I have read articles like Gerard Ruskowski’s Drinking laws need revision (SN 1/27) and I understand and agree with his arguments.

It is ridiculous that adults must wait until an arbitrary age of 21 to be able to buy and consume alcoholic beverages. A component that he might have glossed over is that a lowering of the legal drinking age to 18 years old would create transparency on campuses. It would also cut down on binge drinking because underage students would not feel compelled to get wasted in somebody’s dorm room before going out to a party. All of these ideas sound great, but the reason little to no action has taken place is due to complacency amongst our portion of the electorate. All major demographics fail to reach near 100 percent voting in any election, but voters age 18-29 are usually particularly apathetic about their civic duty. The 2008 presidential election could mark a turning point, though. The number of people ages 18-29 rose both in the primaries and the election itself. Instead of letting this momentum die, we should channel it into forming public policy that better suits our views as young adults. A large youth effort of those both over and under the limit could help change the drinking age back to 18.