AGE of ADULTHOOD—18 In the 1980’s it was legal for eighteen-year-olds to purchase and consume In 1984, the United States Government pressured the states to raisethe legal age to twenty-one (Rally). Their reasoning--eighteen-year-olds were tooimmature and responsible in their partaking of alcohol. Outlawing the consumption ofalcohol by minors does not prevent underage drinking anymore than posting speed limitsigns prevents speeding! Is there something that all of the sudden makes us responsibledrinkers when we turn 21? Many times, we see people under 21 make complete idiots ofthemselves while drinking. But can it not be concluded that we see an equal number ofpeople over the age of 21 engaging in those same activities? Age does not determinewhether or not an individual drinks responsibly.Remorseless drinking has long been as much a ritual of university life as football,final exams, and frat-parties! Alcohol abuse goes on quite often on college campusesregardless of ones age. A great many problems related to alcohol use among collegestudents is in direct correlation to the national drinking age in this country. A 1996 studyfound that eighty-four percent of college students under the age of twenty-one drink(Jones 64). Although one may not have access to alcohol at a bar, but a student may bedrinking at a party or may just have an older friend buy their alcohol. Studies haveshown that college students who can legally purchase alcohol drink less than those whocan’t. This just makes it more exciting for one who is underage to drink because it isforbidden. Alcohol consumption does not appear to pose the monumental concern in othercountries as it does here in the United States. In countries that impose a drinking age, itranges from 16-18 years of age and in other countries there is not one at all. In Europe,people do not consider “getting drunk” as an acceptable pastime (Mooney 18). O...
