Sunday, May 1, 2011
Final Post
Thank you for responding and commenting on my blog. I hope I gave you a different perspective on lowering the drinking age and underage drinking.
Is Underage Drinking A Major Public Health Risk?
I was glancing at google when the article from about.com popped up with the heading Underage Drinking: A Major Public Health Challenge. The website URL is below:
http://alcoholism.about.com/library/blnaa59.htm
While reading this article, the author makes some strong points about alcoholism and becoming dependent on alcohol caused by underage drinking. He also describes the many risks associated with alcohol. I may not agree with the authors' opinions of alcohol but what they are saying need to be taken into account. Truth is, alcoholism and alcohol dependency are not always associated with underage drinking. Statistics show that there are many other contributing factors or causes of these various alcohol disorders. But thats not what I am focusing on today. I am going to address the various increased risks and dangers of underage drinking and I'm sure most of you have already heard of some of these. Keep in mind that adolescence is the time between childhood and adulthood. It is when we change from a child to an adult. The four major risks with drinking in general are: (copied from website)
Drinking and Driving. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among youth ages 15 to 20 (8). Adolescents already are at increased risk through their relative lack of driving experience (9), and drivers younger than 21 are more susceptible than older drivers to the alcohol–induced impairment of driving skills (4,9). The rate of fatal crashes among alcohol–involved drivers between 16 and 20 years old is more than twice the rate for alcohol–involved drivers 21 and older (10).
Suicide. Alcohol use interacts with conditions such as depression and stress to contribute to suicide, the third leading cause of death among people between the ages of 14 and 25 (11,12). In one study, 37 percent of eighth grade females who drank heavily reported attempting suicide, compared with 11 percent who did not drink (13).
Sexual Assault. Sexual assault, including rape, occurs most commonly among women in late adolescence and early adulthood, usually within the context of a date (14). In one survey, approximately 10 percent of female high school students reported having been raped (5). Research suggests that alcohol use by the offender, the victim, or both, increases the likelihood of sexual assault by a male acquaintance (15).
High–Risk Sex. Research has associated adolescent alcohol use with high–risk sex (for example, having multiple sexual partners and failing to use condoms). The consequences of high–risk sex also are common in this age group, particularly unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS (5). According to a recent study, the link between high–risk sex and drinking is affected by the quantity of alcohol consumed. The probability of sexual intercourse is increased by drinking amounts of alcohol sufficient to impair judgment, but decreased by drinking heavier amounts that result in feelings of nausea, passing out, or mental confusion (16).
http://alcoholism.about.com/library/blnaa59.htm
There are risks with drinking no matter what age and in most cases all of these risks happen with underage drinkers and legal aged drinkers. As a society we need to educate our children about the risks, but also not hinder them from drinking. After all of these years why has our system NOT worked? Something needs to be done, I truly think that whether the drinking age is 18, 19 or 21 you will never fully get rid of the risks. Education is the key to helping our young generations make smart decisions about alcohol, even if they refuse to decrease the drinking age. Risk is always a factor, keep that in mind with whatever you do in life.
http://alcoholism.about.com/library/blnaa59.htm
While reading this article, the author makes some strong points about alcoholism and becoming dependent on alcohol caused by underage drinking. He also describes the many risks associated with alcohol. I may not agree with the authors' opinions of alcohol but what they are saying need to be taken into account. Truth is, alcoholism and alcohol dependency are not always associated with underage drinking. Statistics show that there are many other contributing factors or causes of these various alcohol disorders. But thats not what I am focusing on today. I am going to address the various increased risks and dangers of underage drinking and I'm sure most of you have already heard of some of these. Keep in mind that adolescence is the time between childhood and adulthood. It is when we change from a child to an adult. The four major risks with drinking in general are: (copied from website)
Drinking and Driving. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among youth ages 15 to 20 (8). Adolescents already are at increased risk through their relative lack of driving experience (9), and drivers younger than 21 are more susceptible than older drivers to the alcohol–induced impairment of driving skills (4,9). The rate of fatal crashes among alcohol–involved drivers between 16 and 20 years old is more than twice the rate for alcohol–involved drivers 21 and older (10).
Suicide. Alcohol use interacts with conditions such as depression and stress to contribute to suicide, the third leading cause of death among people between the ages of 14 and 25 (11,12). In one study, 37 percent of eighth grade females who drank heavily reported attempting suicide, compared with 11 percent who did not drink (13).
Sexual Assault. Sexual assault, including rape, occurs most commonly among women in late adolescence and early adulthood, usually within the context of a date (14). In one survey, approximately 10 percent of female high school students reported having been raped (5). Research suggests that alcohol use by the offender, the victim, or both, increases the likelihood of sexual assault by a male acquaintance (15).
High–Risk Sex. Research has associated adolescent alcohol use with high–risk sex (for example, having multiple sexual partners and failing to use condoms). The consequences of high–risk sex also are common in this age group, particularly unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS (5). According to a recent study, the link between high–risk sex and drinking is affected by the quantity of alcohol consumed. The probability of sexual intercourse is increased by drinking amounts of alcohol sufficient to impair judgment, but decreased by drinking heavier amounts that result in feelings of nausea, passing out, or mental confusion (16).
http://alcoholism.about.com/library/blnaa59.htm
There are risks with drinking no matter what age and in most cases all of these risks happen with underage drinkers and legal aged drinkers. As a society we need to educate our children about the risks, but also not hinder them from drinking. After all of these years why has our system NOT worked? Something needs to be done, I truly think that whether the drinking age is 18, 19 or 21 you will never fully get rid of the risks. Education is the key to helping our young generations make smart decisions about alcohol, even if they refuse to decrease the drinking age. Risk is always a factor, keep that in mind with whatever you do in life.
