The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

The student news site of El Camino College

El Camino College The Union

Raise a glass to knowledge

Illustration+by+Eugene+Chang
Illustration by Eugene Chang

An 18-year-old can get a tattoo, join the military, buy a home, get married and purchase cigarettes, yet they still can’t buy a drink.

If 18 is considered an adult in the eyes of the law and an 18-year-old is allowed to take on adult responsibility then they should be able to have a drink.

According to drinkingage.procon.org out of 190 countries the U.S. is one of 11 countries where the legal drinking age is 21. That means that 179 countries drinking age limit is 18 and under and some don’t have a limit at all. So what is America waiting for?

The drinking age should be lowered to 18 instead of 21 for multiple reasons.

First, to show people what they’re not missing. A major reason why underage drinking occurs is because of the thrill factor. When someone is told that they can’t do something it makes them want to do it even more and that’s when accidents happen.

So, take the mystery away and educate young people on the do’s and dont’s of drinking. In order to get a drivers license one has to learn the rules of the road and the same should go for drinking.

If a 16-year-old can be trusted to drive a car responsibly then an 18-year-old should be allowed to drink. The solution to the problem of underage drinking is simple: educate, educate, educate.

“Drink responsibly” is a phrase that is used all the time, but what does that really mean?

There are 21 year olds who haven’t figured that out. Instead they go out and get wasted because they don’t understand the effects of alcohol, mainly because they were never educated. In the beginning drinking is mainly experimenting, so people can see what drinks they like. Because of that young people should be prepared to enter into the drinking scene.

Just someone is shown a video of the driving under the influence doesn’t teach people how to consume alcohol.

Furthermore, the drinking age should be lowered because the law considers an 18-year-old to be an adult and being an adult means people are free to make their own decisions. A three year age difference doesn’t mean that people are more responsible.

Nothing is stopping people from doing what they want to do, so seeing as it’s adults who make the laws a decision should be made that protects young people by educating them on the do’s and dont’s of drinking.

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