easy for a 16-year-old to look 18."
But Scott and Schutt said they disagree, saying that binge drinking already occurs at a young age.
"Once you are a freshman in high school, you are expected to have your first drink already," Schutt said.
The typical age teens start drinking is about 14, Schutt and Scott said.
