Students at large public universities, especially in the South, have a reputation for excessive drinking. The University of Georgia is no exception.I drank in high school, and I see no problem with drinking once you get to college. At 18, you're an adult. (If you're a guy, you can be drafted into the military. That's more likely to kill you than drinking every so often.) College is for social growth as well as academic - no matter what President Adams tries to say with his "Academic Rigor" baloney.
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If you drop legal age back to 18, then your problem, underage drinkers are 15, 16, and 17. As it stands now, underage drinkers are 18, 19, and 20. Most 15-17 year-olds live at home, whereas most 18-20 year-olds live away from home. More freedom plus the thrill of the drunk means more problems. You need a scapegoat for underage drinkers? Drop legal age to 18 and you have one - parents. It would mean A) educating your kids on responsible drinking before college instead of letting their underage selves do it, or B) not doing anything and watching your kid make a fool of himself. Yeah, yeah. He'd probably do that anyway. It would take away the excitement of living on your own and getting into a bar on a fake ID. It just makes too much sense. I can tell you who I think should run this country, get shot at by other countries' militaries, receive a lap dance, watch somebody on TV receive a lap dance, buy a magazine with people receiving lap dances, order from QVC, smoke cigarettes, illegally buy someone else cigarettes, yada yada ya, and not have a drink. Garbage.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to disagree with Hutch on this one. I started drinking when I was 14. The first sip I had was at Ozzfest in 2000,then the second, third, and so on. The point to that is that underage people are ALWAYS going to be able to get alcohol, be it from a friend, a cool uncle, brother, whatever...and eventually they WILL get caught by someone. The question is, How will that person handle the situation? If they just blow it off and are like "Don't worry, I wont tell your parents..." they are basically saying that its alright to lie and the drinking will continue under the noses of the parentals. Now, if the person does in fact speak with your parents about it, one of two things could happen. 1)they could go off the handle, beat you like a red headed step child and lock you in your room for the remainder of your underage years...bad parenting in my opinion. This is the point where the parents have a real chance of making a difference in their kid's life and speak with their kids about the drinking dos and don'ts (that's the second thing that could happen). What this does is open the parent-child relationship and allow for more honesty on both parts; the child will be more apt to go to their parents with other things that would not have surfaced otherwise, such as the cigarettes, lap dances, and other things a kid would usually not talk about with their parents. If the drinking age is lowered, however, most kids would still sneak and drink because they would believe their parents would not condone it. Then you are confronted with the same problem as above, except when the kid gets caught he could just say "...I'm an adult now and don't need you to tell me what to do, I'm old enough to drink...blah, blah, blah," and the relationship is sealed tight once more. By giving and 18 year old the ability to drink at the age of 18 would simply make matters worse.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I can see how it could possibly help. As I mentioned earlier, I started drinking when I was 14. When I was caught not much was said. My parents basically turned a blind eye as their liquor cabinet began to diminish whenever I would invite my friends over on the weekend. By the time I got in college, one could say I was a bit of an overdrinker and probably borderline alcoholic. When I was 19 I got a dui and flipped my truck off a bridge and should probably be dead. Had it not been for the thrill of possibly getting caught or doing something I was not supposed to do, I probably wouldn't have drank as much as I did and would have been a more responsible drinker and person by the time I got in college.
In conclusion, whether the drinking age is lowered or not doesn't really matter, kids will be able to get alcohol regardless. Just like most of the problems with today's youth, it comes down to parenting. How they react to the fact that their kids are partying is what really matters.
I was against drinking in high school and didn't have a single drink until I turned 20. I never told anyone else not to or judged them. I was the DD on countless nights. I just didn't think it was a good idea for me. Personally, I think that underage drinking is like drinking at any other age. It's not a problem unless it becomes excessive. And that's kind of how everything in life is. Too much of almost anything is bad for you. Too much tv, too much time online, too much junk food, and others are all things that are fine in moderation. Dependency on things are what causes problems. We've all seen and heard what excessive drinking can do to people. I think anyone would be hard pressed to see themselves completely wasted and justify it as being a good idea. I think it's fun to drink socially and there's nothing wrong with it as long as you're responsible about it.
ReplyDeleteI just read this article today, and I thought it might be relevant.
ReplyDeletehttp://proof.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/why-and-how-i-drink/?th&emc=th
Hutch, what is so exciting about getting into a bar with a fake ID? Wouldn't one be just as thrilled to be independent and legitimate under the law? Couldn't it be relieving and more conducive to a "good time" being legally in a bar?
ReplyDeleteOh BillyBob. It's was great reading your comment. My dad gave me my first sip of beer when I was five. I hate beer. Can't drink it, makes me sick. When I was 13 I went to a wedding on my dad's side and drank a bunch of champagne, even though my mom told me not to. They served me and all and never asked me for an ID. My dad never said anything and neither did my stepmom, probably not the best idea, but knowing my dad he was probably as drunk as I was. I don't even think I knew what I was doing. I was just doing it because everyone else was and no one told me not to, well at the wedding anyway, and my mom never tried to explain to me the consequences. She never knew I drank that night. Anyway, I was not a supporter of drinking in high school. I didn't drink again until I went to college, and boy did I drink. It also led me to other things that people wouldn't want their kids to be doing. I don't even really remember my first 3 years of college. So do I think drinking is part of the experience of going to college, absolutely. Is that a good thing, probably not, but it's a reality. No, lowering the drinking age is not the answer. Really, I don't know how you are suppose to make kids underage responsible drinkers, if there is such a thing. Since bars are going to continue to open in college towns and since most of those bars would close down if they didn't let in kids underage, it's simply a reality that parents are going to have to deal with, and hopefully take the time to teach their children that this is a situation they are going to be presented with, and they are going to have to be responsible, and hopefully not end up screwing up their life because all it takes is that one time. I mean 25% of drinking accidents with an automobile are a sober person hitting a drunk person stumbling/falling into the street. A little info for those of you who haven't had their TIPS training!
ReplyDeleteI do believe it's "bologna". At least that's what the Oscar Meyer song taught me... :)
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