Persuasive Essay Drinking age: 18 or 21? College students binge drink all the time. By bringing alcohol into a public area, students may be more willing to drink in limited quantities. Lowering the legal drinking age would cut down on binge drinking by college students. It could be safer, you’re an adult at the age of eighteen, and there might not be as much pregaming. If an 18-year-old can purchase their own alcohol, they will have less of a reason to go out seeking it from their friends, or strangers. According to Dwight B. Heath, an anthropology professor at Brown University, the younger children are when they start drinking, the safer they go about it. If the drinking age was twenty-one, 18-year-olds would be able to drink in a safer …show more content…
This would give students the ability to go to a more controlled area to drink. I began pregaming with some friends before going to an off-campus fraternity venue party. I remember taking a shot. Then I remember waking up, still in my clothes from the night before, on the floor next to my own bed. I didn't even make it to the party. Pregaming is dangerous. Those who pregame drink an average of 7.1 alcoholic drinks per night as opposed to 4.2. They're also more at risk of having severe hangovers, blackouts, unplanned drug use and unprotected sex. Yet studies show that seventy-five percent of U.S. college students engage in this unsafe behavior (Abba n.p.). In European countries, where the drinking age is mainly 18, one in 10 drinking occasions result in intoxication, compared to nearly half in the U.S, according to the World Health Organization. Bringing the drinking age down to 18, is not going to increase the amount of college students that drink, but it may save a life by promoting better drinking habits. It is clear that bringing down the drinking age might bring safer drinking habits.  Why not change it then? You are an adult at 18, why be told you can’t have personal freedom? Raising the drinking age to 21 may have some minor succusses, like getting fewer young people to drink, but lowering it to 18 could promote better drinking
In conclusion by lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18 years of age, more positive outcomes exist than negative ones. A lower drinking age will allow for those of age to have a chance to learn a better sense of responsibility, decrease alcohol related incidents and provide several health benefits. As a legal adult those between the ages of 18 and 21 deserve the right to make the decision of whether they would like to participate in the consumption of alcohol or
It has been a rising issue within the past century to have the drinking age set at 21, but many people are more in favor of having the age set at 18. For instance, “’Raising the drinking age to 21 was passed with the very best of intentions, but it’s had the very worst of outcomes,’ stated by David J. Hanson, an alcohol policy expert” (Johnson). Many people believe that having the drinking age set at 21 was a smart idea, but it has caused many more deaths and injuries over the years. Most of these fatalities are cause from people who are underage and choose to consume alcohol. Again, “Libertarian groups and some conservative economic foundations, seeing the age limits as having been extorted by Washington, have long championed lowering the drinking age” (Johnson). These groups see that keeping the drinking age set at 21 is dangerous as it causes more problems to the Untied States. If the drinking age was lowered, or set at 18, there would not be such unforgiving outcomes, like deaths and lifelong injuries, which are usually caused from people who are under the age of 21 drinking alcohol. Although there are numerous groups that are fighting to keep the age
One side to this debate is that the legal drinking age should be lowered from 21 to around 18 or 19 years old, and that young adults should be allowed to drink in controlled environments. This idea is presented by Ruth Engs, a professor of Applied Sciences at Indiana University. She states that environments such as taverns, pubs, restaurants and official university functions can be considered to be controlled environments. “In these situations responsible drinking could be taught through role modeling and educational programs. Mature and sensible drinking behavior would be expected” (Engs). In her article, Engs uses phrases such as “forbidden fruit,” and “a badge of rebellion against authority” to describe how teens view drinking. In her opinion, if the drinking age were to be lowered, young adults would no longer feel the pressure to drink in order to “be cool.”
This is a proven fact. According to LiveScience.com, “"The brain of an 18-year-old college freshman is still far from resembling the brain of someone in their mid-twenties," said Craig Bennett” (Than). Eighteen year olds do not know how to control themselves when it comes to alcohol. They drink very irresponsibly, never knowing when to stop. At twenty-one most people have gone through it enough, that they know their limits and when to stop. Teenagers are not mature enough to make good decisions about alcohol. When one is at the age of eighteen, the brain is still developing and growing. When at the age of twenty-one the brain is pretty much done developing. Most eighteen year olds are either in high school about to graduate or already out. The majority of eighteen year olds go to college and since it is their first year, they usually go to a lot of parties and try to enjoy themselves. At twenty-one, the majority of people are in college and trying to get an education to make a career out of it. They usually have already done the whole party scene and are settling down and getting serious. Some eighteen year olds are still in high school, this would make it easier for younger high school kids to access alcohol. This would be dangerous not only for the kids but the eighteen year olds as well. This could get them in a lot of trouble with the law. This proves that twenty-one year olds are more mature than eighteen year
The debate of the drinking age has been long discussed throughout America. The drinking age has been 21 for the last 22 years, and people around the country have wondered weather or not this was the right call. People say that 18 year olds may not be mature enough to drink alcohol and might not know when to stop. It isn’t that teenagers don’t know how to stop, but rather have not been properly taught when enough has been consumed or how to drink responsibly. Changing the drinking age from 21 to 18 years old will take the thrill that teens get from breaking the law while drinking, will no longer give them the idea that drinking is the final stage of adulthood and full maturity, and will no longer force teenagers to drink in unsupervised
Lowering the drinking age to eighteen will encourage drinking in safer environments with supervision rather than secretly behind closed doors. Colleges will be a safer environment if the government would allow eighteen year olds to consume alcoholic beverages and less incidents of hidden intoxication will occur.
