Recently a major topic of discussion among universities, as well as members of state congresses, was whether or not the drinking age should be lowered from 21 to 18.
Presidents of universities at Dartmouth, Duke and Ohio State are huge advocates for lowering the drinking age to 18 since it’s a well known fact that alcohol abuse by college students is a huge problem.
“This is a law that is routinely evaded,” says John McCardell, former president of Middlebury College in Vermont.
According to CNN, more than 40 percent of college students reported at least one symptom of alcohol abuse or dependence. CNN also reported one study estimating that each year more than 500,000 full-time students at four-year colleges suffer injuries related in some way to drinking, and about 1,700 die in accidents.
In countries such as Italy, Japan, Mexico and France -- where the legal drinking age is 18 -- drinking isn’t viewed as a horribly wrong thing, so many young adults aren’t driven to drink just to be rebellious.
“Here in Puerto Rico I was exposed to drinking at a young age and it was always seen as socially acceptable, which doesn’t make me want to go crazy as soon as my parents are away,” says Juan Antonio, a resident of Puerto Rico.
In the United States, when a person turns 18 he or she is legally considered an adult, but is unable to have a glass of wine with a dinner or enjoy a cold beer while watching a football game.
In the aforementioned countries and also others, the drinking and driving ages are both 18. If the United States Congress were to lower the drinking age, they could also consider raising the driving age so there would be a decrease in drunk driving accidents.
The Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) organization is very much against lowering the drinking age because members are afraid there will be an increase in drunk driving accidents, but if the U.S. were to raise the driving age to 18 this risk would decrease.
Many people have also brought up the issue that 18 year olds may have friends who are 17 and even 16, and would be tempted to give them alcohol; however, 21 year olds have friends who are 20 and even 19, and they often distribute alcohol to them -- which is evident throughout universities.
This is a problem that will persist no matter what the legal drinking age is, but by raising the driving age, 16 and 17-year-old students might be consuming alcohol, but at least they would not have easy access to a vehicle.
When someone joins the army, he is given the ability to determine the fate of not only himself but of others as well. If the U.S. was to allow an 18 year old to consume alcohol, it would be less of a responsibility than having him carry out top secret missions that determine our national security.