21-only ordinance benefits students, community

By Sally Mason ---------

I write as a private citizen and resident of Iowa City in support of keeping the minimum bar entry age at 21 after 10 p.m.

Underage drinkers' safety and health are profoundly threatened by the relationship some have with alcohol. I am firmly convinced that the new 21 ordinance reduces that threat.

Many young drinkers drink in ways that are too risky. Among UI students, a greater proportion report suffering harm than on the average college campus. Consider these chilling statistics for those who used alcohol within the past year:

l 25 percent of UI students (1.6 times the national average) report that they experienced physical injury.

l 51 percent (1.5 times the average) did something they regretted.

l 9 percent (2.0 times the national average) got in trouble with the police.

l 49 percent (1.7 times the national average) forgot where they were, suggesting that some of the other harms may, in fact, be underestimated.

UI students are harmed by alcohol more than their peers on the average campus because too many drink excessively. Binge drinking among UI students is 70 percent; compare this with a national average of 33 percent. On average, UI students' experience is much more pernicious than “just college students having a drink.”

Accessibility is one of several empirically established predictors of high binge-drinking rates. Simply put, more young people consume more alcohol where it is easier to obtain. Published research shows that underage drinkers become more intoxicated in bars than those of legal age, itself a good reason to keep them out of bars.

The minimum bar entry age of 21 increases safety mainly by decreasing the total number of young people drinking on any given night. Some suggest that underage drinkers will just drink elsewhere. This strikes me as implausible. Students' willingness to pay a cover charge suggests that bars offer a more attractive experience than other drinking venues. At least some underage drinkers, absent the bar experience, will choose to drink less or less frequently.

More importantly, the defeatist assumption that drinking opportunities in downtown bars will be replaced one-for-one by drinking opportunities in other venues assumes no other changes in the environment. In addition to the city's implementation of the 21 ordinance, city/university collaborations (e.g., increased enforcement of the disorderly house ordinance, university sanctions for off-campus offenses, education of students on the responsibilities of living in a neighborhood) are aimed at significantly reducing the total volume of alcohol consumed by young - especially underage - drinkers.

A minimum bar entry age of 21 will have a positive effect on the culture and reputation of Iowa City, the home of the

University of Iowa, as a safe, healthy place for young people to visit and attend college. Supporting the 21 ordinance by voting “no” on Nov. 2 will lead to a safer, healthier and brighter future for everyone in our community.

Sally Mason of Iowa City is president of the University of Iowa. Comments: sallykmason@gmail.com