Bowles opposes lowering legal drinking age
Thursday, September 4th, 2008
By Staff
UNC President Erskine Bowles says he won't support a change to laws that set the legal drinking age at 21.
In an Aug. 29 memo to chancellors of the 16 UNC-system campuses, Bowles said there is evidence the age-21 law saves lives and reduces alcohol-related injuries and deaths among young people. He cited data from UNC-Chapel Hill's Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, which was named for his father, Skipper Bowles, and created with family money.
"Furthermore, I've seen no scientific evidence that supports the contention that lowering the legal drinking age would reduce binge-drinking or lessen other alcohol-related problems on our college campuses or in society at large," Bowles wrote.
Recently, a group of 128 university and college presidents issued a public statement calling for a new debate on the federal law that sets the minimum legal drinking age. The presidents say the legal limit creates a "culture of dangerous, clandestine 'binge-drinking.' "
Duke University President Richard Brodhead signed the statement. (more…)
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