The Dangers with Underage Drinking
Organizations such as Nationwide Insurance make the argument that “Adults don’t want to send their children to colleges or universities with ‘party school’ reputations.” (Sharon 1). Parents are becoming increasingly scared to send their children to specific schools because these schools have bad reputations for underage drinking. Fathers and mothers do not want to send their kids to these party schools because they fear for their child’s safety. It is no secret that there is plenty of alcohol use on college campuses, especially because half of the student body can legally drink on campus. This creates an issue for the universities on how to enforce the drinking laws among the students on campus. However, …show more content…
Many college alcohol problems are related to binge drinking, which pose safety concerns for almost all students on campus. Binge drinking is a pattern of heavy drinking over a short period of time that brings blood alcohol concentration levels to at least 0.08 g/dL. In his article, Sharon states, “80 percent of college kids drink alcohol, and over 50 percent of them have partaken in binge drinking in the last two weeks alone” (1). If the drinking age were lowered, more college kids would drink because it would be legal. Sharon’s statistic where more than half of the student body who drink alcohol partake in binge drinking equates to an increase in binge drinking episodes overall if the drinking age were lowered. For the majority of college students, getting drunk is usually the main goal of drinking. Most students think the fastest way to get drunk is by binge drinking. Binge drinking only brings out different dangers that are not worth the couple fun hours preceding the drinking. A national survey of college students shares, “Binge drinkers who consumed alcohol at least 3 times per week were roughly 6 times more likely than those who drank but never binged to perform poorly on a test or project as a result of drinking” (Saylor 1) This article further assesses the different dangers that come with a lower drinking age. Binge drinking physically and mentally affects college students. …show more content…
Students would be drinking alcohol in controlled environments, without having to hide their drinking in an unsafe matter. There is an awkward age gap between when one becomes an adult and when they can legally drink alcohol. The Amethyst Initiative argues, “A minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of 21 has created a culture of heavy alcohol use on college campuses by making drinking secretive and extreme” (Saylor 3). This articles explains that the age restriction law has not stopped binge drinking on campuses and argues fairly that it has turned alcohol into an illegal activity that almost every student wants to try. A solution for lowering the drinking age could be to teach young adults how to drink in moderation. Many will probably disagree with this because alcohol affects teens differently than adults. A teenager may physically look like an adult, but their body is still developing. Therefore, since alcohol affect teenagers differently than adults, they will act differently. Furthermore, being exposed to alcohol at a younger age commonly leads to alcohol problems later in life which provoke more dangerous situations. According to the article, The Legal Drinking Age Policy Has Been Effective, “Those who started drinking at age 18 were nearly twice as likely to be unintentionally injured, be in motor-vehicle crashes, and be in physical fights while
Organizations such as Nationwide Insurance make the argument that “Adults don’t want to send their children to colleges or universities with ‘party school’ reputations.” (Sharon 1). Parents are becoming increasingly scared to send their children to specific schools because these schools have bad reputations for underage drinking. Fathers and mothers do not want to send their kids to these party schools because they fear for their child’s safety. It is no secret that there is plenty of alcohol use on college campuses, especially because half of the student body can legally drink on campus. This creates an issue for the universities on how to enforce the drinking laws among the students on campus. However, …show more content…
Many college alcohol problems are related to binge drinking, which pose safety concerns for almost all students on campus. Binge drinking is a pattern of heavy drinking over a short period of time that brings blood alcohol concentration levels to at least 0.08 g/dL. In his article, Sharon states, “80 percent of college kids drink alcohol, and over 50 percent of them have partaken in binge drinking in the last two weeks alone” (1). If the drinking age were lowered, more college kids would drink because it would be legal. Sharon’s statistic where more than half of the student body who drink alcohol partake in binge drinking equates to an increase in binge drinking episodes overall if the drinking age were lowered. For the majority of college students, getting drunk is usually the main goal of drinking. Most students think the fastest way to get drunk is by binge drinking. Binge drinking only brings out different dangers that are not worth the couple fun hours preceding the drinking. A national survey of college students shares, “Binge drinkers who consumed alcohol at least 3 times per week were roughly 6 times more likely than those who drank but never binged to perform poorly on a test or project as a result of drinking” (Saylor 1) This article further assesses the different dangers that come with a lower drinking age. Binge drinking physically and mentally affects college students. …show more content…
Students would be drinking alcohol in controlled environments, without having to hide their drinking in an unsafe matter. There is an awkward age gap between when one becomes an adult and when they can legally drink alcohol. The Amethyst Initiative argues, “A minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of 21 has created a culture of heavy alcohol use on college campuses by making drinking secretive and extreme” (Saylor 3). This articles explains that the age restriction law has not stopped binge drinking on campuses and argues fairly that it has turned alcohol into an illegal activity that almost every student wants to try. A solution for lowering the drinking age could be to teach young adults how to drink in moderation. Many will probably disagree with this because alcohol affects teens differently than adults. A teenager may physically look like an adult, but their body is still developing. Therefore, since alcohol affect teenagers differently than adults, they will act differently. Furthermore, being exposed to alcohol at a younger age commonly leads to alcohol problems later in life which provoke more dangerous situations. According to the article, The Legal Drinking Age Policy Has Been Effective, “Those who started drinking at age 18 were nearly twice as likely to be unintentionally injured, be in motor-vehicle crashes, and be in physical fights while