Students, faculty and staff conversed in a heated debate on whether or not to lower the legal drinking age.
The debate was featured as part of Alcohol Awareness Week Thursday in Rudder Theatre.
The Lower it to 18 panel started with a 10-minute statement of facts and definitions.
"In 1984, U.S. Congress told state governments to raise the drinking age to 21, or 10 percent of their highway money would be taken away," said Derick Lancaster, a junior philosophy major.
He stated facts about bootlegging across the U.S./Canadian border and Al Capone, along with binge drinking and the history of prohibition.
The Keep it at 21 panel rebutted with arguments of safety issues.
"This is a very easy argument, we're not talking about prohibition," said Dr. Eric Wilke, College Station Medical Center Emergency Room physician.
He focused on the lives that had purportedly been saved since the drinking age was raised to 21.
"If we're saying we're taking away the temptation by allowing it, why stop at alcohol? Why not heroin or methamphetamines? It's the same thing," he said.
Keep it at 21 panelist Susan Wagener described her personal encounter with alcohol and how it had affected her life, robbing her of a son because of alcohol poisoning.
She said the U.S. Surgeon General identifies alcohol consumption as a major health concern for everyone.
The first question for the Lower it to 18 panel regarded who should ultimately be responsible for alcohol education.
"There should be a learner's permit for alcohol awareness. A learning program should be available. It's up to the parents," said Ian Jacoby, a freshman history major.
The Keep it at 21 panel rebutted.
"What age can they make responsible decisions? How does our country portray drinking? It's not as glamorous as the media portrays," Wilke said.
The panelists were asked to explain the medical references made in the opening statements.
"If they drink moderately, they are less likely to become intoxicated or binge drink," said Jacoby, a Lower it to 18 panelist.
"If students start drinking in high school, they are three times more likely to binge drink. Moderation is not the key word," said Keep it at 21 panelist Omar El-Halwagi.
"Drinking is not a victimless crime. Men can become abusive and people may drink and drive," said the sophomore business administration major.
"Statistics provide clear evidence," said Keep it at 21 panelist Audrianne Doucet, a sophomore communication major. "People want to look at it emotionally and say they are responsible enough to drink. Although you may be responsible doesn't mean others are. While moderation may be good, the laws may still be abused."
The panelists were faced with a comparison between smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.
"It's his personal choice," Jacoby said. "It's not the job of the government to mandate. Just because there are laws against homicide doesn't stop murder."
The moderator, Gio Marin, a pastor at the Seventh-day Adventist Church, asked whether drinking alcohol was a right or a privilege.
"I think it's a privilege for over 21 years [old]. Why shouldn't it be a right for people over 18? There's three years difference," Jacoby said.
"You can't save the world," the opposing panel said. "I'm not agreeing that 21 is the best age, but 18 is simply too young," El-Halwagi said.
University staff members made interjections with laws and opinions.
"The University would be less liable for someone of legal drinking age doing injurious behavior," said Carol Binzer, vice president of student services.
"I'm concerned about my students and what they're doing and how [they are] being treated," said Lt. Gen. Joe Weber, vice president of student affairs.
A concerned resident asked the panels how to solve the underage drinking problem.
"We could institute early drinking with parental supervision and it would ultimately be at the guardian's discretion when the child has had enough [to drink]," said Lower it to 18 panelist Jacoby.
Wagener, of the Leave it at 21 panel, broke down how parents could solve the underage drinking issue.
"As a parent, you do the best you can by modeling behavior," Wagener said. "We need to be responsible adults in their lives even though children will test their parameters."
