Essay 1.1 Lowering the Drinking Age- Step in the wrong direction

http://www.whitworthian.com/2.11399/opinion-lower-drinking-age-could-be-step-in-the-right-direction-1.1578444


Dear De Andra Kenoly,

I recently read your article proposing to lower the legal drinking age. I strongly disagree with this idea because I am very certain it would only turn an unhealthy drinking culture into a worse one. Everyone agrees that there is a major problem with minors abusing alcohol and that something needs to be done, but lowering the age to purchase the alcohol will only create more abuse from a wider range of ages.

College students today are known to get alcohol from friends and to binge drink every weekend. This is becoming more and more of an issue because of the health risks that come with drinking so heavily and such a short amount of time. You talk about he Amethyst Initiative which has had a major role in bring about this debate. According to their website, their goal is to: “…encourage moderation and responsibility as an alternative to the drunkenness and reckless decisions about alcohol that mark the experience of many young Americans” (Amethyst Initiative). This group was founded by John McCardell, the President Emeritus of Middlebury College. This group broke news because of their petition signed by over 100 college presidents all agreeing to lower the drinking age. They believe lowering the drinking age will create a new culture of drinking in moderation. I strongly believe this will just create a younger age group for binge drinking.

By college presidents signing petitions to lower the age to 18, they will only be passing the problem down to high school principals. Ruth Engs a professor of Health Applied Science at Indiana University believes drinking is a problem in minors because it is rebellious, she says, “This [binge drinking] is because drinking by these youth is seen as an enticing "forbidden fruit," a "badge of rebellion against authority" and a symbol of "adulthood”” (Engs paragraph 2). Being called a forbidden fruit is no excuse, if the drinking age is lowered to 18, then 16 year olds will just be wanting to drink because its “forbidden”. This will be a never ending cycle, lowering the drinking age is just irresponsible and not actually dealing with the real issues.

You also claim that many other European countries have lower drinking ages and that they have a healthy drinking culture. But one major factor in that they also have much higher driving ages. In the United States, we have a much younger legal driving age which gives rise to this culture by giving more freedom to our teenagers, having a car gives more access to getting the alcohol. Europeans’ healthier drinking habits are not only related to the actual age, there are other variables involved in their cultures. The United States today would not be able to take on these mannerisms by just changing the age, this is not possible, and our country is not ready for this change.

In my eyes as being a college student, by allowing everyone in college to have access to alcohol, then many, many more people would be drinking. The major hindrance that stops many college students from “pre-gaming” is not having as much access too it. You are forced to stop drinking when you run out, allowing everyone to go out and get their own alcohol would just keep everyone drinking more and more.

The website “Why 21?” they discuss the benefits of the 21 year old drinking age. Their website says, “A person’s brain does not stop developing until his or her early to mid-20s and adding alcohol to the mix is a recipe for disaster” (Why 21?). At 18 years old, the brain is surely not done developing; many psychologists say the brain continues growing past the age of 25. Everyone agrees of the detrimental effects of alcohol on the brain, why would we allow teenagers to have access to something that we know is consider poison? We need to use the law to protect our young people; we are the future, why would we support them damaging their bodies even more? We obviously see that minors cannot handle their alcohol, and that’s the cause of the problem. I believe "responsible drinking" is not an option right now, the law needs to be used to prevent deaths and injuries in young people. We cannot lower the drinking age and hope it will work, this would only create more problems, “States that previously lowered the drinking age to 18, such as Massachusetts, Michigan, and Maine, experienced an increase in alcohol-related crashes among the 18 to 20 age group” (procon.org) It makes no sense to me to give 18-year-olds this power when they will be set up for failure.

The laws cannot just be changed because it's being abused, it should be looked into and find a better option. If the drinking age is lowered then we will see the same problem in kids younger then that age. I believe better education on alcohol should be set fourth and more conversations about drinking should take place at home and at school. As the Amethyst Initiative suggests, maybe we should put in place a drinking license and have to take a class to get you're license just like drivers ed. But instead of making the license available at 18, it should still be at 21. Then, before turning 21 you are more informed about drinking and know the consequences of supplying to minors. I believe there are other options rather than lowering the drinking age, I think this will only cause more abuse of alcohol and send the future of our society down the wrong path.


Works Cited
Alcohol and the Teen Brain. Why 21?. 2007. No pag. Web. February 2, 2010.
Amethyst Initiative. 2010. Amethyst Initiative. Web. February 2, 2010.
Engs, Ruth. Forbidden Fruit. Indiana.edu. No pag. University of Indiana. Web. February 2, 2010.

Should the drinking age be lowered from 21 to a younger age?. Procon.org. Web. February 3, 2010.