Spring Break
Amethyst Initiative panel, debate
Press Release
Issue date: 2/9/09 Section: News
"Our nation's legal drinking age of 21 is not working as well as the public may think. Its unintended consequences are posing increasing risks to young people. It is time for a serious debate among our elected representatives about whether current public policies are in line with current realities."
The above proposal is part of the Amethyst Initiative that has been signed by more than 130 college presidents, recently igniting a firestorm of controversy in the media.
Institutions of higher learning stand at the very center of this furious debate, whether they have taken a public position or not. If initial media response to the Amethyst Initiative is any indication, this topic will grow increasingly difficult to avoid or ignore. It would be a true disservice to the public to allow media sound bites to outweigh thoughtful discussion.
Clarkson is among those taking the opportunity for serious conversation. CUSA has announced their support for the Initiative.
The debate and panel discussion on March 11 is intended to be part of a greater effort to support informed and unimpeded debate on the drinking age and is one of the best approaches to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol use.
SPECTRUM, working with Dean of Students Kurt Stimeling, has brought together several elements that are leading to the March 11 debate.
Initiative 1: An on-line discussion, viewed by approximately 30 Clarkson faculty and staff on December 12, 2008, was led by John McCardell, President Emeritus of Middlebury College and Founder of Choose Responsibility (who implemented the Amethyst Initiative), and Brett Sokolow, an expert in campus safety, security and high-risk student health and safety issues. He is also the President of the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management (NCHERM), a national multidisciplinary risk management consulting firm.
Initiative 2: COMM392 - Special Topic: The Amethyst Initiative Debate (1-2 credit hours) was established with nearly a dozen students signing on. This special topic course is introducing students to the structure and exercise of formal policy and values debate. Students will expand their skills in communication, presentation, research, and analysis through the practice of college-level debate centered on current issues. The culmination of the course includes putting theory and sparring into practice in the form of a formal public debate on March 11.
The above proposal is part of the Amethyst Initiative that has been signed by more than 130 college presidents, recently igniting a firestorm of controversy in the media.
Institutions of higher learning stand at the very center of this furious debate, whether they have taken a public position or not. If initial media response to the Amethyst Initiative is any indication, this topic will grow increasingly difficult to avoid or ignore. It would be a true disservice to the public to allow media sound bites to outweigh thoughtful discussion.
Clarkson is among those taking the opportunity for serious conversation. CUSA has announced their support for the Initiative.
The debate and panel discussion on March 11 is intended to be part of a greater effort to support informed and unimpeded debate on the drinking age and is one of the best approaches to prepare young adults to make responsible decisions about alcohol use.
SPECTRUM, working with Dean of Students Kurt Stimeling, has brought together several elements that are leading to the March 11 debate.
Initiative 1: An on-line discussion, viewed by approximately 30 Clarkson faculty and staff on December 12, 2008, was led by John McCardell, President Emeritus of Middlebury College and Founder of Choose Responsibility (who implemented the Amethyst Initiative), and Brett Sokolow, an expert in campus safety, security and high-risk student health and safety issues. He is also the President of the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management (NCHERM), a national multidisciplinary risk management consulting firm.
Initiative 2: COMM392 - Special Topic: The Amethyst Initiative Debate (1-2 credit hours) was established with nearly a dozen students signing on. This special topic course is introducing students to the structure and exercise of formal policy and values debate. Students will expand their skills in communication, presentation, research, and analysis through the practice of college-level debate centered on current issues. The culmination of the course includes putting theory and sparring into practice in the form of a formal public debate on March 11.
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