I am interested in the effects of lowering the drinking age because I am an underage college student and have had to transition from being around people of my age to people who are old enough to drink. I have witnessed people not being educated about alcohol in my short time at USC. These people generally have a rough transition into college because they do not understand how consuming a lot of alcohol can affect their body and their actions. This could affect me because alcohol affects health and that is a major value of mine. Alcohol also tends to create people to make bad decisions, and someone's bad decision could affect me. I have been around people both underage drinking and people of age and it is clear that the people underage are a lot more unsafe while consuming alcohol. I am qualified to write about this because I am a nineteen-year-old college student who witnesses effects of alcohol on people of all ages and believe that people should not be coming into a college atmosphere without experience of alcohol and the peer pressures that surround it. I will become more qualified after I research more articles and resources on this topic. 

"Should the U.S. Lower It's Drinking Age?"  is about a professor who believes that the U.S. drinking age should be lowered. The professor believes that the drinking age should be lowered to as young as six years old. This article explains that the people that want the drinking age lowered, do not want young kids to get drunk, although they want them to be educated about the effects of alcohol. The professor states, "The younger people start to drink, the safer they are." The major stakes in this article are health and education about alcohol. Health is a substantial factor because alcohol affects many aspects of health. The reason behind lowering the drinking age is for adolescents to be more educated about alcohol and its effects. The author is a writer for CNN which is one of the biggest news outlets in the world. If one can write for CNN, then they have enough credentials for research to be done. What makes the writer credible for this specific topic is the research that they display in the article about the argument of lowering the drinking age. 

"The Debate on Lowering the Drinking Age" is a CBS news article. This article reports that over 100 college presidents have made a stand to move the drinking age from eighteen to twenty-one. The president's reason for this change is that the only thing that the drinking age limit does is push underage drinkers to drink "underground" and also binge drink when they are of age. These presidents argue that lowering the drinking age will make kids safer. Major stakes in this article are the fact that Presidents of well-known universities are putting themselves out there to be heard and the college age students that are underage drinking. It is a big deal when presidents of schools such as Dartmouth or Duke are making claims such as lowering the drinking age. This creates a large debate because these men and women are well-respected and very knowledgeable especially when dealing with underage kids at the college level. The fact that college age kids are known to be drinking and authorities know it is happening creates unsafe environments, which makes for a notable stake as well. The author is credible because of who he writes for and from the sources and research he used. He writes for CBS and this is a 60 Minutes based article which is very reputable. This writer also is writing on sources that are well educated on the subject at hand. The resources for the writer are the presidents of the universities and law enforcement that deals with the issue. 

"Study: The Debate Is Over- Higher Drinking Age Saves Lives" is an article out of U.S. News & World Report that argues the drinking age of twenty-one has saved lives. This is mainly due to alcohol-related traffic fatalities being underage drivers. This article shows more research that the drinking age of 21 does not create more binge drinking, which is a common debate. The biggest stake in this article is the lives that the drinking age have saved. Being that this study has been proved, saving 900 lives a year is a major deal and should be used in the argument. The writer of this source is credible on this topic because of the source that she writes for and the research she did. U.S. News is a credible news center and is looked at for news every day. For this topic, it is credible because it has research in this article that is directly given to prove it's claim. 

This research question is arguable because it is something that effects everyone in the United States. The drinking age being lowered can be argued either way and there is an extensive amount of research for both sides of the argument. The biggest agreement is that the education of drinking creates safe environments and the younger the better. Disagreements come when talking about the amount being drank.  There is a debate on whether or not the drinking age causes people to binge drink when they are of age. When sources present evidence, it effects my perspective. The perspective of people such as college professors and presidents has an effect on my perspective because I am in college. I might want to be more specific on which age the lower drinking age will affect. 

