While discussion of dangerous drinking problems at Penn State should consider all positions, the Nov. 17 editorial "Drinking age a worthy debate" failed to consider some facts.

First, contrary to anecdotal comments, data from the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs and the United States Monitoring the Future Survey indicate dangerous drinking levels are as high or higher among European youths. Most European countries also have higher cirrhosis death rates.

Second, even if a lower drinking age would reduce dangerous drinking, the negative secondary effects of the lower drinking age on drinking and alcohol related traffic accidents by persons under age 21 are substantial, according to a 2002 Journal of Studies on Alcohol entry.

Third, as a recent Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry study showed, dangerous drinking among American youths has dropped during the period after the increase in the drinking age. The only group that has not seen a reduction in dangerous drinking has been college students.

In short, the facts seem to show the problem is not the drinking age, it's the environment, culture and policies that fail to address dangerous drinking in college communities.

Dennis Shea

professor of health policy and administration