After reading the article on Aug. 19 stating college presidents say lowering the drinking age could help, I couldn’t even finish reading the paper without stopping to write this letter while the details were fresh in my mind.

I thought colleges and universities are supposed to be institutions of higher learning. Well, this definitely blows that theory out of the water. Where is the leadership? Where is the responsibility?

It sounds like the college presidents are saying, “If you can’t beat ‘ em, join ’em.”

Whenever drinking ages are lowered underage drinking sharply increases. As it is, there is a great deal of underage drinking on college campuses. If the drinking age was 18, there would be an increase in alcohol being provided to 16 and 17 year olds.

Some students rate colleges by how good of a “party school” they are. Along with this rating system comes the enterprise of someone who has the ability to make passable fake IDs. The more people drink, the higher the incidence of sexual assault against girls who are attending the parties, as well as drunken drivers on the road, as well as drunk students walking back to their own dorms and being accosted then robbed and raped.

If the drinking age is lowered, all it would accomplish is to turn college campuses into “spring break” all year.

The fact that the college presidents are unable to see and predict this is just ludicrous.

Come on college presidents, wake up!

Angelo Giberti, Lewiston