Old Enough to Drink

We know that Worcester is a college town, despite what City Hall and our City Councilors may say.  With a student population that grows by close to 20,000 every fall, there is no denying it and these under 21-year-olds are going to get their hands on alcohol "By Any Means Necessary".

There are two kinds of students: those that possess a fake ID that affords them the ability to buy alcohol or the underclassman that knows an upperclassmen that serves as their 'supplier', buying them everything under the sun from Boone's Farm, Mad Dog 20/20, Cisco, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Old Milwaukee's Best beer (hey, most college kids don't have alot of money to afford the 'good stuff').

Four Loko, which was referred to as "witch's brew" by Connecticut Senator-elect Richard Blumenthal, was a perfectly marketed beverage that college-aged drinkers consumed as a pregaming beverage.

Having experienced college at a Bryant University (when I attended, it was Bryant College) it was a prerequisite to 'pregame' before venturing to either a baseball, fraternity or a DAWGS party and I witnessed friends pounding Natural Ice beers like they were drinking Gatorade or slinging back shots of Jim Bean, Southern Comfort or Goldschlager (some folks I knew had a little more "paper" to buy the 'good stuff'.) 

I never understood the concept of 'getting nice' before heading out to a party.  Having grown up in the Virgin Islands where the legal drinking age is 21-years-old, but it was hardly enforced.  It used to be that if you could reach the bar, you could order a drink, and, if questioned, you could just say that it was for your father who was sitting in the car. (I miss those days.)

Also, I grew up in a household where alcohol was very plentiful, and I was able to have my first alcoholic drink at 8-years-old (Kahlua and milk).

So, my argument for lowering the drinking age to 18-years-old comes with a belief that if we do a better job educating young adults about drinking in moderation, and seeing older adults modeling the benefits of socializing with their fellow higher-learning road warriors, there would be less trips to the local emergency rooms for alcohol-related issues.

Having worked at two Catholic, Jesuit colleges in Massachusetts, I can tell you firsthand stories of students falling down stairs, falling out of windows, being struck by cars or committing a violent act while drunk.  Some of these incidents, to this day, leave me shaking my head and questioning.......everything.

 Two years ago a new program was launched by a number of college and university presidents--the Amethyst Initiative.  The purpose of the Amethyst Initiative was to serve as a way for colleges to discuss the drinking age and their hope to lower the drinking age to 18-years-old.  After the Amethyst Initiative was launched MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) looked to persuade parents to not send their children to those schools, of which, a number of them are in Massachusetts- Tufts, Mount Holyoke, Emerson, Smith, Holy Cross, and the University of Massachusetts. 

So, the conversation about lowering the legal drinking age has no legs to stand on, and we're stuck at an impasse with a pack of elephants that are blocking the road.

With the banned sale of Four Loko we can look upon the horizon, and I can foresee the next item that will be debated and banned by the FDA: Cream. (Really, that's it's name.)

Cream, a whipped cream with 30-proof alcohol, hit Boston and Worcester liquor store shelves in November.  It comes in six flavors and doesn't need to be refrigerated.(perfect for collegiate, right?)  The product's website states that each can contains 26 shots, and Cream is especially tasty on Jell-O shots or "straight up" from the can.  Does this stuff sound familiar?