Talk in Wisconsin about lowering the drinking age to 19. Do you think a state with a lower drinking age would attract more college applicants?
Probably. Look how many kids in the past few years discovered their burning desire to see the beauty of Colorado? 
In SW Florida 10 years ago if you asked 100 HS students where they wanted to go to college, maybe 1 or 2 would mention Colorado and those 1 or 2 were interested in a particular CO school for a specific reason, had family there or were skiiers. The last couple of years, we know dozens of students who have applied to CO schools.
No, I don’t think so. Alcohol is readily available, to most underage drinkers, even in HS. Fake IDs are a booming business.
As someone who lives in a border county – between WI & IL – I would not welcome back the days when WI had a lower drinking age than IL and young adults were piling in cars to go party across the border. Too many heartbreaking drunk driving accidents.
I think it would make sense to have a drinking age of 19 for beer, wine, and ciders.
I’m not sure it’d be enough to attract students to Wisconsin (costs matter to their parents regardless of how much kids want access to legal beer) but if beer/wine is available legally in bars, it may keep young people from unsupervised drinking in frats.
Wouldn’t the state lose federal funding for highway projects, etc.? I thought that was the original impetus for raising the age.
For the original question, maybe, but the only kid I personally know who goes to school in Wisconsin doesn’t drink, at least according to my sons, who are his friends.
^Have they forgotten why they raised them all to 21 in the first place?
When my sibling went to SUNY Buffalo in the 80s, the university would hire a bus to bring the students to Fort Erie Ontario where the drinking age was 18, which was better than having them drive there. I don’t think it attracted a lot of extra students to Buffalo because of it, it was just a nice perk to compensate for Buffalo winter!
I left a state where it was legal to drink at 18 to go to college in Colorado where it was only legal to drink 3.2 beer until age 21. Just as much drinking real alcohol in bars and at parties as there was in my home state. And drug use was ubiquitous. I don’t think legal age makes one bit of difference once in college.
That was the law in Illinois during my college days (1970’s).
The difference is not in how much drinking there is, but in how it is done.
I believe federal regulations require that any state lowering its drinking age to below age 21 would lose 8% of the federal highway funds they otherwise would have received.
Yes, as a parent I’d be happy to know my kid would not get a misdemeanor MIP like in Michigan. I’m sure there are plenty of OS parents with kids in Michigan who get a shock when they realize the severity of an MIP in Michigan, the court date, the fines, the record. I know one of my kids held the hand of a young woman who had to call her parents…not fun…not cheap…you can get them expunged or delayed adjudication but lawyer fees are nothing to sniff at. I"m all for 18 to capture most of the kids who head off to college and prevent this type of issue.
^Aren’t there other issues to consider here?
I don’t think t will pass. We cannot afford to lose the fed funding for roads. There are tons of road projects already postponed and on hold due to lack of money in the budget for repairs.
If a person can vote, can get married, and is required to die for the country at the age of 18 then he/she should have the rights and privileges that other older adults have. And the brains of younger adults and older adults are equally impaired by alcohol.
Well, federal funding is a big stick/carrot to keep all states from allowing drinking under the age of 21.
The governor has shown a willingness to give up large amounts of federal funding when it suits his political goals. It’s not clear to me that he’d want to sign a bill lowering the drinking age and losing federal funding in an election year, however.
Hope they don’t. There was beer only at 18 when I started college and Madison had beer bars. Then everything became 18 (end of Vietnam war era with arguments for voting et al if could be sent to die…). Then 21, which worked for son who was a couple of years ahead. I can’t see how one can justify beer and wine when one can get just as drunk as with other alcohol. I guess the 19 is to keep it out of the HS’s. When illegal many of those in the student section carried soft containers under their coats filled with rum. Common to hear students asking for “mix” instead of Coke. I’m sure son did not have a virgin liver before being legal- you could tell when he was offered wine/champagne for at home holidays. UW also has had a party reputation.
Hmm- maybe the additional monies taken in with application fees will offset the loss of federal highway funds…