There are 136 signatures on the Amethyst Initiative, but the president of the “No. 1” party school is not among them.
The Amethyst Initiative allows university and college presidents to acknowledge the harmful effects of underage and binge drinking. It suggests the drinking age, 21, is too high and could cause binge drinking. However, Ohio University has not jumped on the bandwagon.
In August, OU was dubbed the “No. 1” party school by the Princeton Review in an annual nationwide survey. The university’s title was largely earned because of its nationally recognized Halloween block party that will commence
Saturday night.
“(OU President Roderick McDavis) was asked (to sign) and he has declined,” said Becky Watts, McDavis’ chief of staff. “He does not believe a change in the law will be supportive of the health and safety of students.”
The presidents of three Ohio higher education institutions — Columbus College of Art and Design, Kenyon College and Ohio State University — have signed the pledge.
“We were interested where the conversation led,” said Dennison Griffith, president of the Columbus College of Art and Design. “Signing the Amethyst pledge was simply a request to have a reason to explore the issue, not a call for repeal. If you read closely, that’s all it is.”
Kenyon College President Georgia Nugent said she signed because of the initiative’s efforts to discourage binge drinking.
“Alumni and parents … have been overwhelmingly supportive,” Nugent said in an email. “This tells me that there is a large constituency out there that believes the 21-year-old drinking age has not been a positive or productive development for our society.”
OU offers programs such as AlcoholEdu to educate students about the harmful effects of alcohol.
“President McDavis is working exceptionally hard in educating students, and all of the faculty is working hard for students to understand the health and safety and the effects poor decisions can have,” Watts said.
Some students said the university should restructure its response to its underage drinking student population.
“I think the university programs should have more personal interaction and be more realistic,” said Jess Beckholt, a sophomore studying English and Women’s and Gender Studies. “I think the message is ‘don’t drink,’ when realistically, some people do.”
Thomas Vander Ven, associate professor of sociology and director of criminology, researched binge drinking for his book, Wasted: Why College Students Drink So Much and Party So Hard.
“I have to say that I’m not confident (the Amethyst Initiative) is a solution to risky college drinking, which is what I study,” he said. “I’m not hostile toward it. I just don’t believe it’s the answer.”
He said OU has succeeded in limiting “risky” drinking on campus but that more needs to be done.
“I think most college campuses have risky drinkers, and we are no
exception,” he said.
sj950610@ohiou.edu
