Choose Responsibility
Encyclopedia
Choose Responsibility is a non-profit organization in the United States
that promotes public awareness of the dangers of excessive and reckless alcohol consumption by young adults. The main goal is to lower the minimum drinking age by educating the public. It was founded and is directed by Dr. John McCardell, Jr.
, president emeritus of Vermont
's Middlebury College
.
and Washington and Lee prior to that; he has raised two adult children; he also received the Allan Nevins Prize from the Society of American Historians, and among other issues, Choose Responsibility compares the results of current drinking laws to the failure of laws associated with Prohibition
to maintain and enforce a reduction in alcohol use.
Experts in several fields of research make up Choose Responsibility's board of directors
.
Choose Responsibility has proposed a comprehensive program that combines incentives and rewards for responsible behavior by young people, and punitive measures for irresponsible behavior (i.e. the carrot and stick
approach). The organization promotes a multi-faceted approach that combines education, certification, and provisional licensing for 18-20 year-old high school graduates who choose to consume alcohol.
Choose Responsibility notes Vermont introduced a bipartisan bill in 2006, to attempt a program similar to that which Choose Responsibility advocates, but Vermont would lose federal highway funding if the measure were approved. The Amethyst Initiative
, a project run by Choose Responsibility asks lawmakers "to consider whether the 10% highway fund 'incentive' encourages or inhibits [an informed and dispassionate] debate" Since the enactment of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, most states allow for very few instances where someone under the age of 21 can possess or drink alcohol, and a pilot program such as what Vermont considered is not an exception that is provided for, under current federal law. The act is up for review next year.
In July 2008, McCardell and over 100 other college presidents launched the Amethyst Initiative
, which calls for discussion and reconsideration of the drinking age. The project received major press coverage and both praise and criticism.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
that promotes public awareness of the dangers of excessive and reckless alcohol consumption by young adults. The main goal is to lower the minimum drinking age by educating the public. It was founded and is directed by Dr. John McCardell, Jr.
John McCardell, Jr.
John Malcolm McCardell, Jr. is the Vice Chancellor of The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, and the president emeritus and a professor of history at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont. He retired as president in June, 2004, after serving thirteen years as the fifteenth...
, president emeritus of Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
's Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
.
Purpose
Choose Responsibility has examined many industrialized societies with drinking ages less than 21 but scientifically measured to have more responsible drinking habits than Americans. The organization believes that current drinking laws "infantilize" young adults and promote immature behaviors. Therefore, it promotes public policies that it believes would empower young adults age 18 to 20 to make mature decisions about the place of alcohol in their own lives.History
McCardell has a PhD in history from Harvard, and attended Johns HopkinsJohns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins was a wealthy American entrepreneur, philanthropist and abolitionist of 19th-century Baltimore, Maryland, now most noted for his philanthropic creation of the institutions that bear his name, namely the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the Johns Hopkins University and its associated...
and Washington and Lee prior to that; he has raised two adult children; he also received the Allan Nevins Prize from the Society of American Historians, and among other issues, Choose Responsibility compares the results of current drinking laws to the failure of laws associated with Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
to maintain and enforce a reduction in alcohol use.
Experts in several fields of research make up Choose Responsibility's board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
.
Projects
The organization promotes its views through a program of research, publication, education, and related activities.Choose Responsibility has proposed a comprehensive program that combines incentives and rewards for responsible behavior by young people, and punitive measures for irresponsible behavior (i.e. the carrot and stick
Carrot and stick
Carrot and stick is an idiom that refers to a policy of offering a combination of rewards and punishment to induce behavior. It is named in reference to a cart driver dangling a carrot in front of a mule and holding a stick behind it...
approach). The organization promotes a multi-faceted approach that combines education, certification, and provisional licensing for 18-20 year-old high school graduates who choose to consume alcohol.
Choose Responsibility notes Vermont introduced a bipartisan bill in 2006, to attempt a program similar to that which Choose Responsibility advocates, but Vermont would lose federal highway funding if the measure were approved. The Amethyst Initiative
Amethyst Initiative
The Amethyst Initiative is an organization made up of U.S. college presidents and chancellors that in July 2008 launched a movement calling for the reconsideration of U.S...
, a project run by Choose Responsibility asks lawmakers "to consider whether the 10% highway fund 'incentive' encourages or inhibits [an informed and dispassionate] debate" Since the enactment of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, most states allow for very few instances where someone under the age of 21 can possess or drink alcohol, and a pilot program such as what Vermont considered is not an exception that is provided for, under current federal law. The act is up for review next year.
In July 2008, McCardell and over 100 other college presidents launched the Amethyst Initiative
Amethyst Initiative
The Amethyst Initiative is an organization made up of U.S. college presidents and chancellors that in July 2008 launched a movement calling for the reconsideration of U.S...
, which calls for discussion and reconsideration of the drinking age. The project received major press coverage and both praise and criticism.
Articles
- Flynn, Sean. "Should the drinking age be lowered?" ParadeParade (magazine)Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 500 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.2 million and a readership of nearly 70...
. August 12, 2007. - "Debate on lower drinking age bubbles up: proponents say current restriction drives teen alcohol use underground". MSNBC.comMsnbc.commsnbc.com is a news website owned and operated as a joint venture by NBCUniversal and Microsoft.In addition to original content from its news staff, msnbc.com is the news website for the NBC News family, with content from the cable television news channel MSNBC, NBC shows such as Today, NBC Nightly...
, August 24, 2007 - McCardell, Jr., John. "What your college president didn’t tell you". New York Times editorial. September 13, 2004.
- "The case against 21: Lowering the drinking age", National ReviewNational ReviewNational Review is a biweekly magazine founded by the late author William F. Buckley, Jr., in 1955 and based in New York City. It describes itself as "America's most widely read and influential magazine and web site for conservative news, commentary, and opinion."Although the print version of the...
. April 2007. - "A sobering proposal". Chronicle of Higher Education. Live discussions. April 5, 2007.
- "Binge drinking and the drinking age". Huffington Post. City NewspaperCity NewspaperCity Newspaper is the alternative weekly newspaper of Rochester, New York. It has been published since 1972 and its current circulation makes it the second-largest newspaper in the greater Rochester region....
(Rochester, New York). May 8, 2007. - Routly, P. "All stirred up: A former Vermont college prez is leading a national campaign to lower the drinking age". Seven DaysSeven Days (newspaper)Seven Days is an alternative weekly newspaper that is distributed every Wednesday in Vermont. Seven Days is published by Da Capo Publishing, Inc., and owned by Pamela Polston and Paula Routly. It is distributed free of charge throughout the following areas: Burlington, Middlebury, Montpelier,...
. August 22, 2007.