Four years ago in October, five college students in four states drank themselves to death, reminding the nation of a problem that remains unsolved: binge drinking.

Some of the nation's best-known universities are provoking a national debate by joining a movement to ask lawmakers to consider lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18, saying it would discourage dangerous binge drinking on campus.

Some local college officials will not be among others in the nation jumping on board the Amethyst Initiative movement or giving students a wink with a "don't ask, don't tell" policy when it comes to alcohol use.

Valparaiso University President Mark Heckler welcomes the debate and, in fact, was invited to participate in the Amethyst Initiative and declined, said Reggie Syrcle, director of University Relations at VU.

"Lowering the age is not proven to reduce alcohol abuse so we're concerned it's not the right strategy," Heckler said.

Syrcle said scientific research shows no correlation. Heckler once taught in New York, where the drinking age was 18, and observed no change in consumption patterns, he added.

Last month, the Harvard School of Public Health reviewed the results of a 14-year landmark study that concluded binge drinking among students is tied to conditions in the college environment.

It found drinking was more common in colleges with a strong drinking culture, few alcohol control policies on campus and weak enforcement of existing policies. Also contributing are low prices and heavy marketing of alcohol.

Factors producing a "party campus" environment conducive to student drinking include schools that strongly influence sororities, fraternities, intercollegiate athletics and off-campus and unsupervised living arrangements, the study stated.

Both VU and Purdue University Calumet have strict no-alcohol campus policies. Wes Lukoshus, PUC's assistant vice chancellor for advancement, said disciplinary measures can lead to expulsion.

Understanding the problem

Binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks in a row for males and four or more for females on a single occasion. The Washington-based American Council on Education reports drinking problems actually start in high school.

Researcher Adrian Muhammad, of Enterprise Systems, said the highest percentage of alcohol use happens during transition periods such as elementary to middle school and middle to high school.

Muhammad conducted the 2008 Lake County Epidemiological Profile for the Lake County Drug Free Alliance, which was funded with state and federal grants. He believes lowering the age would be devastating.

"College presidents don't allow students to drive a car or pledge a sorority as freshmen in order to protect them so ... to lower the drinking age and throw alcohol into the mix isn't consistent and would confuse the message," he said.

Kitty Greene, Indiana's executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, is disappointed Hanover College, Holy Cross College and Butler University in Indiana signed onto the initiative.

She said she would like to see retailers responsibly sell liquor by strictly checking IDs and see other establishments stop making it easier to get drunk than go to a movie,.

"The earlier a person uses alcohol, the more likely they are to become dependent and drink later in life," she said. "The 21 drinking age saves 1,000 lives per year.

"We feel lowering the drinking age is only going to create a whole new host of problems. The college problem is going to become the high school problem. It's only common sense."

BREAKOUT

For the list of universities that backs the Amethyst Initiative, go to http://www.amethystinitiative.org/signatories/

Teen drinking: By the numbers

Percent of surveyed high school students who admitted to binge drinking in the past month

Hammond 20.90

Calumet 25.95

Merrillville 22.77

Gary 15.33

East Chicago 25.93

Lake Average 21.49

National 22.22

Indiana 21.79

Percent of surveyed students with consumed alcohol by high school

Hammond 68.2

Calumet 71.9

Merrillville 62.0

Gary 59.6

East Chicago 87.9

Average 65.4

Percent of surveyed students, by grade, who consumed alcohol

Sixth 36.7

Seventh 50.4

Eighth 57.8

Ninth 60.5

10th 50.5

11th 69.6

12th 67.4

Average 56.1

SOURCE: 2008 Lake County Epidemiological Profile: Identifying Consumption and Consequences of Alcohol, Tobacco & Drugs in Lake County

Binge drinking: the facts

* Binge drinkers in high school are three times more likely to binge in college.

* Just as many freshmen (those under 21) as seniors binge drink.

* Frequent binge drinkers are eight times more likely than others to miss a class, fall behind in schoolwork, get hurt or injured, and damage property.

* 75.1 percent of fraternity residents and 62.4 percent of sorority residents report binge drinking.

* 1,400 college students die every year from alcohol-related causes; 1,100 of these deaths involve drinking and driving.

SOURCE: Harvard University's School of Public Health; Robert Wood Foundation