A college freshman walked into his new living quarters on the third floor of the on-campus dormitory to witness his first wild back-to-school college party. Students strolled through each other’s open doorways with red plastic cups in hand. Music blared, a drink was spilled, laughter echoed off the walls, and the young man was offered an alcoholic drink. The young man was encouraged by his new peers to drink, and so he did. But the college freshman was not yet 21 and therefore agreed to many risks by taking that first sip. In my opinion, the drinking age in America should not be lowered. There are too many risks involved in underage intoxication to pass a law promoting drinking at a younger age.
A decent sized amount of students in college are under 21 and they still drink so it would not make any sense to lower the legal drinking age because then the student would not fear the consequences of drinking and do whatever they want. If these numbers are so high right now just imagine how high they will get if we allow more people to consume alcohol at an early age.Yoruk explains how the dangers of lowering the drinking age can do to young adults by stating, “...on risky sexual behaviors, which can result in unintended outcomes such as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or pregnancy…”(Yoruk). Right now the minimum drinking age is 21 and all this risky sexual activity is happening and if we were to lower the legal drinking then we will basically be opening the door to more risky sexual behavior and have more STD’s being passed around and unwanted pregnancies. There has been a problem on college campuses in the united states of people having sex and one person being too drunk to be able to give consent, and then that turns into a rape case. For example, drinking can change the person who you usually are when sober as explained by Yoruk, “Alcohol consumption may
drink. If 18 year olds are released out into the real world and given all of that pressure then no one should be able to say that they are not mature enough to handle alcohol. People say that if the drinking age is lowered then college students will abuse the privilege. They say they will drink irresponsibly and act reckless. Another concern is that it will lead to more excess drinking because it will be so accessible for students. On the contrary, when drinking is legal people are much more likely to drink responsibly and not binge drink because when something such as drinking is legal, students don’t feel the need to force all of the drinks down at once in order to stay drunk for a longer period of time. The atmosphere in which people drink illegally is not a good situation for safe drinking. Underage drinking is usually done in frat basements, unsupervised house parties, and cars. When alcohol is consumed in these unsafe places it is unregulated and more likely for a terrible drinking incident to occur. The risk of binge drinking and ultimately death is a key reason why the drinking age
In conclusion changing the drinking age to 18 can hurt the user and it’s love one so I don’t think it is worth changing it just for the freedom.
There have been many Colleges and Universities that disagree with the legal drinking age. These schools believe that by outlawing alcohol consumption from those students under twenty one is only making the problem worse. If the drinking age were changed to eighteen, colleges would be able to regulate alcohol use, so students would not become overly intoxicated. This would probably cut down on the number of College campus alcohol-related deaths, since Campus officials would be able to monitor alcohol
In fact, of all underage drinking, some 90 percent is consumed through binge drinking [as of March 2014]” (Hall). That being said, by making alcohol more readily available it will reduce pregaming and excessive drinking on and off campus. “ The main consequence of this law has been to drive college-age alcohol consumption underground, which has in all likelihood increased that consumption and probably actually increased drunk driving,” says Gordon. Nevertheless, pregaming can lead to heavily intoxicated individuals driving drunk to their final party destination; which could cause more alcohol related traffic fatalities. By lowering the drinking age young adults could safely drink a reasonable amount of alcohol, legally, without the fear of getting in trouble for doing so.
Some people believe that the legal drinking age should be lower than 21. This is thought because, underage drinking is already happening, so it should be legal for those of a younger age, so there is less people in trouble. Abigail Hall, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Tampa, says “If a 21-year-old woman overindulges at the bar, the bartender, friends, or even other patrons can encourage her to stop.” “But if the woman is 18 she can’t go to the bar. So, like many college students, she goes to her friends’ place or a party.” She might become violently ill from over-consumption or something else happens, what options are available?” She is saying that the legal drinking age should be lowered so a person can drink at a bar and if they become sick someone is there to help, or they could do nothing and if a person becomes sick, then no one will help because they don’t know what to do or don’t want to get in trouble for drinking. People believe that the minimum legal drinking age should be lower than 21 so that way there are less people in trouble from underage drinking and less people will be severely ill or injured..
It will teach teens how to become more responsible at an early age. “Dalmia thinks a lowered age would help young people become more comfortable with moderate alcohol use, which would discourage them from being overly dependent on alcohol, from binge drinking in secret, and drunk driving”(Dalmia 50). If teens are already able to drink they don't binge drink later on when they obtain possession of it. Not only will teens be more responsible but they will also drink less. “Kids who drank with their parents were about half as likely to say they have had drunk alcohol in the past month and on-third as likely to say they had five or more consecutive drinks in the previous two weeks”(Dalmia 53). The lowered drinking age will benefit teens and their health because it will lessen their
First, it is necessary to question this law. Why is 21 the "magical" age that makes one intelligent and mature enough to consume alcohol? Surely, some adults abuse alcohol and some teenagers would be perfectly able to drink responsibly. This seemingly arbitrary number is associated with adulthood, as if the day a person turns 21 they know everything and