Durham, NC - The public is invited to attend a symposium, "The 21-Year-Old Drinking Age: End it, Mend it, or Leave it Alone," from 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19, at Duke University.

 The symposium, sponsored by Duke's Center for Health Policy, will be held in Lecture Hall 04 of the Sanford Institute of Public Policy. Free parking is available in the Sanford Institute lot off Science Drive.

 The symposium will include Duke students presenting research findings and policy recommendations that address the issue of underage drinking. Following the student presentation, a panel of experts will respond to the student presentation and add their own insights into policies related to the minimum drinking age. The panel will include:

-- Eugene A. Conti, former assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation during the Clinton Administration and former chief operating officer of the N.C. Department of Transportation;

-- Craig Lloyd, executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving North Carolina;

-- John M. McCardell Jr., professor and president emeritus of Middlebury College;

-- Robert J. Thompson, dean of Duke's Trinity College and chair of Duke's Campus Culture Initiative.

Philip Cook, a Duke professor of public policy studies and leading national expert on youth drinking, will moderate the discussion.