Underage drinking has become very relevant to my generation and the environment I am surrounded by. Research has developed my opinion on the fact that alcohol will always have effects on humans, and the more one consumes the increase in more negative effects will develop especially if you are under the legal drinking age. After doing a surplus of research, the information I found reaffirmed my stance that underage drinkers will experience more harmful effects due to the low maturity level and underdevelopment of the human brain. The statistics have also proven that those who are underage and participate in drinking are more likely to increase rates such as teen pregnancy and fatality. Extended researched confirmed that environmental sources such as family, friends, law enforcement, and the community in which they live are large influences on if teenagers decide to engage in underage drinking. 

The Preventing and Reducing Underage Drinking article by Stephen K. Galson is informing the audience of how alcohol is affecting people who are under the age of 21. It starts off by introducing how teens may start drinking before the legal age because of peer pressure, family, school, or their community influences. The article continues to explain how underage drinkers raise the statistics of STD's, unplanned pregnancies, and brain damage as the adolescent mind is not complete until the age of 21, when the brain reaches full development. This synopsis only further attributes to my stance that alcohol is not something anyone under the legal drinking age should partake in. These young adults are not mature enough yet to understand how alcohol impairs your thinking and reasoning skills. Galson is credible because he was an acting surgeon general whose job is to inform people about the scientific information on keeping good health. He researches and conducts polls, gathering information about harmful effects alcohol has on teens to inform to the public. This informative article was non-biased to present the cold facts, not harshly pronouncing a side. It simply informs the public on the statistics and studies gathered so the reader can make their opinion after being given the pros and cons. Often times statistics can only do so much persuasion and it will not effect a person unless it has effected them personally or through a loved one. Galson's value of trying to inform the audience of underage drinking might risk the audience's urge to want to partake in underage drinking even more due to the natural desire people have wanting to do things they are not supposed to do, as this is a well known character trait in teenagers. As teenagers are already prone to making many mistakes as a result of going through puberty and shifting into adulthood, their decision making is mostly based on whim. Adding alcohol on top of that adds even more caution to the decision making of teens. 

The Work Hard, Play Harder article by The Wilson Quarterly is a review of the book "The Drinking Game" by Marshall Poe. Poe advocates that college campuses are swarmed with alcohol and that is what advocates the "college experience." The Wilson Quarterly best summarizes Poe by saying you cannot avoid alcohol on most college campuses, its just a natural thing. Poe thinks that those who decide to harm others with careless drinking, like driving and public intoxication, should be given consequences but to everyone else being responsible, enjoy! It is reasonable to say that those acting irresponsible at the expense of hurting themselves/others should receive punishment. It is not reasonable, however, to say "responsible" drinkers are free to continue drinking, especially if they are under the legal drinking age. No one can define the word responsible without many interpretations in consideration. I also disagree with the opinion that alcohol defines the college experience. As it is widely common, it is not the sole basis to ones college career. The author is The Wilson Quarterly who explores cultural topics and issues concerned with the current time period. It is credible because it is merely summarizing the book "The Drinking Game" and not inserting bias. This argumentative book was biased, persuading the audience that it is socially acceptable to drink as long as you are not confiscating the safety of other people. Many audience members who are adults, specifically with children in college, who will read this article will be very concerned, worrying about their children's' actions in potential participation of underage drinking. Although The Wilson Quarterly is unbiased in its review of the book "The Drinking Game," it poses a threat to losing its audience by referencing a source with a large amount of bias. 

