"People find ways around the age limit," said F. Arthur Jones '99, a Louisiana native. "It's pretty easy to get into bars."

Hubert B. Nguyen '99 agreed. "I don't think [the age limit] will have any impact on the drinking because [bars] were pretty lenient to begin with."

LSU first-year Samuel T. Singer, who transferred from Vanderbilt University last fall, justified the younger minimum age on pragmatic grounds. An earlier exposure to alcohol teaches people to drink more responsibly, he said.

"In Louisiana with the drinking age being lower, you grew up with it being lower so students are a lot more mature about it," Singer said. "Up at Vanderbilt they were out of control. Here [at LSU], whenever we go out we have designated drivers."

Despite widespread support among newly-legal students, officials from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) have voiced vehement opposition.

MADD National President Katherine Prescott said in a statement that the law will lead to more alcohol-related car accidents and signals "a huge step backward in our fight against drunk driving and underage drinking."

"[S]tates with differing minimum drinking ages create 'blood borders' where young people travel across state lines to drink and then drive home dangerously impaired," according to Prescott.