UF President Bernie Machen's logic was off on blaming Andrew Enriquez's death on underage drinking. The fact that Enriquez drank while 20-years-old is not what killed him. He may, however, have been intoxicated while driving. Such was the case when Austin Wright hit Gainesville Police Department Lt. Corey Dahlem on that tragic April night.
Wright was 21 and drinking legally. While I do not necessarily condone underage drinking, it is not the problem it is made out to be. How many underage people drank this weekend across the country without an incident?
What Machen, UF, Gainesville and other communities should focus their energy on is stopping drinking and driving. College students will drink; nothing will change that. Whether someone was 20 or 21 is irrelevant as long as he or she was drinking responsibly. It doesn't matter if someone is 20 or 30, driving after drinking could kill you.
Clearly, we as a society need to work on drinking and driving; age is irrelevant in this battle.
