Thursday, October 29, 2009

Theory: Satisfaction Almost Guaranteed

There is no way to completely satisfy both sides of the legal drinking age debate. However, I would like to propose a theory that would almost completely satisfy those in favor of lowering the drinking age to 18 and partially satisfy those in keeping the age at 21. Since the majority of underage drinking occurs in college, colleges should be issued pub licenses that allow distribution of beer and wine to those with a student ID of age 18. In order to prevent over consumption, a breathalyzer will be used to ensure that the alcohol limit of 0.08 is not exceeded. Furthermore, the drinking age would still remain at 21, but colleges would be given the chance to show students the way to drink responsibly.
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3 comments:

  1. AWOctober 30, 2009 at 6:42 AM

    Do you think that this is a fare rule for those underage persons who want to drink and are not in college? And I do not think that it is feasibly possible to ensure that all college students do not reach the 0.08 limit. College is a place for learning but I do not think that responsible drinking is a lesson that a university can teach. It is a moral issue that a person has to decide upon for themselves.

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  2. NatureNurtureNovember 1, 2009 at 2:16 PM

    AW brings up a good point. What if those who are also 18 and are not in college want to drink? College requires a good bit of money, so is this solution favoring the middle and upper class?

    It is also difficult to maintain a safe drinking environment for all because individuals will decide what they think is best for them without thinking about the community at large (sometimes). Plus, it would also be challenging to do a breathalyzer test on thousands of suspected heavy college drinkers...

    but this is still a good solution to try to appease both sides.

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  3. Jelly BeanNovember 1, 2009 at 4:58 PM

    This may not be a fair solution for everyone overall, but then again, there is no compromise that will satisfy everyone. The universities may have a difficult time making sure that students stay under the 0.08 limit, but with proper education this goal can be reached. Having a proper alcohol education class would show students the negative side effects of alcohol. And yes I do understand that the use of the breathalyzer could come to be a difficult task, but I feel that if the students knew it was going to be there, they would be less likely to overconsume alcohol. Obviously, they do not want to get a drinking ticket.

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