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18 or 21? Forum to Discuss Proposed Reduction in the Minimum Drinking Age is Set for April 2nd
A forum to discuss whether the minimum drinking age should be reduced from 21 to 18 years of age is scheduled for Thursday, April 2nd, from 5 to 7:00 p.m.
Hosted by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) of Middlesex County, Inc., the event will feature a discussion on the Amethyst Initiative, a movement coordinated by a number of prominent university presidents to have the legal drinking age lowered from 21 to 18. This issue was recently covered on the television show 60 Minutes and we want to continue the conversation locally. The event will be held at the Student Activity Center located on College Avenue, Rutgers University Campus in New Brunswick and will include a light dinner.
Moderated by Walter Kane of News12 New Jersey, the event will feature a panel comprised of local legislative leaders, educators, and college students — proponents of both sides of the discussion. Expected to lead the discussion are:
- Barrett Seaman – Barrett Seaman is the author of Binge: Campus Life in an Age of Disconnection and Excess. Published in 2006 by Wiley, the book is widely considered a must-read for the parents of every college-bound student. Choosing 12 colleges, among them Harvard, Berkeley, Duke and Stanford, Seaman spent two years living at colleges and investigating campus life. Seaman is a former Time magazine correspondent and senior editor, and a graduate and trustee of Hamilton College in Upstate New York. His August 2005 piece in Time titled, “How Bingeing Became the New College Sport” served as a wakeup call to parents across the country.
- Robert Pandina, Ph.D – Robert Pandina, Ph.D., serves as director of the Health and Human Development Laboratory of the Center of Alcohol Studies, which is conducting a longitudinal study of alcohol and drug-using behavior, its etiology, and its consequences. He is also a professor in the Department of Psychology.
- Upendra J. Chivukula – Mr. Chivukula has served in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2002, where he represents the 17th legislative district. Assemblyman Chivukula is the first Asian Indian American elected to the New Jersey General Assembly and the fourth Indian American in the United States to be elected to state office. Mr. Chivukula has been the Assembly’s Deputy Speaker since 2007. He serves in the Assembly on the Telecommunications and Utilities Committee (as Chair) and the Commerce and Economic Development Committee.
Students from the Rutgers community are also expected to join the debate as members of the panel and as members of the audience.
Event sponsors
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