Students Plan Lobby Today On Liquor Bill

Students from more than ten Massachusetts colleges will rally this morning at 11 a.m. on Boston Common to lobby against a bill that would raise the drinking age to 21. The state legislature is expected to debate the bill this week.

The students will present two proposals to amend the bill, Arthur Wing, Northeastern University's representative to the Massachusetts Independent Student Congress, said last night.

The first proposal calls fro raising the legal drinking age to 19 for a one-year trial period, with a study at the end of the year to determine whether alcohol use has diminished in state high schools.

The second proposal suggests raising the drinking age to 19 for consumption of alcohol in restaurants and bars and to 21 for purchase of packaged liquor.

Another compromise to the pending bill proposed by representatives on the student congress is a "grandfather" clause, which would allow current 18-year-olds to keep their drinking privileges. Any new legislation would then affect only those under age 18.

Student representatives from 13 different Massachusetts colleges met Saturday at Bentley College in Waltham to discuss the proposals and their lobbying strategies at today's rally.

Harvard students have lobbied individually, John R. Gennari '82, said last night. He said he and his two roommates have worked briefly with the student congress, but that he knew of only a few Harvard students lobbying against the increase. "There's general apathy here--I was surprised," he added.

Gennari added that he and his roommates had circulated petitions Saturday at local bars opposing the proposed rise in the drinking age to 21 and calling for a test period with the drinking age set at 19. Gennari said most people he talked to think the drinking age should be 19