Citing that it could take away the temptation to rebel, a local educator said he wants the legal drinking age lowered.

Scott Miller, president of Bethany College, is one of about 100 college and university presidents who are taking part in the Amethyst Initiative.

The movement is calling for lawmakers to lower the drinking age to 18 instead of 21. The theory is that it would reduce the amount of binge drinking on college campuses.

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"The binge drinking that we're seeing on the three campuses I've presided over in the last 18 years is primarily in the group of 18, 19, 20 year olds," Miller said.

Bethany senior Mary Lu Adams, 21, also supports the idea.

"Students are experiencing for the first time freedom on a large scale and they want to exercise that freedom," Adams said. "It's a little tempting to break the rules a little bit."

Opponents of the change, like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said lowering the drinking age would increase fatal crashes.

Miller, however, said with the right education and preparation, 18-year-olds can handle the new right just as they're given other major responsibilities.

"I think if you're old enough to represent your country at war that you should be able -- that you're old enough -- to make mature decisions about the consumption of alcohol," Miller said.

Justin Miller, a junior at Bethany, agreed.

"The risks are always the same. The risks don't go away no matter what the age is," he said.