The Nation - News from Dec. 2, 1985

Raising New York’s drinking age from 19 to 21, which started Sunday, should make roads safer by cutting down on drunken driving, state officials said, but they admitted Washington’s threat to withhold $90 million in highway funds also was a consideration. College students are grousing about the new law, but some say they expect to keep on drinking anyway. New York joins 31 other states in the nation that already have a minimum drinking age of 21. Another five states have approved legislation to raise their drinking ages to 21 sometime next year.