ANNAPOLIS – Lined with bars and liquor stores, U.S. Route 1 is the hub of social activity for many University of Maryland, College Park students every weekend.
“I was there with friends last night,” said Maryland sophomore Taylor Cole, 19. “At 12 o’clock on a Friday night there’s really not a lot to do here other than to go to Route 1.”
But alcohol consumption isn’t just a pastime for Maryland students, it is a subject that many are excited to talk about.
The University of Maryland Alcohol Summit 2008, held Thursday, drew students, faculty, staff and the general public to discuss alcohol-related issues, which included student drinking patterns and the legal drinking age.
The summit was a goal of Maryland President C.D. “Dan” Mote. Mote is one of 130 chancellors and presidents of universities and colleges nationwide who signed the Amethyst Initiative’s Presidential Statement, pledging to open debates over the effects of the 21-year-old drinking age and other aspects of college-age drinking.
“It’s really important because it really is part of our college life,” Cole said.
Prevalent drinking among students is not unique to the Maryland campus. A Department of Health and Human Services publication said that in 2007, full-time students between the ages of 18 and 22 were more likely to consume or abuse alcohol than part-time students or young people not enrolled in school.
On the Maryland campus, students attribute the amount of drinking to a lack of alternative activities.
“That is your social option around College Park,” said Alex Beuchler, who is president of the Residence Hall Association. Beuchler sat on a panel of student leaders that spoke at the summit.
After one question from the audience implied that 21-year-old students were not the youngest age group frequenting area bars, the discussion turned largely to the issue of underage drinking.
“I think 18-year-olds are able to make the same decisions as 21-year-olds,” said Student Body President Jonathan Sachs, who admitted that the decisions those age groups make are not always responsible.
Although the panel members differed in their opinions about lowering the legal drinking age, most members agreed that binge drinking is the biggest alcohol-related issue for college students.
According to a Department of Health and Human Services publication, more than 50 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 20 reported drinking alcohol in the month prior to when the survey was taken. Almost 36 percent of people in this age group reported binge drinking, or having five or more drinks on the same occasion, during that period of time.
“The binge drinking happens because it’s such a no-no here,” said Beuchler, who believes that lowering the drinking age might one day lessen the prevalence of binge drinking because it wouldn’t be such a forbidden fruit.