After reading the essay “Stop Babysitting College Students” by Froma Harrop, an editorial writer and columnist for the Providence Journal, the idea of having major universities taking a biased responsibility of its students drinking habits would by no means succeed. As an eighteen-year-old college freshman at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) who has just recently been exposed to alcohol, I can tell you that there are limited resolutions that any college or university system can do to prevent college students from not drinking alcohol. Most of the average college students’ weekend life and experience includes going to parties and having their fair share of drinks, but if a university put a guard on student consumption to prevent binge drinking and alcohol abuse, it would actually bring an obstruction to many college students.…
In the article “Why the Drinking Age Should be Lowered: An Opinion Based Upon Research,” Karen Scrivo from Indiana University in Bloomington supports her rational claim that the state of Indiana should lower the legal drinking age to 18 or 19. Prohibition is counterproductive because it lowers the percentages of young, responsible drinkers. If one has to sneak around their parents about consuming alcoholic beverages rather than assimilate significant advice from experienced adults on how to drink responsibly, studies show the percentage of drunken fights increased from 12% to 17% (Scrivo, 1998, n.p.). Furthermore, ““cutting class after drinking" jumped from 9%…
There is a huge problem with underage drinking in the U.S. Some states have already lowered the drinking age such as Maine, Massachusetts, and Michigan. One main point on why it shouldn’t be lowered is because of a higher chance of depression in teens. Second, it increases health and educational problems in teens also. Lastly, it would increase the amount of alcohol related accidents because of teens brains not being fully developed.…
Since July 17, 1984, when the United States Congress enacted the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, people only above the age of 21 could have the opportunity to legally purchase and publically possess an alcoholic beverage. The Congress’s purpose for establishing the law was primarily to combat motorist under the influence of alcohol, as the death rate of traffic accidents were significantly high before 1984 in the US where the typical minimum age to drink was 18. Which is the average age for a first year student in college, and apparently the age where minors become involved around alcohol. Meanwhile, it has been nearly unavoidable to prevent underage students in college the consumption of alcohol. As according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, about four out five college students drink…
(Hingson et al., 2009) Furthermore, 400,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 had unprotected sex, and more than 100,000 students report having been too intoxicated to know if they consented to having sex. These shocking statistics lead campuses to ban the use of alcohol on their campuses. Except, eliminating drinking on college campuses is unrealistic because college students, like high school students, are subjected to strong social pressures to drink. Moderation is a more realistic goal for college students to avoid the problems of alcohol abuse (Krohn, 2000). America tried, during its history, to ban alcohol. This brilliant idea was known as prohibition. Prohibition did not prevent drinking, and dry campuses won’t prevent drinking. Therefore, drinking is a reality for college student, and it’s going to happen. Teaching students to make better choices about alcohol can prevent excessive drinking and the social problems that come along with it, such as academic problems, sexual assault, suicide attempts and alcohol abuse. The whole point of graduating college is to earn an education, not develop an alcohol addiction. Colleges can’t ignore or avoid the problems of drinking by having a dry campus policy. Drinking happens, and kids need to be educated on how to be able to deal with…
“’Drinking is Fun’ and ‘There’s Nothing You Can Do About It’: The Problem With the 21-Year-Old Minimum Drinking Age” an essay by Dr. Reginald Fennell, found in the Journal of American College Health, focuses on the effects of the minimum drinking age on college students. Fennell explains the benefits of lowering the drinking and gives alternatives to the current law. This article is of interest to readers since society seems to have a strong opinion of whether the drinking age should remain the same or be lowered. When a teenager turns eighteen, they have all the legal rights of an adult with the exception of consuming and purchasing alcohol. The author feels strong about his opinion. Fennell is not only an editor for the Journal of American College Heath, but he is also a professor at Miami University in Ohio where he teaches health classes. By speaking to his college students, and also having been a student himself, Fennell knows first-hand the experiences and actions of students on college campuses.…
For many years, there has been the question should the drinking age be lowered to 18? In today's society, most young adults drink behind their guardians back, but do not realize the consequences that come with their choices. With much speculation, this topic has became a very intriguing argument. What does drinking do to the growth of the brain? Can alcohol do just as much harm to someone 18 then someone 21? Will they be just as responsible? Can someone that young make the correct decisions?…
