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).
Make 18 the Age to Drink Many people begin experimenting with alcohol in their early teenage years. During these experimental times all of the users are underage. This underage drinking has become a major problem in America’s schools throughout the nation. If the drinking age was lowered to eighteen there would be fewer incidents where students get caught with alcohol and receive minor in possessions charges, drinking wouldn’t seem as appealing if it were legal, and if an eighteen year old can be drafted and risk his life for this country he or she should be allowed to have a drink at the end of the day. Lowering the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen would lower the amount of alcohol related tickets, make drinking less appealing, and give young soldiers have an easy way to relax and help them cope with what they have seen at war.
By now, it should be clear to society that teenagers will resort to drinking, no matter what. The enforcement of the minimum drinking age law is fundamentally ineffective. A survey had been conducted in 2004 by the University of Michigan which found that “71% of high school seniors had consumed alcohol within the last year, while 94% reported that it was ‘fairly easy’ or ‘very easy’ for them to obtain alcohol” (Minimum Drinking Age). Teenagers find drinking to be incredibly alluring because it is seen as the “forbidden fruit” that allows them to achieve a badge of rebellion and a sense of adulthood. However, these teenagers also live in fear of getting caught for drinking and thus, consume their alcohol in unsafe environments; typically, these dwellings are where they can “escape” disturbances and predicaments, but usually encounter more.
But there has been a increase in other problems related to heavy and irresponsible drinking among college youth. Most of the reports have showed little change until after the 21-year-old law in 1987. In 1982 until 1987 about 46% of students report vomiting after drinking now that has jumped to 50% after the law change, cutting class after drinking went from 9& to 12%, missing class because of a hangover went from 26% to 28%, getting lower grades because of drinking rose from 5% to 7%. This increase in abusive drinking behavior is due to "underground
It can lead to memory loss, and permanent brain damage (Minimum Drinking Age). Some states allow parents to teach their children to drink responsibly before the age of 21, but there’s no evidence that this approach actually works. Although, when teens feel they have their parents’ approval to drink, they do it more and more often when their parents are not around. Many activities have ages of initiation. An average person must wait until age 16 to start driving, age 18 to marry without parental consent, and age 35 to become president (Minton).
The U.S. has the strictest youth drinking laws in western civilization and yet has the most drinking-related problems among its young. And there seems to be a connection between these two facts. When I was a teen in the 1930s my peers drank to physical and mental oblivion on weekends to demonstrate their "manhood," and, to a lesser degree, their "womanhood." Alcohol abuse had received new energy as a result of Prohibition. The harvest of forbidden fruit was bitter and disastrous.
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.
European countries have a lower legal drinking and appear to have lesser alcohol related problems. Trying to enforce the drinking age of 21 is ineffective and pricey. Even though the law says one has to be 21, teen drinking is a major problem and there will never be a way to stop it. It would be more effective to spend money on educating the youth about how to drink responsibly rather than attempt to enforce the drinking age of 21 and continuously waste money and effort.” For 21 years, the legal drinking age has been set at 21 years. This has been an issue topic for quite some time now, and more states are considering revising the law.
The amount of lives that can be saved by raising the driving age to 18 would be very large. Teens are just not responsible enough to have this responsibility. “ There is evidence to suggest that the part of the brain that assesses risk and controls impulsive behavior is not fully developed until the age 25 (23 for females), providing a physical reason why restrictions such as night curfews and limiting peer passengers is so important”. ( Professor Cass) One of the leading causes of teenage accidents is inexperience. Teenage drivers don’t have the experience of driving a car.
When students can purchase the exact same book on the Internet or in the collegiate bookstore for $80.00 to $95.00 that is a shame. Another reason that students have lack of funds for textbooks is they decide to spend their textbook money on miscellaneous items. Some students on the Alabama State campus will spend the funds that their parents or they set aside for textbooks to go do miscellaneous things such as go to the parties, buy groceries, going out to eat or the worse thing, buying new clothes. Next, some students do not have a textbook for class because they are irresponsible. For some strange reason, students act as if they do not need a textbook for the course.