Freshmen and sophomores, no need to hide that beer, it is now OK for you to drink. I may have gotten a bit ahead of myself here, but such will be the case if more than 120 college presidents have their way. The Amethyst Initiative, sponsored by college presidents across the country, proposes that Congress lower the legal drinking age from the current 21 to 18, as it was in 1984.

This is no new debate, and there is no question where the majority of 18- to 20-year-olds stand. On the other hand, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has long been a proponent of the higher drinking age, citing studies that show a drastic drop in lives lost to drunk-driving during the 24 years since the age was raised. They have now come out in full-force against the Amethyst Initiative, and they have a point. Lives are being saved, and that's a good thing. Lives would also be saved if gun-ownership was illegal, criminals suspected of murder were given the death penalty and police officers were stationed on every street corner. There is a lot our country could do to protect the lives of its citizens, but at what cost? At what point does the government overstep its bounds and infringe upon our freedom?

It's been said before, but it bears repeating. If an 18-year-old can be trusted to vote responsibly, he or she should be trusted to drink responsibly. If an 18-year-old can serve our country in the military, he or she should be able to serve himself or herself a beer. If an 18-year-old can make the life-altering choice to get married, he or she should know better than to make the life-altering choice to drink and drive. They are either old enough to make all of these choices for themselves or they are not. They are either mature enough or they're not. It's a package deal.

Anyone who has spent a Friday night on a college campus since 1984 knows 18- to 20-year-olds haven't stopped drinking. Instead, underage college students now feel a need to hide from authorities. Students are afraid to take friends to the hospital when they've had too much to drink. They move parties off campus, far away from the university's watchful eye, allowing students to drink as much as they like without getting caught. Campus police and RAs are bad guys. With a lowered drinking age, focus can shift from punishing students to protecting them.

Telling students "no" only makes them want to drink more. It leads them to believe they are missing out on something. Alcohol must be something very special. It's the classic case of a toddler sneaking a cookie before dinner. A higher drinking age doesn't teach students how to drink responsibly, it teaches them how to drink clandestinely. Allow parents to introduce alcohol to their teenagers. Let it be an issue in the home, where parents can supervise and teach before entrusting their children to a world of frat parties and pre-games. There is no age that miraculously ensures a person is mature enough to drink. Maturity grows with time and experience. Let experience being "under-the-influence" begin while students are still under the influence of their parents, and suddenly drinking in college doesn't seem like such a rebellion anymore.

Neily Todd is a senior in the College of Arts and Science. She can be reached at neily.p.todd@vanderbilt.edu.