Whereas the New University reported on October 6^th of 2008 that University of California President Mark G. Yudof declined to sign the Amethyst Initiative and,

Whereas the Amethyst Initiative seeks to reopen the debate concerning the 21 year-old drinking age and its effects and,

Whereas the Amethyst Initiative does not condone a particular change to the current policy of barring individuals under 21 from consuming alcohol but seeks to question if “current public policies are in line with current realities” through an educated discourse and,

Whereas it is part of the mission of the University of California to engage in informed, academic debate, to support free thinking and academic freedom, and to support free speech and,

Whereas the Presidents and Chancellors of other notable colleges and universities such as Duke, Darthmouth, Washington & Lee, Notre Dame, DePauw, Johns Hopkins, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, and the University of Maryland System have signed the initiative,

Therefore let it be resolved that the Associated Students of the University of California at Irvine kindly request that President Mark G. Yudof reconsider his decision not to sign the initiative, that he thoughtfully engage in the discourse which the Amethyst Initiative seeks to create, and that the University of California promote the “informed and unimpeded debate on the 21 year-old drinking age” as a University system dedicated to academic freedom and free thought.