Choose Responsibility Appears on The Colbert Report

Choose Responsibility President John McCardell made an appearance on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report Thursday evening. The problems of underage binge drinking are no laughing matter, but this segment helps to raise awareness. McCardell brings up a good point that the problem is not simply one of drinking and driving. The current laws have driven drinking underground, thereby increasing the risks to our young people. Watch the clip and then visit Choose Responsibility's website for more information.

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John McCardell
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Choose Responsibility Featured On 60 Minutes

The CBS show 60 Minutes presented a segment on the 21 year-old legal drinking age this past Sunday. Choose Responsibility was featured prominently the report. This piece is sure to encourage much debate in the upcoming days. If anything, the segment illustrated the sort of ridiculous behavior that the current legal drinking age laws FAIL to prevent.



Be sure to visit the Choose Responsibility website for more information and to read responses to the 60 Minutes report.

Choose Responsibility Announces Amethyst Initiative to Encourage Debate on Legal Drinking Age

Choose Responsibility has announced their newest project, the Amethyst Initiative. Working with over a hundred college and university presidents, the goal is to initiate "informed and unimpeded debate" regarding the 21 year old legal drinking age. The Amethyst Initiative declares that the current drinking age statutes, and the 10% highway fund "incentive" that serves to bind states to that age limit, are not working.

I am both disgusted and disheartened by the epidemic binge drinking by America's youth. It's time we educated our youth on how to enjoy alcoholic drinks responsibility. I also believe that the T&A/Frat party image of beer consumption as promulgated by the factory beer producers over the last decade has contributed to the problem. These companies share in the responsibility for the issues we face today. Choose Responsibility proposes viable solutions to the problem of irresponsible alcohol consumption. Part of the solution is education, not simply lowering the LDA. I support the work of Choose Responsibility and encourage my readers to familiarize themselves with the work of the organization.

Five Virginia college presidents have signed the Amethyst Initiative statement: Walter M. Bortz, Hampden-Sydney College; Nancy O. Gray, Hollins University; Robert R. Lindgren, Randolph-Macon College; Elisabeth S. Muhlenfeld, Sweet Briar College; Kenneth P. Ruscio, Washington and Lee University. Check out the ever-growing list and see if your local college or university is represented. Is your son or daughter's school on the list? If not, encourage the school to get involved. The safety of our youth depends on it.

The Project Amethyst Statement
Choose Responsibility Web Site

Related blog post here.