Drinking age debate fills the August doldrums

An initiative to reopen the debate on the drinking age, led by a consortium of college presidents (called the Amethyst Initiative), has hit the jackpot in media coverage during the mid-August higher ed reporting doldrums.

Within the past few days, the story has been reported in more than 600 articles (see the Google news roundup here, and a listing of blog hits here. The last 24 hours alone have seen stories in the Chicago Trib, the LA Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, MSNBC, Christian Science Monitor, and AFP, among others.

John McCardell, the initiative's leader, made a presentation on his efforts at the NAICU annual meeting in February - click here for audio excerpts and powerpoint.

The initiative's statement of purpose is to "call upon elected officials to weigh all the consequences of current alcohol policies and to invite new ideas on how best to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol use."

If they're looking to open the debate, then the explosion of coverage indicates success. The initiative has raised criticism from several sources, including MADD and the Governors Highway Safety Association.