The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is not forced to set the drinking age at 21.

That’s right;… The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is not forced to set the drinking age at 21.

That’s right; if any state government wanted to do so, it could lower the drinking age.

Of course, the state would lose its federal highway funding if it lowered the minimum, but the regulation is not mandatory.

The 20th anniversary of the change of the national drinking age to 21 was July 17, 2004. Before the minimum was passed in 1984, states were allowed to set their own drinking ages, with some as low as 18 years for certain alcoholic proofs.

According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving records from 1982, 43 percent (4,393) of drivers under the age of 21 who were involved in fatal car accidents were drinking before their crashes. This had significantly changed by 1998, when only 21 percent (1,714) of drivers younger than 21 involved in fatal car crashes had been drinking alcohol.

Also according to MADD, there were more than 8,000 deaths related to underage drinking in 1982. By 2002, this number had dropped by 25 percent, to more than 6,000 deaths resulting from underage drinking.

“We know for a fact — that data has been collected — that the drinking age saves over 900 young lives each year, which is enough to fill two public high schools,” said Rebecca Shaver, the state executive director for MADD Pennsylvania. “The earlier kids start drinking, the more likely they are to become dependent upon it. Excessive drinking leads to other types of violence, such as unwanted pregnancy, unprotected sex and STDs.”

According to research at the Center of Alcohol Studies, at Rutgers University, raising the drinking age to 21 increased drinking-induced fatalities in the 21-24 age group, by about as much as it lowered fatalities for those aged 18-20. The study researchers suggested that a person’s amount of drinking experience, not the age of the person drinking, played the most important factor in alcohol fatalities.

Mike A. Males, from the University of California, agreed with the conclusion of the study.

“The bottom line is that raising the drinking age to 21 did not improve a young person’s odds of avoiding fatal alcohol mishap before age 25,” Males said.

But responsibility issues are not the only reason why the drinking age should not be lowered, Shaver added.

“It is not so much responsibility issues as health issues. Health issues far outweigh their decision to decide if they want to drink, and alcohol impairs decision-making judgments,” Shaver said.

According to Shirley Haberman, the health education administrator for Pitt’s Student Health Service, alcohol may do more physical damage to young people than it does to their elders.

“Some recent studies show that the adolescent brain suffers more damage from alcohol than an adult brain,” Haberman said. “In our culture, we teach young people how to drive a car before they are licensed to drive. We should make sure that individuals receive similar education about alcohol before reaching 21.”

But others do not think raising the drinking age was such as good idea.

According to the National Youth Rights Association, only seven countries in the world have a drinking age of at least 21: Ukraine, Russia, Honduras, Egypt, South Korea, Malaysia, and the United States.

Association members argue that when a person turns 18 years old, he is old enough to vote, hold public office, serve on juries, serve in the military and sign contracts, as well as hold many other important responsibilities. The members argue that, therefore, an 18-year-old should be able to decide whether he wants to drink.

“If you’re old enough to be in the army at 18, then I pretty much think you’re old enough to do anything that requires an age limit,” said sophomore Michael Pettiford.

Members also argue that drinking alcohol before the age of 21 does not affect brain development. They say a person’s body and mind are constantly improving throughout his or her life, so drinking at 18 is no more harmful than drinking at 21.

“If the [Food and Drug Administration] can determine that a 12-year-old is developed enough to have an equal dose of Tylenol, or Sudafed, or Dramamine, or Zantac 75, then an 18-year-old is developed enough to have a glass of wine with dinner,” according to the Association Web site.

Many who support lowering the drinking age, however, lose some of their zeal as they approach the legal age.

“I used to think that the drinking age should be lowered. But since I had to wait and I will be 21 next month, I don’t think it should be lowered,” Pitt junior Loren Lape said.