The Amethyst Initiative is a project that was started in July of 2008 and is made up of chancellors and presidents of universities and colleges across the country who want to discuss the current drinking age of 21. Currently, 130 presidents and chancellors have signed this initiative and support discussion with government officials about the current drinking age and its implications on college students.
This Initiative is designed to facilitate debate and discussion about the issue of the current drinking age. Higher-education leaders feel that the current drinking age is the cause of binge-drinking among the underage population on campus. The Amethyst Initiative is not just about the prospect of changing the current drinking age to 18, but also about informing students to make positive choices about alcohol use in their daily lives.
It is interesting to note the word Amethyst comes from the Ancient Greek a- meaning (“not”) and methustos (“intoxicated”) with the belief that the stone can prevent the owner from feeling drunken. The Amethyst Initiative’s implied goal is to not have a drinking age that makes alcohol more available to students, rather to allow them to make intelligent decisions on campus.
“One of Plymouth State University’s top priorities is to provide a safe environment in which our students can study and live. To that end, the University works aggressively to reduce underage drinking and other abusive behavior both on campus and in the community. We welcome discourse that generates ideas leading to safer campuses,” read President Steen’s statement on the subject.
Dick Hage, the Vice President for Student Affairs, said about President Steen’s stance and the prospective future of the Amethyst Initiative and PSU, “I think a neutral position is exactly the right environment to encourage dispassionate dialogue where many points of view may be heard and thoughtfully considered. Effective higher education intentionally creates such settings. It’s early to predict what the future of the Amethyst Initiative will be. I hope through reasoned dialogue and factual assessment of the impacts of the current law that we gain useful knowledge as a campus and as a culture.”
Presidents and chancellors of nearby colleges such as the UMass Amherst, Salem State College and Vermont State Colleges have signed the Initiative. Within the University System of New Hampshire, President Paul LeBlanc of Southern New Hampshire University has signed the Initiative.
The Keene State College Media Relations website stated that President Helen Giles-Gee did not sign the Amethyst Initiative but encouraged a school-wide forum to discuss the issue. Keene State, as well as PSU, uses the online educational program called Alcohol Wise to educate students about drinking. Many of the first year students at PSU have completed Alcohol Wise.
In President Steen’s statement she mentioned, “The Amethyst Initiative suggests one perspective and there are a number of ways to approach alcohol-related issues on college and university campuses.”
In 1984 Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which penalizes any state which chooses to lower its drinking age to below 21 by removing 10% of highway funds. The Amethyst Initiative’s Statement can be found online at Amethystinitiative.org and states that the initiative encourages political leaders to engage public debate over the current drinking age. The Amethyst Initiative argues in its statement on the website, “Adults under 21 are deemed capable of voting, signing contracts, serving on juries and enlisting in the military, but are told they are not mature enough to have a beer.”
For more information about the Amethyst Initiative, their mission statement, or current signatories, students are encouraged to visit Amethystinitiative.org.