The Journal

Issue date: 4/3/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Illustration by Leah Bend

Missouri 18 to Drink, an organization trying to lower the drinking age in Missouri from 21 to 18, is attempting to collect at least 100,000 signatures in order to introduce a ballot initiative that would meet its goal.

If the law passes, it will overturn the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, which established the legal drinking age in the United States as 21.

Michael Mikkelsen, a 25-year-old computer programmer and one of the organizers of Missouri 18 To Drink, said he hopes the petition will mobilize young voters to a common cause.

"I think that this issue affects a lot of young people," Mikkelsen said. "We need to find a way to involve young people in politics, but I think that younger voters are pretty eager to participate in the process."

Mikkelsen expressed doubts about his organization's ability to receive the proper amount of signatures by the time the petition needs to be turned in on May 5.

"We probably won't be able to get 100,000 signatures by the election," Mikkelsen said. "We're planning on pushing it back to the next election. Since ballot issues are brought up every two years, that means that it will probably be in the 2010 vote."

Mothers Against Drunk Driving is opposed to this measure and any other attempt to lower the drinking age below 21.

According to MADD's Web site, www.why21.org, almost 50 studies have found that the minimum drinking age of 21 decreases alcohol-related fatalities by 16 percent. The site also asserts that brain development continues into the mid-20s, and drinking before the brain is fully developed can cause damage.

Pat Enberg, a junior music major, thinks the ballot initiative would be a bad idea.

"One of my friends got into a car accident while they were driving drunk," Enberg said. "I think that the incidence of car accidents would go up for sure."

Cory Schmidt, a freshman computer science and business administration major, is also opposed to lowering the drinking age.

"In my opinion, I think that it would be a bad decision to enact a law that would allow people under 21 years of age to drink," Schmidt said. "In my experience, a lot of 21-year-olds that can legally drink are still immature and don't possess the maturity to drink responsibly. I think that lowering the age by three years would just increase the amount of people that would be irresponsible drinkers."

Kat Wilson, a freshman photography major, supports lowering the drinking age.

"I believe that it would be a positive thing to lower the drinking age to 18, if only because some kids already drink at that age and younger," Wilson said. "By leaving the drinking age at 21, that only increases the desire for people to buy alcohol. If you don't want somebody to have something, it makes them want it even more."

Supporting the proposed measure, Bret Zingrich said, most people have earned the right to drink by 18.

"If you are old enough to go and fight for your country, you're old enough to go and have a beer," Zingrich said. "In addition to that, many European countries have a lower drinking age and there are far less problems if people have time to get acclimated to dealing
with alcohol."

If Missouri 18 to Drink reaches its goal number of signatures by May, the ballot initiative will appear on the November 2008 ballot.

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