“Erica Buschick, 18, of Gurnee, Illinois, was found dead Jan. 20 in Morris Hall on the Oxford campus, officials said. The 18-year-old's roommate called 911 at 8:55 a.m. to report her friend's death. The roommate said the two had been out drinking the night before, and that the teen was intoxicated when they returned to their dorm just after midnight. According to a newly released Miami University Police report, the Miami freshman and her roommate spent the night of Jan.19 drinking two bottles of champagne, a Dasani bottle filled with vodka, and took more vodka shots at a house party.”(WLWT Digital) Erica was more than just another college drinking statistic, she was my neighbor, my best friend, my teammate, and even my former girl scout. We grew up together, we cried together, we laughed together, we partied together and most importantly our families grew close together, and now she’s just gone in the blink of an eye. The loss of someone so young, so beautiful, and so full of life has lead me to writing this research paper because now everyday I wake up, a piece of myself and my life will forever be missing. My goal here is not to tell you that drinking in college is bad and you shouldn’t do it, because that is indeed unrealistic and my words would be hypocritical at that point. But instead I sit back and wonder would these awful tragedies occur if the legal drinking age were 18 instead of 21? There are a few different reasons why the drinking age should be lowered and why it would help the problem of alcohol abuse in the youths of America. Most of Europe has no drinking age and does not have the same types of problems that underage Americans do with alcohol. When rules are set on teenagers and young adults they tend to rebel against rules and abuse the limitation that is set on them. Finally, at the age of 18 a person is considered to be an adult and is given many different responsibilities such as being charged as an adult and going to war for this country and with that, the privilege to drink should just be another added responsibility.

 In Europe drinking is just another part of their daily lives and is not looked at as a problem among young people. Drinking a beer or wine with dinner is acceptable and is in fact normal. There is nowhere near the number of problems with alcohol abuse in Europe compared to America. For example look at Spain and compare it to the United States. Within the past year the death rate per 100,000 due to alcohol was 0.62 in Spain, while the rate in the United States was 2.91,(World Life Expectancy) which is almost five times the amount of deaths in Spain. This further exemplifies the massive difference between alcohol abuse between America and Europe is. The United States should look at these statistics and realize that it is not a coincidence that the figures are so far apart. The only major difference between the U.S. and other European Countries is the drinking age. The majority of countries in the world have the legal age set at 18. The facts clearly state that because of a lowered drinking age less deaths would occur and it would be very beneficial to our countries health. 

The drinking age has been 21 for the last 33 years, and people have wondered weather or not this was the right decision. Some argue that 18 year olds may not be mature enough to drink alcohol and won’t know when to stop. But it isn’t that teenagers don’t know how to stop, but instead they have not been properly taught when enough has been consumed or how to drink responsibly. Not only does it give teens the feeling of being drunk, but it also gives them the thrill of breaking the law. Changing the drinking age from 21 to 18 years old would take away the thrill that teenagers get from breaking the law while drinking, would no longer give them the idea that drinking is the final stage of adulthood and full maturity, and would no longer force teenagers to drink in unsupervised sketchy areas. When limitations are set on young adults they tend to rebel against rules and abuse the limitation that is set on them. Underage kids are going to drink no matter what. Whether they smuggle beer into a dorm room or all gather at an open house there is going to be drinking and because it is so frowned upon they are going to abuse it. Statistically speaking people of age do not abuse drinking anywhere near the amount that underage people do. If the drinking age is lowered there will be nothing for people to feel that they have to rebel against authority and in reality there will be nothing but positive results. In a article about the lowering of the drinking age Dr. Engs stated that younger people tend to drink abusively when they do consume and this change occurred after the increase in the drinking age. (Why the Drinking Age Should Be Lowered) This is because underage people look at the drinking age as a privilege that is taken away from them and so when they are able to take advantage of that privilege they do and sometimes the results are deadly. I strongly feel that younger people abuse alcohol so drastically because they know that it is forbidden and they get a sense of rebellion from drinking so much. According to Ruth Engs, teenage drinking is seen as a “forbidden fruit, a badge of rebellion against authority and a symbol of adulthood.” (Why the Drinking Age Should Be Lowered) ProCon.org says that if America changed the drinking age back to 18, then drinking for these teenagers would become more of a normal activity. They wouldn’t hide it from their parents or law officers, so they would be less prone to injuries or deaths. Then they would be under proper adult supervision, and at a place where they can learn how to drink responsibly (Drinking Age).

Lastly, it doesn’t make sense to limit a person under 21 from the simple act of having a drink even though they are given far more important responsibilities. At the age of 18 you are given the option of enrolling into the army to represent and protect your country. In 2001, war broke out between the Middle East and the United States and thousands of men and women were deployed to the Middle East to deal with the problem. While they were over there, the soldiers would witness many things that civilians could never dream of. In the book “An Angel in Hell” by Ryan A. Conklin, he stated he would always wake up hoping that that day was not the last day he would be on this Earth. He was always on high alert while on patrols, dodging bullets and shooting his own gun just to stay alive. He also said in his book that he found it odd and annoying that he could see all of these horrific things while being deployed in Iraq but since he was only 20 years of age he could not enjoy a simple beer when he would return to the states on leave. I find it to be insane that we can ship off 18-year-old kids who just graduated high school into war to die and then if they do by chance make it home alive they are not even allowed to relax and have a drink legally. It is also a sad sight to see that a 20-year-old couple who love each other and decide to get married can not toast at they’re wedding legally with a glass of champagne. It is also seems somewhat unfair that the adults of society today can try and enforce this law on us teenagers when they did not even encounter this law when they were 18 and legally able to drink. I believe that this comes down to an issue of rights and how it is necessary to allow people under the age of 21 to drink.  

Some may say that younger people are going to abuse alcohol no matter what. This could be a valid argument because these people look at binge drinking as a past time and a fun activity and their age is not a factor in doing so. At a college party or even during high school kids come together to drink heavily for themselves, not to spite elders who impose drinking laws. Drinking is accepted socially and it is very unrealistic to try and impose a law saying that you can’t drink until your 21. Younger people are going drink no matter what and they may not necessarily be rebelling against the law directly. Some people drink heavily because they are still testing out their limits, or they are trying to get their minds off minor problems, it is going to happen either way. So the best thing to do is to lower the drinking age to avoid the additional consequences.

In conclusion it can be seen that dropping the drinking age would overall be beneficial to all. I believe that the statistics from Europe prove that a lowered drinking age will help out the problem here in the states. Also, if the limitation is taken away from underage people then there will be no desire to rebel against the rule and we would see a lot less of these college binge drinking incidents. I also believe that this is an issue of rights and that as an adult at the age of 18 the privilege of drinking should definitely coincide with much more important responsibilities that 18 year olds already hold. I strongly feel that the lowering of the drinking age will seriously help the problem with alcohol for young and old people and will help towards making America great again.