"I don't think that's fair. Honestly I think if you're out there fighting for our rights and stuff then you should be able to have a beer", said 19 year old David Jones.

Jones agrees with the Amethyst Initiative.

"Yeah I think it'd be a good idea to lower the drinking age. I mean just because you're in college... you're considered an adult, you can be prosecuted as an adult so why not? I mean that's like a right being taken away from you".

The Amethyst Initiative has brought this issue up again as over 100 university presidents from Duke to West Texas A&M are all calling for a change. But President David Watts of University of Texas of the Permian Basin isn't convinced.

"If you make alcohol legally available to 18 to 21 year olds you will have much higher levels of problems", said Watts.

And many of his UTPB students think he's correct.

"I think it's a bad idea", said sophomore Steve Gandara.

"21...where it is right now would be pretty good", said freshman Christian Fierro.

"I kind of think it'd be a bad idea because there's a lot of high schoolers that are 18... so?", said Jalesa Abney.

But the Amethyst idea has caught on with others.

"It'd be more casual, laid back drinking instead of like binge drinking and stuff like that", said 18 year old Adam Hill.

"It'd probably be less accidents going on without kids you know sneaking off to get what they need", said 21 year old Julian Lopez.

Despite enthusiasm and momentum behind the initiative President Watts still questions the possible effects.

"What happens when the folks leave those controlled environments? We're right back to where we are today".

The Amethyst Initiative began as an idea at Vermont's Middlebury College in June 2008.

The name was chosen because of the Greek meaning of Amethyst- "not intoxicated" and the ancient belief of the purple gemstone warding off intoxication.

To learn more visit the website at www.amethystinitiative.org