Week 7: Underage Drinking

I am writing this blog entry on this topic for two reasons: One, it is the subject of a scholarship essay that I need to work on, so maybe this will inspire me to work on it. Two, I believe that as an 18-year-old, I am given the right the vote and the responsibility to serve, both in the military and on a jury, so why am I not allowed to consume an alcoholic beverage. My goal in this post is also to try to maintain objectivity. Here we go. In 1984, Congress passed a bill that states who did not prohibit the purchase and possession of alcohol by minors would receive a 10% cut in the state highway budget. This bill passed mainly due to the increased number of alcohol related fatalities. According to this document, states who lowered the drinking age by 1997 have seen a decrease in highway fatalities, but at the same rate as states who maintained the drinking age. Therefore, the main reason that advocates of the 21-year-old drinking age in the eighties have not seen their argument bear fruit. Also, many college and university presidents have spoken out, saying that even if the number of highway fatalities has fallen, the number of non-highway alcohol related fatalities has grown. One example of binge drinking caused by the stigma of 21-year-old drinking is Gordie Bailey. Gordie was rushing a fraternity and one of the initiation rituals was to drink as much alcohol as possible in 30 minutes. Gordie consumed approximately 17 shots before passing out. When all of the brothers returned to the house, Gordie was placed on the couch and the fraternity president instructed others to check on him. When his pulse was found to have stopped, the brothers called for help at 6am, when they had gotten back at about midnight. Undoubtedly, this would have all be stopped if there were no such thing as initiation rituals, but this also could have been stopped if Gordie had been exposed to alcohol before, known the dangers, and consumed wisely. I hope I have maintained a mostly objective stance, but I think that because I can elect a President, fight in a war, drive a car, and serve on a jury, then I should be able to have a drink.