Alcohol on CampusIn the United States, the legal age to drink alcohol is 21.Americans debate whether it should be lowered,or whether young drinkers would only drink more.In parts of Europe, the legal drinking age for beer, and sometimes hard liquor, is 16.Yet France may raise the age limit for beer and wine sales to 18,the same as for hard liquor there.Rules on alcohol differ from college to college in the United States.Many schools require all first-year students to take an alcohol prevention and education program.Some have a "zero tolerance" policy where alcohol is banned from all buildings.Parents are informed of violations and students may be suspended.Campus police and local police report underage drinking violations to administrators.The university judicial committee decides punishment on a case by case basis.For example, the committee might suspend or expel a student.It might require an alcohol education program.
