21-only ordinance is a part of drinking solution

Dear members of the Iowa City Council:

Current and past members of the University of Iowa Parent Association Advisory Board strongly and emphatically support the 21-only ordinance for Iowa City bars which you have scheduled for a vote at your March 23 meeting.

As both University of Iowa President Sally Mason and Provost Wallace Loh recently stated, this ordinance is not about prohibition but about safety. The Parent Association Advisory Board also cares about and wants to make life for our students better. An arrest record for underage drinking or public intoxication can quickly derail a student's future career choices or employment opportunities.

Bar owners say they can't fully control underage drinking in their establishments. One strategy not tried yet is “21 only.” The one thing that can be controlled is the age. All bars in Ames have been 21 and over since the 1980s.

Tough underage drinking laws make sense and we support them. That said, individuals still can get alcohol elsewhere and that's a concern to all of us.

April is National Alcohol Awareness month. It began in 1987 with a primary focus on underage drinking and the devastating effects it can have on youths. Underage alcohol use is more likely to kill young people than all illegal drugs combined. More than 1,700 college students in the United States are killed each year (average of more than four per day) as a result of alcohol-related injuries, according to the Annual Review of Public Health.

We do realize that with 21-only, there is a concern that underage drinking simply will migrate to private house parties in Iowa City neighborhoods. Some individuals even theorize that the 43 downtown bars are somehow providing a community service by keeping the students in a confined, nine-square-block area. There is no research to support that keeping people in a confined area limits the problem. The problem is made worse.

And, as parents, we don't view binge drinking or “Thirsty Thursdays” as a rite of passage or a positive aspect of college life. Nor is the notion that the UI is a party school or the place to go on the weekend for easy alcohol access by high school and college age students in the state of Iowa and neighboring states.

It is the cumulative effect we should focus on and not let those who might suggest that “this alone will not solve the problem” sidetrack the overall objective and concern.

Citing a study from the Harvard School of Public Health regarding accessibility to alcohol (www.hsph.harvard.edu/cas/Documents/underminimum/DrinkingBehavior.pdf): “Whereas any single law may not have a significant impact on underage drinking, the cumulative effect of several of these laws may be strong.”

This problem needs to be dealt with directly and aggressively. The University of Iowa Parent Association Advisory Board promotes healthy lifestyles. Limiting access to those of legal drinking age in Iowa City's bars is a vital step in this process.

Submitted on behalf of the University of Iowa Parent Association Advisory Board by board President Susan Beck Bates of Arlington Heights, Ill.