Just over half of Americans (52%) believe the legal drinking age should stay at 21. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 31% think it should be lowered to 18.

Recently, a group of over 100 college presidents, including those from Duke, Dartmouth and Middlebury, have proposed lowering the drinking age to 18 as a way to combat excessive drinking on campuses. They point to Europe as an example of how a lower drinking age can “prepare young people for alcohol responsibility.” Not surprisingly, the proposal has drawn some very negative response, particularly from Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the group that successfully lobbied for raising the drinking age back in 1984.

Overall, men are more in favor of the lower drinking age than women. While 37% of men think the age should be 18, only 27% of women agree. Nearly the same number of men and women believe the drinking age should stay at 21.

Men under 40 are most in favor of the lower drinking age. Over half of men in this age demographic (52%) think the drinking age should be 18, compared to just 32% of men over 40. Just 28% of women under 40 and 26% of women over 40 think the drinking age should be 18.

Though most adults are not enthusiastic about the idea of a lower drinking age, most believe that more needs to be done on college campuses to combat underage binge drinking. Over half (57%) of adults say colleges and universities are not doing enough to stop underage drinking, while just under a quarter (24%) believe they are. More women (62%) than men (52%) think colleges are not doing enough to address the problem. Just 16% of women think colleges are doing enough, compared to 32% of men.

Adults are evenly divided in terms of how this movement to lower the drinking age affects the decision of where to send their kids to school. Nearly half of adults (44%) say they would not send their children to a college whose president supports reducing the drinking age, while 41% say they would. Again, women are more likely than men to say they would not send their children to a college whose president supports the idea.

Most adults (71%) have a favorable opinion of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, while just 11% have an unfavorable view of the group. A higher percentage of women (77%) have a favorable view than men (64%).

The majority of adults (52%) say they have been following stories on the drinking age issue at least somewhat closely, while 46% say they have not been following the story closely.

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