18 or 21, Which is the Better Age?

Changing the legal drinking age back to 18 years old may not completely solve underage drinking problems, but it may be the best choice.

            Underage drinking is happening everywhere across the United States.  Most underage drinking happens in college, but high school students also participate.  The risks that come with underage drinking create a very unsafe environment for people.  Many do not realize the strong effects of alcohol, which causes many scary situations.  Some will argue that the solution to the underage drinking would be to change the legal drinking age back to 18 years old.  However, the responsibility that alcohol brings needs to be met with respect and maturity of a person, which many 18 year olds do not possesses.

            In 2010, a group of college presidents, including the presidents of Dartmouth, Virginia Tech and Duke, signed a declaration that said the 21-year-old drinking age was not working.  This declaration started the debate and brought up the concepts of binge drinking and “pre-gaming”.  Binge drinking is the concept of drinking alcohol beverages in a short amount of time with the primary purpose of becoming highly intoxicated.  And “pre-gaming” is the concept of drinking before a social event or activity so that a person is already intoxicated before arriving.  Binge drinking and “pre-gaming” occurs all across college campuses, but mostly by underage people.  This concept of having to drink a lot in a small amount of time creates bad situations.  Most people when they first enter college have never drunk alcohol before, therefore leaving them with no idea of what their alcohol limit may be.  This puts people in danger because many drink so much so quickly in fear that they will not be able to drink at the social event because they are not 21 years old. 

            The legal drinking age for the United States causes much controversy because of the number of teenagers who underage drink.  The United States law clearly states that a person must be 21 years old to drink alcohol.  However, this law used to state that people could be 18 years old until it was changed to 21 in 1984 due to the National Minimum Drinking Age Act.  This law is enforced, but many young people find ways around it.  In college underage drinking is the most prevalent because many people do not turn 21 until their junior year of college.  The drinking age not only creates an issue about people doing it illegally, but also some choose to do it in a manor that puts them and others in danger. 

            The responsibility and maturity level that need to be met when drinking is not yet prevalent in those who are under 21 years old.  “People are not responsible when it comes to drinking,” said Katie Close, a junior at the University of Oklahoma.  Not only do people need to be responsible when they drink, but they need to understand that driving while drinking is not only illegal, but can create bad situations and accidents that could have been avoided.  “I think changing the age would increase the accidents because people would realize that they can’t get into trouble,” Close said.  Kids are drinking to the point where they are making themselves physically ill.  Drinking too much can create alcohol poisoning, which causes people to throw up, pass out and on rare incidents can lead to death. 

            However, with all of the irresponsibility that drinking may bring, many use the excuse that if 18 year olds are able to vote and go to war then they should be able to drink alcohol.  “If you are able to vote for our country’s president and you can fight for our country’s freedom, then you should be able to have an alcohol beverage,” Katie Smith said, a sophomore at the University of Oklahoma.  If the drinking age was changed back to 18 years old of age, the urgency for college students to binge drink could decline.  Instead of drinking a lot before the party, people would space out their drinking over many hours, which would sometimes help with excessive drinking. 

 Despite the fact that some 18 year olds are more mature than some 21 year olds, the drinking age is best fitted at 21 years old.  No matter the age people still drink too much, some drive under the influence and many make bad choices.  The solution to underage drinking is not to change the age, but to better inform people the consequences and effects of drinking.