The Youtube video leaves little to the imagination.
Entitled simply "Tailgating Video" the post is said to have been taped "at Towson University (Towson Maryland) 10/13/2007 (as) students and fans showed up to...cheer on their team."
Its tags include "Towson University, Drinking, Partying, Tailgating and Football"
As the video plays the student activities appear to include beer pong, chugging contests, and funneling something other than gatorade.
NCAA REGULATIONS:
For its member schools the NCAA Executive committee promotes "legal and responsible use of alcohol by fans outside the stadium or arena (e.g., tailgating). Prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages during all preseason, regular season, conference and postseason intercollegiate athletic events.
It also prohibits on-site alcohol advertising during events, and prohibits media advertising of alcohol beverages that exceed six percent alcohol by volume.
COACHES WANT CHANGE:
Last Month More than 100 college coaches sought a tougher stance on alcohol advertising during athletic events asking NCAA President Myles Brand to eliminate ALL alcohol advertising in telecasts of college sports. “We strongly urge you to take actions against all alcohol advertising—including beer advertising—on NCAA sports telecasts,”
The effort had the support of 59 college presidents and 239 athletic directors.
But the NCAA Executive committee declined to make any changes in its advertising policy.
THE "CURRENT REALITIES":
Alcohol seems a component of tailgating as a custom.
Like many other schools across the country trustees at Michigan State University in 2005 adopted a policy banning open containers on campus.
The exception: on home football game days, open alcohol containers will be allowed for those of legal drinking age in tailgate lots.
Ohio State University's Official Policy is "Underage drinking and excessive consumption are not acceptable or legal and will not be condoned or tolerated"
Since 1984 legal drinking age across the country has been 21 years old. That doesn't stop alcohol from flowing on college campuses.
In its "Alcohol Alert" The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism concludes: Research consistently shows that people tend to drink the heaviest in their late teens and early to mid-twenties. This high level of alcohol use comes at an age when people are moving away from parental restrictions but before they take on the full responsibilities of adult life.
At this moment 129 college and university presidents and chancellors are petitioning lawmakers to "re-think" the legal drinking age
16 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
BabyTate 10 months ago
Good Grief, this is one of the finest editorials I've read.
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J.C. Hagan 10 months ago
With as regulation-happy as the NCAA is, I'm amazed they haven't taken further steps to regulate tailgating and alcohol use on a national scale, especially since the NFL - who profits massively from alcohol use without blinking an eye - has even taken steps to curb tailgating.
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Justin Goar 10 months ago
joe alleva, the new LSU AD, has one job and one job only.
DON'T MESS WITH TAILGATING AT LSU!!!!
and if he has time, some improvement for the bball program would be great, thanks!
good read btw. alcohol and college goes hand in hand and it always has. this isn't a new thing. raising/lowering the age isn't gonna stop it.
it was 18 in La. until i was 20 yrs old. (that was a long 10 months). i went to a party when raising the age in La. was a hot topic and i met this state legislator from Ms. and on the topic he said and i quote,
"son, i'm 59 years old, and if they raise the drinking age tomorrow to 58, i wouldn't give a @$#%."
he was drunk at the time.
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Michael Oleszek 10 months ago
In the 11 years I have been regularly going to college football games, and by regularly I mean more than 1 game a year, I have drank underage on multiple occasions, gotten into and been served at bars that required you to be 21 and over, purchased alcohol underage, drank legally at 21, got my underage (16) brother drunk, and the list could go on. The majority of the times I drank underage was in full view of alumni, parents, friends' parents, children, cops, and no one did or said anything about it. Nobody ever carded me or blinked an eye when I ordered a beer or bought JD at the liquor store. The worst part is, I'm sure i'm not the only one out there with stories like this.
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David Nethers 10 months ago
Michael,
Thanks for the read and the vote. Those opposed to re-thinking the legal drinking age include organizations like MADD which cite the National Institutes on Health statistics about underage drinking and traffic deaths. http://www.nih.gov/about/researchresultsforthepublic/AlcoholRelatedTrafficDeaths.pdr
What the college and university presidents and chancellors cite is just what you illustrate first hand, that 21 "Isnt working". Young people are still drinking..regardless of the law. The debate is whether changing the drinking age will promote drinking more responsibly.
There is also statistical data on the website for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism from polls done within the last 30 days of young people who both admit drinking and driving or being in a car where the driver has been drinking.
The initiative is just gaining momentum. The discussion will be interesting to follow.
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Michael Oleszek 10 months ago
I don't feel that lowering the drinking age is going to promote responsible drinking at all. It will only give the kids who already drinking underage a legal license to drink. It all starts with 'creative drinking' in the high schools, when kids go out to fields, woods, the beach, a house without parental supervision, etc. Anywhere to drink without Mom or Dad around. So, by the time they get to college, they're already experienced with alcohol. Add in the fact that Mom and Dad aren't around and the drinking gets way out of hand. At the games that I attended while being underage, it was like a rite of passage for the adults (over 21) involved to get the young (18-20) involved in the tailgate. They passed around beers and drinks like they were going out of style, and were OFFENDED if you refused. My parents put it in my hands at an early age that if I was going to drink, do drugs, have premarital sex, etc. that I damn sure better be ready to accept any and all consequences that may come with whatever I choose to do. I've had friends that have been on both sides of a drunk driving fatality, and while it hurts that I've lost friends, I already knew not to drive drunk. College kids all feel ten feet tall and bulletproof, and lowering the drinking age will do nothing to slow that feeling down.
