The Duke University, Dartmouth College and Eckerd College presidents were among 100 college leaders calling for a discussion of lowering the drinking age to 18. They say current laws encourage binge drinking.
We asked some interested parties -- including a teenager, a bar owner, a bartender and a funeral home owner -- what they think of lowering the drinking age.
"I know people in high school who drink and that's well below the drinking age. I don't feel like lowering the drinking age would promote kids to drink; they're already exposed to it. The laws are used to keep people under 21 from drinking, but people under 18 drink. What is the success of that?"
Billy Vranish, 17, senior at Chamberlain High School in Tampa
"(Drinking) is something that I would like to maintain at the age of 21. Hopefully, the child would take the responsibility of following the rules. Their job is to get away with as much as possible; our job is to not let them get away with it."
Carolyn Hodges, 58, Dade City, owner of Hodges Funeral Home
"Our kids at 18, they can go fight for their country and lose their life, they can vote, they can certainly make the decision whether or not to drink. ... I think that in a way having it illegal adds to the whole aura and the whole mystique about going to do something that you're not allowed to do."
Barbara Rhode, 53, St. Petersburg, marriage and family therapist
"Eighteen concerns me because there are high school seniors who are 18. Easy access will make it that much easier for high school students to have it available at parties. ... I really don't see a whole lot of education going on about drinking (in the United States) other than 'don't.' "
Michele Perry, 45, New Port Richey, mother of three teens
"My entire family is from Denmark, and over in Europe they don't have a drinking age. When I was in Denmark, there were plenty of people that were around middle school (age) and they were drinking. They weren't necessarily getting drunk, but they were allowed to drink wine or beer. Nobody made a big deal out of it because they're used to it. That's what they do."
Sarah Kirstine, 24, St. Petersburg
"I know kids are doing everything they can to get around the (drinking age). I mean if they're 19 or 20, they have fake IDs. In a week's time I would say 10 to 15 times we catch kids trying to drink that aren't of age. When I was 18, the law was 18 and I don't think there was any more problems than there are now."
Mark Ferguson, 51, St. Petersburg, owner of Ferg's sports bar
"I can't necessarily say making every bar 21 and up is fair. I can't necessarily say lowering the drinking age is fair either. At 18, you don't seem old enough to accept that responsibility. You're just getting a grasp on driving, and you're adding alcohol to that? I can't believe that came out of my mouth, I feel so old right now."
Laura Jennings, 27, Clearwater, bartender at Czar in Ybor City
"They want to deter binge drinking. I don't think that they take into account that it's not going to change the desire on the part of some people who want to go out and binge drink. They just don't have to worry about any repercussions now."
Sgt. Steve Gaskins, 34, Florida Highway Patrol
"Back when it was 18, I thought that there was a higher incidence of younger people abusing alcohol. I was one of them probably. But ... if I remember back to that time, there were more younger people abusing it than in the higher age groups. I don't have any statistics to back it up, and it was a long time ago, but it was changed after a few years for a reason. And I think that reason that it was changed back to 21 is still valid now."
Paul Misiewicz, 55, St. Petersburg, worked at World Liquors when the drinking age was 18
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