It's true. At age 21, I am allowed by law to participate in all manner of destructive activities, such as drinking, smoking or voting for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz). I can rent a dirty movie, but not a car.
I realize there are exceptions. Some rental companies make allowances for approved corporate or government contracts or in certain states. But in the eight seconds of thorough research I did before writing that sentence, I could not find a single rental car agency that would allow anyone between the ages of 18 and 25 to rent from them without (1) a verifiable reason for the exception and (2) an additional daily fee. This isn't a legal matter; it's just an arbitrary regulation adopted by the entire industry with the sole purpose, I assume, of inconveniencing me. As both an American and a college student, I have an irrational belief that I am entitled to everything. Nothing angers me more than inconvenience.
Consider this scenario: You're a 23-year-old Princeton graduate and have been hired to work in the public relations division of Tate-Hamilton Corporation, a large Detroit-based firm that makes, among other things, organic insecticide. The company is one of the sponsors of the Atlanta Garden Club's annual convention and wants to send a representative from the PR department. Nobody volunteers, and as the newbie, you soon find yourself stepping off a plane at Georgia's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. But when you arrive at the Hertz rental desk, there's a problem.
Though Tate-Hamilton reserved a car for you, the Hertz employee (Ryan) informs you that the rental contract does not stipulate an underage driver and an additional fee is required. You agree to cover it, knowing you'll be reimbursed, but Ryan won't allow it since you don't have the company credit card used to open the account. After much argument and two calls to Detroit, the problem isn't solved.
Luckily, orchid enthusiast Jon Kerner, behind you in line and also headed to the convention, kindly offers you a ride in his rental. You're 40 minutes late so you graciously accept and don't complain even when he runs a third red light. But then Jon attempts to merge without looking in front of the convention center's main entrance, swerving violently onto the sidewalk and doing irreparable damage to a prize-winning topiary (plus a statue of former Georgia governor Thomas Hardwick). You step out of the midsize sedan to face a mass of horrified onlookers and think, "This never would have happened if I could only rent a car."
While that situation may be highly imaginative and unnecessarily detailed, it does highlight the reality: Sending someone under 25 on a business trip can be a hassle if he or she needs personal transportation. And that's in the corporate world. What if you're on vacation? Say I'd like to visit Northern California, and I can only get there by plane. If I can't rent a vehicle, how will I get around? In a city you can take public transport, but I don't think anything like the C-Line reaches the citrus orchards of the Sacramento Valley.
Thankfully, I am prepared to offer a solution. A group called the Amethyst Initiative has been circulating among college administrators a petition asking that the drinking age be lowered to 18. In spite of the many arguments of varying flimsiness supporting the Initiative, President Tilghman recently stated that she would not sign the petition because she doesn't sign any petitions she doesn't have clear opinions on.
Well, President Tilghman, you've read my column (I know you do regularly from the e-mails you send me). You see my reasoning is flawless. I implore you, as leader of a highly respected institution, to sign my petition to lower the car-rental age from 25 to 18. If the government thinks I'm old enough to fight and die for this country, then I'm old enough to ride around it in a 2004 Honda Civic with a broken cupholder and a coffee stain on the passenger seat. (But without the insurance - that's where they getcha.)
Brandon Lowden is an electrical engineering major from McKees Rocks, Pa. He can be reached at blowden@princeton.edu.
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