Another article informing its audience on college-age drinking problems called "Viewpoint on College-age Drinking Problems" by Ralph W. Hingson provides detailed facts on drinking and driving, binge drinking at ages under 21 through 23, and the enforcement on those who are under public intoxication. While the article does describe the statistics on deaths involving motor vehicle incidents, it also presents the other side of law enforcement being wildly lenient, alluding to the fact that deaths involving alcohol could also be reduced not just by the people reducing their intake, but law enforcement cracking down and showing people how serious it is. Law enforcement has struggled to firmly practice the law of punishing underage drinkers, whether it's arresting, giving tickets, or at the least shutting down parties. I believe law enforcement gives a disgrace to their career if they are not actually enforcing the law. From seeing similar experiences in my community, the local police like to show up to house parties and only enforce the noise complaint by telling teens to quiet down. Rarely did I ever hear about the law enforcement enforcing necessary punishment for students breaking the law by drinking underage. This article does not religiously or culturally sway one's decision. It only respects the fact that there is a legal drinking age and people who have disregarded it are presented in negative statistics. It is relevant because the statistics provided give students a clear understanding of how alcohol quantitatively effects people their age and credible because it is given from the Public Health Reports. It does not try to sway the opinion of the audience, but rather inform them on real life statistics. I like how this article presents both sides. As much as it is the responsibility of the minors to obey the law and not drink, officials are expected to do their job and serve this country by protecting the lives of everyone; this includes enforcing the legal drinking age. This article does a good job portraying many reasons as to why underage drinking is not O.K. through examples of law enforcement being sympathetic and letting these kids off the hook. Another example of law enforcement being wildly lenient is through the youtube video "Underage Drinking White Girl Let Go After Rock-Paper-Scissor Game With Cop [ Video]." This portrayed a situation where an underage girl who was drinking played a game of rock paper scissors with a cop, won, and got out of any form of punishment. It is outrageous that the law enforcement, supposedly "protecting the lives of our community" decide to make bets with students. I find this very inappropriate and more importantly frightening that decisions like this one made by the cop is now potentially going to effect other innocent humans. That girl was able to continue to be in public and her now altered mindset due to alcohol could cause her to do unexpected and immoral decisions. She may feel prone to get behind the wheel driving a car, continue making public disturbances, etc. This situation is out of control because the law enforcement is clearly not doing their legal job of protecting the community.

The Can We Better Prevent Binge Drinking? article debated the idea on binge drinking in our youth and if it is preventable. I think binge drinking is definitely preventable if more education about its harm was implemented and more adults stressed the importance to be safe if teenagers do decide to partake in underage drinking. Binge Drinking is a very harmful activity and the article references that new forms of tests such as "salivary, serum and urinary beta-hexosaminidase, and salivary immunoglobulin A" are seen to show prevention in binge drinking. The author N Waszkiewics and A Szulc are credible because they work within the Department of Psychiatry at a medical university. There is no bias within the source, merely allowing the audience to consider the idea of what it would take to lower the rate of binge drinking on their own. Even putting the idea out there that binge drinking is important enough to discuss prevention may reach the audience in a positive way to think about the effects of binge drinking. The value of preventing binge drinking is at stake because participants are less likely to be accepting and reluctant to change their ways. It might influence those who are interested or on the verge of binge drinking, but for those who already partake in binge drinking might refuse to accept that it is an issue.

A TED-talk video "Dangers of Underage Drinking and Driving: Jacqui's Story" centralizes around the idea that you should not drink and drive, reminding the audience that if you are under the age of 21 it is illegal to drink. The evidence provided was story of a man who was drinking underage and decided to drive his car. He ended up hitting another car, killing two people instantly and harming another bystander. This caused him going to prison for intoxication manslaughter. This source is credible because it provides the audience with the first hand experience from both the victim and the man who is guilty. This story was published on Youtube only two years ago, making this story very relevant to our generation in understanding that underage drinking is a huge issue that impacts not only your life, but also the lives of others. There is definitely bias promoting the abstinence of drinking alcohol if you are underage. It is one sided and does not show those who drink and don't make these poor choices. I think this source fits my project well because it is very informative to protecting the lives of others as well as your own life. This source shows the importance of being cautionary while drinking alcohol underage.

