StaiSean Lyew thinks that if 18 year olds can enlist in the army, they should be able to drink. Lyew, a senior finance and marketing major, is 22 years old, but if the Amethyst Initiative had been enacted earlier, he could have been drinking four years ago. The initiative would lower the drinking age with the intention of reducing dangerous drinking habits and activities among underage students. Syracuse University’s Chancellor Nancy Cantor is in support of this change. ‘I think people drink according to their moods, regardless of age,’ Lyew said. ‘A lot of kids do it stupidly, but adults do it, too. I work at a club, and I see adults so drunk they can’t walk. I don’t think it matters what age.’ John Ricks, a junior engineering major, believes changing the drinking age would reduce the dangerous drinking habits that are commonly seen from people younger than 21. Eighteen year olds will probably react the same way as a student who is just turning 21 so the novelty would diminish, he said. Though Ricks doesn’t mind the change, other students such as junior psychology major Marie Bucciero think that the drinking age is a right of passage and could result in more problems on campus. ‘Two years ago, I probably would have been excited about lowering the drinking age, but now that I’ve waited for it, I feel like other people should too,’ Bucciero said. Freshman Rebecca Ruoff, who is in the Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries, agrees that the change could distract students from their academics. ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t think we’re old enough,’ Ruoff said. ‘I think we should wait to drink after we’re out of college so we can focus on schoolwork.’ Other students, such as sophomore finance major Kenneth Feind, focus more on the right to drink versus the privilege. ‘I think it’s good because if, at 18, we’re considered responsible enough to vote for a president, we should be able to handle the responsibility of having alcohol,’ Feind said. He said SU’s support is a step in the right direction, considering that the drinking age in Europe is 18, and there doesn’t seem to be a problem there. Feind said: ‘Syracuse’s involvement shows how progressive universities are, and how we are trying to embrace a more widely used policy seen in places like Europe.’

rdjones03@syr.edu