English 110 3 December 2012 An Epiphany: Increase the legal drinking age for our students Drinking in college is one of the most glorified things when a young person is growing up. It is also one of the most prominent problems with college students. QA new drinking age should be in place; one that would allow our students to get done with a four year university before they start drinking. This would also help our students be smarter and get better grades. The drinking age should be raised to 25.
The majority of the people voting for the age limit to drop to 18 are the people who are under 18 or who are 18. They feel that 18 year-olds are prepared to make responsible decisions about drinking (Amethyst Initiative). The Amethyst Initiative believes that lowering the drinking age will only make situations worse for society. But the fact is, these people are not thinking about the consequences and are only looking at the pleasure. “More than 1,700 college students in the U.S. are killed each year—about 4.65 a day—as a result of alcohol-related injuries” (The Marin Institute).
However, these declines started in 1980 before the national 1987 law which mandated states to have 21 year old alcohol purchase laws. The decrease in drinking and driving problems are the result of many factors and not just the rise in purchase age or the decreased per capita consumption. These include: education concerning drunk driving, designated driver programs, increased seat belt and air bag usage, safer automobiles, lower speed limits, free taxi services from drinking establishments,
If the age was lowered, teenager’s lives could be saved. With adulthood many responsibilities and privileges come with the age. A person is a legal adult at age 18. This means people should be able to make their own decisions including the right to consume alcohol. According to alcoholnew.org, 80% of high school students admitted to at least trying a drink.
Newly-legal drinkers often purchase alcohol for their underage peers, creating a "trickle-down" effect. [34] Surveys show that the most common source of alcohol among 18- to 20-year olds is their 21- to 24-year-old peers. [35] MLDA 21 helps prevent underage binge drinking by making it harder for people under 21 to obtain alcohol. Binge drinking peaks among 21- to 25-year-olds at 45.9%, while the binge drinking rates of those aged 12-13, 14-15, 16-17, and 18-20 are 1.5%, 7.8%, 19.4%, and 35.7% respectively. [23][36] MLDA 21 exerts valuable social pressure on potential underage drinkers.
Alcohol is one of the most heavily consumed beverages in the United States. In 1995, the average adult drank about 36 gallons of alcoholic drinks, (or "hard liquor"). In comparison, the typical American drank about 25 gallons of milk, 21 gallons of coffee and 47 gallons of soft drinks (Drinking Habits). In studies through the 1990s by the Harvard School of Public Health, the percentage of college students who reported binge drinking within the previous two weeks remained steady at 44% (Update: Alcohol Issues). If the age is lowered, young adults won't binge as often making it safer and not something that's done to be “cool”.
This • Research shows that adolescents are more likely was done to reduce high rates of to develop alcohol dependency issues when they 8 alcohol-related problems like drunk begin drinking early. driving crashes, fights, domestic violence, and sexual assaults, all • A “trickle down” effect, in which older teens provide alcohol to younger adolescents, has been alcohol-related problems.5 found when the MLDA is lowered.9 Justice (2005) Youth Drinknal/122600955/abstract • “The problem, of course, is 1 U.S. Dept. ofProblems: A Comparison ing Rates and 9 Wagenaar, A. C., Toomey, T. L. (2002). “Effects of minimum drinking age laws: that physical ability alone is too of European Countries and the United States. Prepared by Joel Grube, PhD.
Body A. It is not secret that drinking can hinder college GPA’s substantially and can also consume ALL social activities. 1. According to Educational-Portal.com, on average, students who have more than 5 drinks per occasion have a GPA that is half a grade lower than the GPA for other students. a.
On average, your body can metabolize about one drink per hour. (13.5% alcohol). If you have more than one drink, this is when the alcohol starts to take over into the blood stream, which is known as the Blood Alcohol Content. One drink may not effect a person harshly, but teenagers usually drink in the form of binge drinking. (Office Of Juvenile Justice)This usually consists of a person drinking about 5 drinks at least in 2 hours.
Effects of Difference in Academic Year on Smoking in College Abstract Effect of difference in age on smoking in college was examined. There were 166 participants (73 male, 90 female, and 2 transgender; age range: 17 to 50) and they were limited to acquaintances, by each of 21 students in Methods of Psychology lab section of University of Massachusetts Amherst. Surveys on opinions about smoking behaviors and banning smoking on campus (22 opinion-based questions: in likert scale: max score=anti-smoking, for law and min score=smoker, against law; there were 8 demographic questions included in survey) were given to all participants. After the surveys were collected, 7 questions that lacked reliability were eliminated. The results for mean of sum for all academic year were surprising.