The legal drinking age should remain twenty-one. It should not be lowered because teenagers are not mature enough to drink responsibly. If you are allowed to have a credit card, provide for a family, and vote, you should be able to drink at the age it already is. We all know the consequences to what we do to our bodies, that is why we have choices. Drinking can be addicting just like coffee, cigarettes, medications, and body building.…
Several would argue that the 21 year old drinking age is possibly too low, some even think that the age should be lowered, and some even think the age should be at 25. I believe that the drinking age should remain the same at 21 due to the fact that there are already plenty of issues with underage drinking. “The Age of Responsibility” by Alan Greenblatt, goes into depth about the different problems and aspects that go into searching for a golden age to entrust people to have the ability to accomplish certain things. Considering that there are an excessive amount of issues that relate to drinking, I feel that there are countless efforts that could be put into decreasing the overwhelming volume of underage drinking, drunk driving, and alcohol abuse. There are copious amounts of conflicting arguments that believe the drinking age should be decreased to 18, whereas some feel that the age should even be increased to 25.…
Eighteen is the age that everyone becomes an adult in the United States. Eighteen is also the age when you should be able to decide if you choose to consume alcohol. Turning eighteen is a big responsibility at the age of eighteen you are allowed to choose to smoke cigarettes, vote, get married, serve on juries, sign contracts, and join the military which includes risking one's life. So if you're allowed to choose all of these then I feel like you should be allowed to make the decision on either or not you want to consume alcohol.…
Since 1987, it has been argued that the legal drinking age in the United States should be lowered to 18 so that young adults are allowed to drink in certain environments. This argument has many sides which can be argued. At 18, you are considered an adult. You can vote, charged with adult crimes, and even die for your country, but you cannot consume alcohol. To me that is discriminating against people in the age group of 18-20. As of now, adults over 21 years old are allowed to drink in places such as restaurants, bars, and some other controlled environments. Adults over the age of 21 could work to be seen as role models and promote responsible drinking. They could teach younger adults about the affects of alcohol and how it can affect your ability to function properly. Sensible drinking and responsibility would eventually be seen.…
There has been a question looming for years on whether or not the drinking age should be dropped down from 21 to 18. Many people have views or opinions on what the legal drinking age should or should not be. Right now the legal drinking age is 21, and many people, especially a younger crowd, are working extremely hard to change that to 18. All over the world, different countries have a different standard which leads to a different drinking age. There is a reason why the United States has put the legal drinking age at 21. This was to ensure that there will be no underage drinking, which today has clearly not been the best idea because underage drinking happens more and more frequently.…
More than twenty one thousand lives have been saved with the drinking age being twenty one. For about 10 years in the early 1900’s, our country ratified the 18th amendment which banned the production and consumption of alcohol. This amendment led to extreme crime, violence, and even speakeasies. Our country realized that it wasn’t the best idea for prohibition, and we then ratified the 21st amendment that repealed the 18th amendment. The 21st amendment has helped prevent car related tragedies in the 18-20 age group while they were under the influence. I believe the alcohol age should not change because of it reducing crashes, the fact that your brain is more developed and you understand your limits, and a change in New Zealand’s drinking to age 18 has spiked the percentage of alcohol related crashes.…
According to ProCon.org in 2016, did you know that traffic accidents related to drinking are most common to new drinkers regardless of the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA)? Or, that in countries with the MLDA 18, there is a huge decrease in drunk driving accidents than in the USA? I believe that you can drink responsibly at eighteen; therefore, the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen. I believe the MLDA should be eighteen because when you are considered an adult and have many other responsibilities, the MLDA 21 is highly ineffective, and lowering the age would diminish the thrill of breaking the law.…
"A comparison of college students attending schools in states that had maintained, for a period of at least ten years, a minimum drinking age of 21 with those in states that had similarly maintained minimum drinking ages below 21 revealed few differences in drinking problems" (Hanson, "The Legal Drinking Age: Science vs. Ideology"). For example, a large study of young people between ages of 16 and 19 in Massachusetts and New York after Massachusetts raised its drinking age revealed that "the average, self-reported daily alcohol consumption in Massachusetts did not decline in comparison with New York" (Hanson, "The Legal Drinking Age: Science vs. Ideology"). College students, young teens and drinking will always be inevitably associated with each other regardless of the circumstances or rules. So what is the point of conceiving and enforcing a policy that is already failed and is doomed to fail? Cocco 3 Administrations cannot stop alcohol abuse, but they cannot ignore it either. With the college administrations ignoring it with the hopes that it will go away is simply unaccepted and should not even be an…