The Hardest Lesson to Learn 
“Trust me, Dad, I know better.” Those were the last words Jeff Levy remembers his 20-year-old son, Jonathan, saying to him two days before a night of partying with college friends on Halloween 1997.

Jonathan's Story

Jon, shortly before his death

Jeff did trust Jon. After all, Jon had, just a couple of months earlier, proven he could clean up his act after two alcohol-related incidents during his college freshman year, culminating in his crashing a friend’s car and receiving a DUI. Jeff decided after that to pull Jon out of school until his son understood responsibility and consequences, and to ensure he was safe. He quickly started to understand that once you pack a son or daughter off to college, they are not under a watchful eye on campus. They are not always safe. 

Jeff decided Jon had proven himself and could return to Radford University to complete his business degree. Two and a half months later, Jon’s grades were significantly better, he was working out at the gym daily, he was calling home and all seemed fine. Just before Halloween, when Jon spoke to his father by phone about how well he was doing in school, Jeff reminded him of all they’d been through and of his concern for Jon’s safety. Finally, Jeff said “Jon, you know you are still underage and cannot drink.” Jon’s response – “Trust me Dad, I know better.” 

A Tragic Crash with Devastating Consequences

On Halloween night 1997, Jeff Levy’s world changed forever. He and his family were notified that Jonathan had been killed in an alcohol-related car crash, along with an 18-year-old student from a nearby school who was drunk and driving the car and a young college professor from Jon’s school, a mother of five, who was innocently driving another car. One of Jon’s friends survived the crash, but suffered extensive injuries including serious brain damage.

The effects of that Halloween are far-reaching. Five college students died in alcohol-related incidents in Virginia that one weekend. College binge drinkers don’t just harm themselves; they harm fellow students, faculty and the community as a whole.

“The suggestion that kids drink because it's against the law is ludicrous. They drink because it's the culture on college campuses, because there are so often no consequences and because there is alcohol everywhere."– Jeff Levy, father of Jonathan Levy

Jonathan's Legacy, Jeff's Mission

Jeff Levy lives with the destructive effects of college binge drinking and drunk driving every day; he lives without his son. Jeff doesn’t understand how society has come to accept that binge and underage drinking and drunk driving are considered acceptable behaviors and an inherent part of campus culture in this country. His tragedy compelled him to take action; Jeff is a member of the MADD National Board. He has become a strong supporter of the 21 Minimum Drinking Age Law and in the campaign to eliminate underage and binge drinking on college campuses.  He travels to universities and colleges nationwide to observe the drinking culture, talk to college leaders and share his son’s story. He has concluded that there is a lot of work to be done to change the alcohol-intense culture that exists on some college campuses. He urges parental notification, alcohol intervention and treatment and the threat of serious consequences including suspension or expulsion for repeat offenders, as solutions to this effect.

An estimated 25,000 lives have been saved by the 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age. (NHTSA, 2008)

Underage drinking, particularly in the university setting, is a serious problem that requires serious reflection. The problem should be examined without jeopardizing a law that has saved nearly 25,000 lives since going into effect.

• Alcohol is the number one youth drug problem in America.¹
• More young people die from alcohol-related incidents than from all other illicit drugs combined.²
• An estimated 1,700 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die each year from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes. Approximately 600,000 students are unintentionally injured while under the influence of alcohol.³
• More than 30 percent of college students abuse alcohol and six percent are dependent on alcohol – rates much higher than for young adults who are not in college.⁴
• The problem of binge drinking is worse among college-age students in college versus those who are not in college.⁵
• The earlier youth drink (average age of first drink is about 16), the more likely they will become dependent on alcohol and drive drunk later in life.⁶

1 SAMHSA, 2004 
2 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2000 
3 Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking, 2007 
4 Knight et al, 2002 
5 Slutske, et al, 2004; Johnson, et al, 1997 
6 Grant & Dawson, 1997. Hingson et al, 2003. Hingson & Kenkel, 2004

MADD supports the 21 Minimum Drinking Age Law in our work to prevent underage drinking and eliminate drunk driving to save young lives and protect young minds.

Sign our pledge and join MADD’s broad coalition of congressional leaders, public health stakeholders and concerned citizens to stand strongly united in support of the 21 minimum drinking age.