2008 Woodie Awards
A minor drinking problem
Assessing underage drinking on campus
Jeremy Worden
Issue date: 10/7/04 Section: Opinions
- Page 1 of 1
Underage drinking. How serious of a problem is it and, what can be done about it? These are questions that have been asked again and again by many different people, but nobody seems to have an answer to it. Should teens that drink be sentenced to jail or fined heavily?
College is a place when underage drinking occurs a lot for several reasons. First, most college students are away from home for the first time and are able to do things they normally wouldn't do when they are with their parents. Second, it's available. A lot of people either have fake IDs, or can legally buy alcohol and share it with underage students, sometimes for a price.
Third, some people drink as an escape. College is a stressful time and students sometimes feel the need to relax, escape, or just plain have fun and drinking is, more often than not, the answer. It relaxes a persons inhibitions so they can do things they normally would not.
So, some students try and justify their drinking as an escape from reality or just plain, harmless fun? But, is it just harmless fun. Drinking has many more down-sides than up-sides. After asking numerous people if they could think of one good reason to get drunk, nobody could think of one. Sure, people replied to have fun, relax, or celebrate, but are those good reasons?
Think of the effects drinking has on your body. Nobody enjoys that next-morning feeling. You are usually sore, dirty, smelly, and hungry with a colossal headache. Imagine having an early class or a test, you are hung over and miserable. You do terribly because of the aforementioned hang over. However, that is not the worst that could happen. Imagine being at a party, drinking and having a good time, and security stops by, or worse, the police. At the very least, a fine will be issued and a mark will go on your record forever.
Don't think the people who are of age are in the clear either. If you are of drinking age and supply minors with alcohol, you could be taken to jail. You might try to justify everything by saying adults get drunk and cause trouble too, so why single out teens? It is true that some adults get drunk, and cause problems. But underage drinking is a large factor in teen automobile crashes, pregnancy, and even death.
This reminds me of a report about a freshman college student at UW- Madison who died recently. It was only his first day at college and he went to a party, got drunk, and fell off a second story balcony. He died a couple of days later at a local hospital. It was a tragic and unnecessary event that was largely caused by underage drinking. So, the next time you are at a party where alcohol is being served and you are under-aged, think about the consequences before you slam a beer.
College is a place when underage drinking occurs a lot for several reasons. First, most college students are away from home for the first time and are able to do things they normally wouldn't do when they are with their parents. Second, it's available. A lot of people either have fake IDs, or can legally buy alcohol and share it with underage students, sometimes for a price.
Third, some people drink as an escape. College is a stressful time and students sometimes feel the need to relax, escape, or just plain have fun and drinking is, more often than not, the answer. It relaxes a persons inhibitions so they can do things they normally would not.
So, some students try and justify their drinking as an escape from reality or just plain, harmless fun? But, is it just harmless fun. Drinking has many more down-sides than up-sides. After asking numerous people if they could think of one good reason to get drunk, nobody could think of one. Sure, people replied to have fun, relax, or celebrate, but are those good reasons?
Think of the effects drinking has on your body. Nobody enjoys that next-morning feeling. You are usually sore, dirty, smelly, and hungry with a colossal headache. Imagine having an early class or a test, you are hung over and miserable. You do terribly because of the aforementioned hang over. However, that is not the worst that could happen. Imagine being at a party, drinking and having a good time, and security stops by, or worse, the police. At the very least, a fine will be issued and a mark will go on your record forever.
Don't think the people who are of age are in the clear either. If you are of drinking age and supply minors with alcohol, you could be taken to jail. You might try to justify everything by saying adults get drunk and cause trouble too, so why single out teens? It is true that some adults get drunk, and cause problems. But underage drinking is a large factor in teen automobile crashes, pregnancy, and even death.
This reminds me of a report about a freshman college student at UW- Madison who died recently. It was only his first day at college and he went to a party, got drunk, and fell off a second story balcony. He died a couple of days later at a local hospital. It was a tragic and unnecessary event that was largely caused by underage drinking. So, the next time you are at a party where alcohol is being served and you are under-aged, think about the consequences before you slam a beer.
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