NJ lawmakers examine underage drinking problem

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - November 17, 2008 The Senate Education Committee will address the problem during a special hearing on Monday.

Senate President Richard Codey says it's important to try to find realistic ways to reach teenagers and make campuses safer.

The hearing was called, in part, to address the Amethyst Initiative, a movement to rethink the legal drinking age of 21. College presidents and chancellors say there is a culture of dangerous drinking on campuses despite the minimum drinking age.

Rider University freshman Gary DeVercelly Jr. of California died of alcohol poisoning last year after drinking at a fraternity house. Eighteen-year-old University of Delaware student Brett Griffin, of Kendall Park, N.J., died last week of a suspected alcohol overdose.

The hearing starts at 10 a.m.

Click here to get the latest Philadelphia news and headlines from across the Delaware and Lehigh valleys.

Copyright © 2024 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.