Pubdate: Friday, 11 December 1998
Source: Standard-Times (MA)
Contact:  http://www.s-t.com/
Copyright: 1998 The Standard-Times
Author:  ROBERT O. BOARDMAN, New Bedford

INGREDIENT MISSING IN ANTI-BOOZE COCKTAIL

It was interesting to see your item on Dec. 8 about an attempt by two
dozen Boston area colleges to control student drinking. It appears
that there will be little attempt to enforce the laws against those
under 21 obtaining and using liquor.

Of course, if such laws were ever effectively enforced, those who can
vote at 18 but not drink until 21 might form an effective voting bloc
and we might see some new faces under that golden dome in Boston; and
of course the current residents there would not want that.

It is ironic to consider that many of those administrators who are
establishing these control policies were probably college students
themselves in the rowdy sixties and seventies, when smoking pot,
dabbling in hard drugs, protest, draft dodging and riot were wildly
worse than today, and they would not trust anyone over 30. Now it
appears that they do not trust anyone under 30, either.

Meanwhile, I recently saw a preliminary statistic showing that persons
using car telephones are as prone to accidents as those who have four
times the legal bloodalcohol level. When will we see "Mothers Against
Car Phones"?

ROBERT O. BOARDMAN
New Bedford

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Checked-by: Rich O'Grady