Students and administrators gathered yesterday to discuss the legal drinking age in the last of a three-dialogue series aimed at opening discussion on the typically taboo subject of underage drinking.

About 11 students, administrators and health experts participated in the Residence Hall Association’s final Amethyst Dialogue of the year, held to further the RHA’s Responsible Action Policy, a resolution passed recently in support of a Good Samaritan policy and furthering alcohol education on the campus. The organization plans to send information and opinions gathered at the dialogues to the Alcohol Coalition, a group organized by the University Health Center that aims to educate students about safe drinking practices. They hope to inspire change in programs such as AlcoholEdu and eChug to make them more relatable and relevant for students.

“If AlcoholEdu was more applicable and realistic, people wouldn’t just ignore it,” RHA President Alex Beuchler said. “We hope an overhaul of this program will be a productive way to reach students.”

Beuchler said that although the dialogues consisted of only small groups of students, RHA members use their best judgment to help flesh out ideas and assess the successes and failures of the dialogues. Depending on what they determine, the RHA may continue to hold Amethyst Dialogues – named after the Amethyst Initiative, which university President Dan Mote and University System of Maryland Chancellor Brit Kirwan signed to open discussion about alcohol-related issues, including the legal drinking age – in coming semesters.

“The dialogues are very issue-driven,” Beuchler said. “A lot of people are invested in subjects like the Good Samaritan policy.”

Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Warren Kelley said that despite Mote’s decision to sign the Amethyst Initiative, the drinking age wasn’t even a question the administration had considered taking a stand on until it was brought up at an Alcohol Summit in October, which drew students, faculty and experts from across the state to discuss alcohol practices and lowering the legal drinking age. Beuchler, too, was inspired by the summit, and soon after established the RHA’s Alcohol Dialogue initiative to engage the rest of the student body.

“I don’t know that we thought about the drinking age, because we all know people under 21 abuse alcohol, and we know that people over 21 abuse alcohol,” Kelley said.

RHA Finance Officer Rachel Vieder noted regardless of what the legal drinking age is, students will still engage in questionable practices.

“There are still people who are 21 who pass out in the grass,” Vieder said. “Society cannot be their babysitter.”

The group discussion focused on whether a lower drinking age could smooth the transition from high school to college and how drinking is seen as a “forbidden fruit,” tempting students to drink while they are legally forbidden from doing so.

“I think it’s the stigmatics of our culture that younger people shouldn’t be drinking,” RHA Public Relations Officer Alicia Hartlove said.

Only one student involved in the discussion disagreed, noting that lowing the drinking age “makes it easier for the bad apples to screw it up for themselves.”

The group brainstormed ways to mitigate harm from alcohol, ranging from “drinking licenses” that could be revoked based on the person’s behavior and a grace period between 18 and 21 where punishments are harsher, similar to how many states handle issuing driver’s licenses to young people.

“Although we cannot pass a law, the best we can do is create an environment where drinking still exists that’s relaxed,” Kelley said.

Beuchler said she hopes students and administrators who participated in the dialogues walked away better informed about how different populations perceive the alcohol culture on this campus.

“We want to review all three talks and assess their success and contributions. We will try to figure out what worked, what didn’t work and why,” Beuchler said.

The dialogue was held in the wake of the University Senate’s recent near-unanimous support of a Good Samaritan protocol. But the senate is holding off the decision of amending university policy until next spring. In the meantime, Beuchler said the RHA will continue to work with the Department of Resident Life, the Office of Student Conduct and other student groups to change what they can.

“It’s a student-led effort, and people have been very open so far,” Beuchler said. “Whether they are directly involved in the talks now, or simply their peers are helping us with planning ideas, it should have a great effect on all Maryland students.”

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