Increasing The Drinking Age From 18 To 21
Rough Draft #4
Increasing the drinking age from 18 to 21 caused a lot of debate. Many believed it would have done more good than it actually has done. Lesley Stahl, the CBS journalist, once said, "It hasn't reduced or eliminated drinking. It has simply driven it underground, behind closed doors, into the most risky and least manageable of settings." As Stahl states, the drinking is “underground” to an extent and very visible in universities. Underage drinking, and drinking in general is very visible at The Pennsylvania State University in University Park. Previously ranked number one party school numerous years in a row, the persona of Penn State is known as a party school. To change this reputation, the university decided to make the campus a dry campus. A dry campus is when a university prohibits alcohol on the campus regardless of age. Yet even being called a “dry” campus, alcohol is easily accessible and Penn State still remains one of the top party schools. While the intentions of the university administration meant well, making the campus a dry campus actually provides an unsafe environment for the students. Changing the campus from dry to wet will make the campus much safer. Creating an alcohol free university is physically impossible, but creating a safer environment for the students is possible and should be the main priority for the university. The first major problem of a dry campus is that it doesn’t eliminate parties; it moves them off campus. Students will walk ten or fifteen minutes to go to a party with their friends, a party filled with alcohol and drugs. Instead of going to their floor mates dorm, or their friends dorm room, students walk downtown, drink at a party and then attempt to return home. Even though the university attempts to stop drinking, underage drinking is very prevalent and very common, and untamable. Instead of trying to keep alcohol and drug students physically off campus, the safety of the students should take priority.
Increasing the drinking age from 18 to 21 caused a lot of debate. Many believed it would have done more good than it actually has done. Lesley Stahl, the CBS journalist, once said, "It hasn't reduced or eliminated drinking. It has simply driven it underground, behind closed doors, into the most risky and least manageable of settings." As Stahl states, the drinking is “underground” to an extent and very visible in universities. Underage drinking, and drinking in general is very visible at The Pennsylvania State University in University Park. Previously ranked number one party school numerous years in a row, the persona of Penn State is known as a party school. To change this reputation, the university decided to make the campus a dry campus. A dry campus is when a university prohibits alcohol on the campus regardless of age. Yet even being called a “dry” campus, alcohol is easily accessible and Penn State still remains one of the top party schools. While the intentions of the university administration meant well, making the campus a dry campus actually provides an unsafe environment for the students. Changing the campus from dry to wet will make the campus much safer. Creating an alcohol free university is physically impossible, but creating a safer environment for the students is possible and should be the main priority for the university. The first major problem of a dry campus is that it doesn’t eliminate parties; it moves them off campus. Students will walk ten or fifteen minutes to go to a party with their friends, a party filled with alcohol and drugs. Instead of going to their floor mates dorm, or their friends dorm room, students walk downtown, drink at a party and then attempt to return home. Even though the university attempts to stop drinking, underage drinking is very prevalent and very common, and untamable. Instead of trying to keep alcohol and drug students physically off campus, the safety of the students should take priority.