Moxee man pushes initiative to lower drinking age

YAKIMA, Wash. — A Moxee man is proposing to lower the drinking age in the state to 19 from 21.

In an affidavit for a proposed initiative filed Wednesday, Dustin Reischman asks the Washington secretary of state to assign the initiative a number and submit it to the attorney general for a ballot title.

Reischman, a 22-year-old junior at Washington State University, said he began researching the topic last semester as an independent study project. He concluded that many college students drink illegally, which leads to binge drinking and other irresponsible behaviors.

"It seems like the way we are addressing the alcohol culture, trying to push it under the rug, is actually creating more problems," Reischman said. "My hope is that people become more responsible with their alcohol consumption."

Reischman said his proposal is independent of WSU and his role as director of public relations for the school's Intrafraternity Council, which governs member fraternities.

His affidavit states that the "taxpayer has had undue stress in enforcing the law for the age of consent to 21."

To earn a place on the November statewide ballot, 241,153 valid signatures of registered voters must be submitted by July 2.

The 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act, approved by Congress, required states to raise the age to 21 or risk losing federal transportation money.

John McCardell, the former president of Middlebury College in Vermont, caused a stir last year when he appeared on "60 Minutes" to advocate for a change of thinking about the presence of alcohol on college campuses.

He has started a nonprofit called Choose Responsibility "to stimulate informed and dispassionate public discussion about the presence of alcohol in American culture."

* Leah Beth Ward can be reached at 509-577-7626 or lward@yakimaherald.com