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Chris Copeland 10 months ago
I must say, after my freshman year in college at MSU (2001), tailgates just weren't the same. It's just a blast to all gather at one designated spot and just party
No matter how hard the NCAA or campus police try, it's nearly impossibly to stop under-age drinking at tailgate, frats or house parties...
Instead of trying to control the situation, they should teach moderation and not going overboard (esp as a 1st year student).. that would probably have a much larger effect than the piss they are doing now...
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Kevin Paul 10 months ago
I know PSU often tries to crackdown on alcohol throughout tailgates... specifically for underage drinkers. It's tough with all those people around though, and for example, even a few years back as an alum, I went to the PSU/OSU night game and sat in the student section, there was some kid behind me (obviously under 21) who was so hammered, he couldn't even stand. He fell over onto me and then had to be escorted out by his friends...
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Brian Adams 10 months ago
another nice article, dont know how i survived college looking back on some of the things we did. I agree you cant stop it. especially on college campuses, the law isnt stopping ANYTHING.
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Ken Armer 10 months ago
Problem isn't tailgating, its the College culture itself. I've seen cops at the local "religious" university look the other way because they don't want to fill out paper work. I see girls on Fridays and Saturdays that are good church going girls on Sunday and could quote you anything from the bible Monday-Thursday. Now I am no saint, but i first attended the college, i found it very odd how many partook in such activities when many come because of the "faith based learning". Many college students I've seen seem to think its part of college and excusable. I've seen colleges in Texas do nothing but look the other way.
Does anyone notice how after age 21 public drunkenness is just plain stupid? Maybe lowering the age would have the same effect for 18 year olds. Or, possibly it would push the illegal activity to 14 year olds...either way things need to change or following generations will be drunken idiots worth nothing to society and the fancy degree they have will be useless because they're stuck in AA.
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Joe G 10 months ago
"Like many other schools across the country trustees at Michigan State University in 2005 adopted a policy banning open containers on campus.
The exception: on home football game days, open alcohol containers will be allowed for those of legal drinking age in tailgate lots. "
Good stuff, David. Five stars and POTD for me. But...
Have you been to an MSU home game since then? Open containers are fine for pretty much anybody except those acting incredibly stupid. I've seen plenty of underage Spartans walking around with open beers. As long as they're acting responsibly, the police will ignore it. I've even been able to drink on Munn Field during tailgates. Alcohol was supposedly banned on Munn Field in 1998, leading to some nasty rioting.
A little background on the open container law...it was in the works pretty much immedately after Notre Dame came to visit in 2004. That was a night game, and people were lining up to tailgate at 3 or 4 in the morning. Students were throwing up in the aisles at the game that night, somebody ended up getting raped after the game near one of the popular tailgating sites, and it was just terrible press all around for MSU. The administration immediately changed the tailgating rules (now you can't get there more than five hours before kickoff, give or take a few minutes) and got to work on the open container rule.
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David Nethers 10 months ago
Yes, i was on campus for the Michigan State, Ohio State game in 2006. It was a great experience. I was outside the stadium along with the tailgaters before the game and cant remember anything of consequence near me. In fact the only disorderly drunk I can recall was at a restaurant afterwards on our way home, just wanted to harass some buckeyes, and he wasnt a kid.
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David Nethers 10 months ago
Footnote to last reply: he (the guy in the restaurant) was an admitted UM fan....not Michigan State.
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Joe G 10 months ago
I remember that game. There was more scarlet and gray in the stadium that day than green and white.
Tailgating HAS gotten a lot better here though. When I was a freshman, the entire campus would reek of alcohol by 10AM or so. Now it usually doesn't until after the game, sometimes not at all.
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L.J. Burgess 10 months ago
This is a universal issue throughout the collegiate community.
I live in a county of 12,000 people with one of the oldest schools in the US and Washington College is pushing a lower drinking age initiative by the County Commission as we speak.
It's certainly THE hot topic in every campus boardroom right now.
5 Star, POTD editorial on a serious issue.
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Gray Ghost 10 months ago
Interesting. There seem to be no easy answers, but it definitely is a problem. One thing that stood out to me in this excellent article is the hypocrisy of the NCAA Exec. Committee.
The effort to eliminate alcohol advertising from NCAA sports had the support of "more than 100 college coaches", and "59 college presidents and 239 athletic directors." Yet the Exec's turned it down. Maybe they care more about the $$$ than they do the well-being of the students.
It seems foolish to me to wave a carrot and then criticize the rabbit for partaking. Very good article!
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