“Alcohol related fatalities have declined over the past 25 years…in all age groups” (McCardell). By lowering the drinking age we could educate drinkers earlier, not only with knowledge, but practical, useable experience in a controlled environment. In college, most people under twenty-one will drink, regardless of the law, and will do so with little to no experience, increasing the chance of risky
The drinking age isn't meant to be a big deal, but the first couple years of lowering the drinking age could cause many students to be reckless. There are many responsibilities that come along with drinking at a low age, most importantly drinking and driving. Lowering the age will reduce all such problems, but at first will seem extremely hectic. Lowering the current drinking age of 21-and-over will allow young Americans, most of who are perfectly capable of drinking responsibly; to no longer drink in private or in short amounts of time, thus alleviating potentially dangerous conditions. Drinking privately is extremely unsafe and when kids are in a situation they can't handle, they can then ask for help.
It’s a proven success. Nearly every state that has raised the drinking age to 21 has produced a significant drop in the teenage driving fatalities” (Nayaka 193). There has been further evidence that portrays that law since been effective has caused those under the age of 21 to drink less in their youth and less later in their 20’s. Lowering the age also declined the access to of alcohol to minors, thus also not allowing for them to participate in underage drinking (Roleff 86). These laws were in place in order to maintain the protection of the youth and such evidence has shown that these laws are holding true to their original
So why can’t they enjoy a few beers legally? That is the question asked by many and has yet an exact and final answer on whether it will be allowed. According to David J. Hanson, an alcohol policy expert at the State University of New York-Potsdam, “Raising the drinking age to 21 was passed with the very best of intentions, but it’s had the very worst of outcomes” (Johnson, 1). Drinking in young people is becoming a serious problem as days move on, but having the drinking age at 21 is not helping solve these problems. Something
Drinking is an inevitable side effect of the college life, but statistics show that the problem arises from the fact that most students don’t drink safely, but rather partake in binge drinking. Approximately 4 out of 5 students drink alcohol, while half of this population participates in binge drinking. Binge drinking causes a number of problems to arise from sexual abuse and assault to death and suicide attempts.1 It appears that the University should not be looking to restrict drinking in general, but rather should seek out ways to prevent binge drinking from occurring. College students will drink no matter what, but binge drinking is something that can hopefully be reduced, in order to lead to a safer environment. According to recent
After reading the title of the article and seeing the date of the publication, I felt that this article would consist of up-to-date opinions about how binge drinking is becoming more popular in colleges across America. The author states how students will fall into the campus life and participate in campus rituals. Students will want to experience or celebrate their freedom with their fellow students by binge drinking. For those students who are not allowed to drink freely in a public facility such as a bar or club will simply turn to drinking in their dorms or other non public places. This problem can lead to hospitalization or even death.
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).
This group gets words tied to it that catalog experiences in day to day life that may be unique for this group compared to others. When we think of a college student, a 32 year old man isn’t what first comes to mind. The age associated with the typical college student is between 18 and 24. We have categorized this group of people to such restraints that when we do see that man twice our age sitting in the same class, we are caught off guard. Because the stereotypical college student reaches the age of legal consumption of alcohol in his or her college years, we associate college life with late nights, parties, and alcohol.
In 2010 according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, “three quarters (75.9 percent) of youths aged 12 to 17 reported having seen or heard drug or alcohol prevention messages from sources outside of school, lower than in 2002 (83.2 percent). The percentage of school-enrolled youths reporting that they had seen or heard prevention messages at school also declined during this period, from 78.8 to 75.4 percent” (SAMHSA, 2011). This shows that there is a dramatic decrease in the amount of teenagers who receive preventive services either at home or in school. In recent years teens were provided with information mainly focusing on the dangers of illegal drugs, such as marijuana, cocaine, and steroids and rarely on drugs that are widespread within the proximity of adolescents. Schools and parents do not emphasize enough that the abuse of prescription drugs produces the same destructive and dangerous effects as those that are illegal.
Social Interaction: Your first instinct about going to college is to go partying and meet new people but then you find yourself socializing outside of school too much and not focusing on your studies and not getting any studying done. So when you join a club, especially one that involves a similar culture, you’ll get to experience Social Interaction. When striking a conversation it’ll be easier for you, it’s sense of being in your own comfort zone. Being in a new and unfamiliar environment is never easy. So when it was my freshman year and college and I remember attending my first club meeting.