Rhetorical Analysis

http://wildcat.arizona.edu/2.2255/editorial-lower-drinking-age-best-option-1.165205


Editorial: Lower drinking age best option

This editorial was one written by college students at the University of Arizona. These students believe that the drinking age should be lowered from the age of 21. They believe that lowering the legal age to buy alcohol will lower the rate of binge drinking and the problems associated with it in college. They are arguing the decision of Robert Shelton, the President of UA. He opposed a petition signed by other university presidents around the nation. This petition called for change and consideration to changing the drinking age.

Shelton opposed this petition for many reasons, mainly because he doesn’t believe it would help the issues at universities today. These students are claiming that because you are able to go to war at the age of 18, you should also be able to drink. They also claim that because the causes those who are underage to drink just to rebel, and that these young adults have turned drinking into a “surreptitious activity”. They also believe that Shelton did not fully consider this proposal, and that he was basing his decision off of insufficient knowledge. This group never goes on to fully back up their claims with evidence; they just go on to refute everything Shelton said.

Within this editorial, the students look at every aspect of the opposing argument. They go through and acknowledge every piece of evidence Shelton lays out for his claims. The use of pathos is one of their strongest uses of persuasion in the example of the soldier coming home from war. They use emotional appeal to prove their point. The audience of this editorial would be college students and the presidents also being faced with this decision. The purpose of their argument would be to convince others that the opposing view is wrong and that the drinking age should be lowered.

I believe that the drinking age should not be lowered because it would just cause further problems within our generation. One of their arguments was that binge drinking takes place because those who are underage want to rebel, well if you lower the drinking age to 18, then 16 year olds will be acting the same way. I think it would be ineffective and just cause more chaos. I believe if this should take place at all it should slowly be grandfathered in, dropping the drinking age in the culture we have today would be a terrible idea and cause many more problems that we already have.