A petition signed by more than 100 university presidents urging lawmakers to rethink the national drinking age has spurred a recent wave of negative feedback and media attention.
Among the critics of the Amethyst Initiative is UF President Bernie Machen, who - along with Patricia Telles-Irvin, UF's vice president of student affairs - wrote an op-ed column against the consideration published in today's St. Petersburg Times.
"We do not believe that lowering the drinking age would help solve the largest public health and safety problem here and at other campuses: High-risk, or binge drinking," the column states.
"In fact, evidence tells us that lowering the drinking age would worsen binge drinking."
Machen and Telles-Irvin's letter references several studies, including one from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, which states that at least 40 percent of college students report binge drinking, which is consuming five or more drinks in one sitting.
As of Sunday, 128 university presidents and counting have signed the petition, according to the initiative's Web site.
The petition is adorned with headlines such as "It's time to rethink the drinking age" and "Twenty-one is not working."
"By choosing to use fake IDs, students make ethical compromises that erode respect for the law," the site states.
Statements such as these on the site have attracted national attention and sparked outrage from several groups, including Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
MADD National President Laura Dean-Mooney suggested in a news release that parents rethink sending their children to institutions on the petition "that have waved the white flag on underage and binge drinking policies."
Although Machen acknowledged that binge drinking is a problem on campus, the number of UF students who indicate that they binge drink has declined, he wrote.
"Our alcohol coalition has been working for several years on this, and there are signs we have made some progress," he wrote.
The number of UF students who report high-risk drinking rates has dropped 33 percent since fall 2004, according to data from a Student Health Care Center survey.
Also, judicial referrals for alcohol violations fell about 27 percent, from 571 in 2005 to 419 in 2007, according to the data.
Machen, known for his efforts to curb alcohol abuse during his administration, said he plans to encourage change outside the university.
"We would like to have legal support to limit drink specials and to hold bars accountable for 'over serving' patrons," Machen wrote. "It will take some new laws to make those changes."