The "Law Officers' Views on Enforcement of the Minimum Drinking Age: A Four-state Study" article describes the law enforcement of alcohol on those who are under the age of 21. It reflects on all 50 states in the U.S. having laws prohibiting the consumption of alcohol below the age of 21. Some states are more lenient with the allowed possession of alcohol and how strict their laws should be against those who are 21. This article provides statistics on the number of people who actually get penalized for underage drinking/possession specifically by the county or local law enforcement officers. This article is geared towards recognizing that if people want the laws enforced, the county and local law enforcement officers need to enforce the rules, as that is the title of their job and what they are held responsible to perform. It is important that law enforcement is involved with punishing those who break the law, like those who drink under the legal age. As much as it is the responsibility of people who are underage not to drink, the back up of law enforcement should be utilized completely to its full potential. This article was published in 1995. Yes, that makes it about 20 years old compared to our current time, but it is just as relevant and the information provided is just as accurate if not even higher than it was back in 1995. This source provides the other angle to limiting drinking, which is the enforcement of the law restricting those to drink it if under the age of 21 years.

Underage drinking is mostly seen as a negative activity because it is through the eyes of people who are not underage and are trying to protect teenagers like parents and other loved ones. Theodora Lee posted a video "Underage Drinking  --  My Experience" and described that she does not advocate for underage drinking, but she did feel like it was O.K. for her to drink at the age of 15 in a safe environment even if her parents were unaware. It was interesting hearing this viewpoint because its almost impossible to support not drinking underage yet saying you were fine to do it when you were underage. It showcases a double standard that in a way persuades kids that you shouldn't support it, but you will probably turn out fine. I do not agree with this mentality solely because she gives no good argument. She borders both sides of the argument and does not know how to choose a side.

On the contrary, "The Dangers of Binge Drinking" produced by The Doctors shows how binge drinking, coming from a teen who personally experienced it, is life threatening. The girl had a 0.43 blood alcohol content level which is over 5 times the legal limit. This left her in a hospital on life support. I felt very bothered by this story because the girl put herself in this situation and didn't think about the harmful effects that come along with excessive alcohol consumption. I wish she would have been more responsible because she put other people in danger buy drinking so much, making her parents worried sick and now costing them thousands of dollars in medical bills, and most importantly damaging her body in more ways than she can comprehend. The credibility of this source is very good because the information on binge drinking was coming straight from an ER doctor himself, giving reliable information. It is biased because obviously doctors are going to advocate to not drink, for purely health reasons at the least. This video provides a first hand experience from a teen who effected her own life by abusing the use of alcohol. She did not expect anything bad to happen to her, but that became out of her control once she made the decision to drink alcohol. Anyone under the influence can have a similar situation, or worse, happen to them.

"It's Just a Sip" by Betsy Brown Braun centralizes on the idea of why children become interested in wanting alcohol. A lot of it is centered around the home with desiring what parents label forbidden to the children. The author also describes that if parents decide to slack off and let their children sip their alcoholic beverages, the children will notice that their parents don't care so they become more carefree and lenient upon other issues. It is not acceptable that parents teach their children breaking this law is O.K. and damaging their still developing minds at that. There is definitely bias within this source. There is no statistics backing up the claims allowing for a full, opinioned article. Although there is no statistical evidence within this source, it does provide another angle for the audience to look at to reason as to why kids put alcohol as an importance in their mind. Parents are a main root as to if and when teenagers incorporate alcohol into their lifestyle.

The research presented varies from source to source. Each source provides its own opinion on the topic of underage drinking. With the "Work Hard, Play Harder" article, it references a book advocating that it is okay for students who are underage to drink, as long as they are not harming other in the process. My other sources do not agree with this philosophy, as most remain unbiased and present the harmful effects alcohol can have on those who are not of legal age to drink. After reading these articles, my opinion has become even more firm on the stance of enforcing the legal drinking age of 21. I believe teenagers abuse the purpose of alcohol and can drink too much to the point of putting other lives in danger, including their own. These articles differ because they are trying to appeal to different audiences. Although they differ, they share a common ground in the fact that alcohol can present negative effects. I believe that underage drinking is a major issue and is not beneficial in any way. To start with, it is illegal to be drinking if you are under the age of 21. It also puts your life, along with other lives, at risk. Once you've consumed any alcohol, your judgment is impaired. It also puts other people out of the way to ensure extra cautionary watch like parents/guardians, law enforcement officers, and friends