Monday, February 21, 2011
THE JMU DRINKING GAME: 3 strikes, you're out
JMU is trying to solve part of the problem or do "its" part on the underage drinking trend going on in colleges. JMU has the "Three Strikes" policy. It specifically states that if a student is found responsible of 3 alcohol and/or drug violations during the individual's college career. The student may be suspended for a minimum of one semester. Students with major alcohol/ drug violations may be suspended prior to receiving three strikes. Is this effective? Is it solving the big problem of underage drinking on campuses and even the United States? I am in the middle on this particular subject; i feel like consequences like JMU's strike system would help and benefit the school a little, but it will not solve the problem or even severely fix it. Part of the thrill of underage drinking is teens and college students are restricted and hindered from drinking which causes them to want to partake in it even more. Did you ever hear of the saying, if you tell someone to stop what they are doing, its going to initiate them to do what they are doing even more. I know a few people who have received strikes and citations and although it serves as a warning, I see those same people out doing the very same thing that got them into trouble in the first place. The strike system causes the underage drinking to go even more underground where it can become uncontrollable. So is this really making a difference? If it is working and benefiting the school, why haven't other universities and colleges followed in JMU's footsteps. I know JMU has the reputation of a huge party school, but there are even larger colleges with the same dilemna maybe even worse. Would lowering the drinking age help this controversial issue on college campuses and across the US or is this an effective way of hindering drinking on college campuses?
http://www.jmu.edu/healthctr/swo/wm_library/Article5-2b.pdf
http://www.jmu.edu/healthctr/swo/wm_library/Article5-2b.pdf
Hazed and Confused
Underage drinking and the extremely high drinking age have led to an even bigger problem: hazing. I’m sure you all have heard that word and the first thing you think about is college and Greek Life. Dictionary.com defines hazing as the subjection to harassment or ridicule. What does hazing have to do with underage drinking??
College is probably the number one place where hazing occurs in the United States. In the past, frats and sororities have been one of the main sources of hazing rituals throughout college campuses. Although many universities' fraternities and sororities have signed legal documents and Non-hazing campaigns, hazing still occurs frequently.
I remember my senior year of high school, we were required to watch a video about underage drinking and hazing on college campuses. The video was based on Gordie Bailey and his story of hazing and underage drinking at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Bailey was pledging for a fraternity and on bid night he and other pledges were forced to drink 10 gallons of whiskey and wine. Later that night Baily died of alcohol poisoning due to excessive drinking. Bailey's mother told interviewers that underage drinking needs to be regulated and she believes if the drinking age was 18 that her son could quite possibly be alive today.
Mark Beckner, police chief of Boulder, Co., believes that the drinking age should be lowered because he has seen way too many cases like Bailey's. He states that specific areas need to be focused on much more than "chasing kids around and trying to give 'em a ticket for having a cup of beer in their hand."
On the other hand, Chuck Hurley, director of MADD, states that the drinking age of 18 would cause more deaths and more funerals. The rate of fatalities decreased from 40 percent to 10 percent when the drinking age was raised.
America has a contradiction, a law that reduces highway deaths but it increases off-highway deaths like Gordie Bailey and contributes to many other hazing, underage drinking tragedies.
For more information about the video Haze and Gordie Bailey's story go to: http://www.gordie.org/Gordies-Story.aspx
Additional information on the CBS interview:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/19/60minutes/main4813571.shtml
I remember my senior year of high school, we were required to watch a video about underage drinking and hazing on college campuses. The video was based on Gordie Bailey and his story of hazing and underage drinking at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Bailey was pledging for a fraternity and on bid night he and other pledges were forced to drink 10 gallons of whiskey and wine. Later that night Baily died of alcohol poisoning due to excessive drinking. Bailey's mother told interviewers that underage drinking needs to be regulated and she believes if the drinking age was 18 that her son could quite possibly be alive today.
Mark Beckner, police chief of Boulder, Co., believes that the drinking age should be lowered because he has seen way too many cases like Bailey's. He states that specific areas need to be focused on much more than "chasing kids around and trying to give 'em a ticket for having a cup of beer in their hand."
On the other hand, Chuck Hurley, director of MADD, states that the drinking age of 18 would cause more deaths and more funerals. The rate of fatalities decreased from 40 percent to 10 percent when the drinking age was raised.
America has a contradiction, a law that reduces highway deaths but it increases off-highway deaths like Gordie Bailey and contributes to many other hazing, underage drinking tragedies.
For more information about the video Haze and Gordie Bailey's story go to: http://www.gordie.org/Gordies-Story.aspx
Additional information on the CBS interview:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/19/60minutes/main4813571.shtml
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Saving Lives or Destroying Lives, what do "they say" about it?
The huge question that people ask themselves that my previous posts have been leading up to is: Is the drinking age saving lives like it was meant to, or is it doing the opposite and destroying those lives?
As stated in my previous post, the main reason the government increased the drinking age was a goal of reducing highway fatalities. However minors and young people under 21 still engage in underage drinking all across the country. The "drinking age" has not hindered minors from consuming alcohol, it has only decreased the number of drunk driving accidents and fatalities.
Although the drinking age has helped save some lives, it is also helping to destroy other lives. The law is making teenagers drink excessively because they are prohibited and restricted. Experts say the law is leading to extreme drinking and binge drinking. John McCardell, president of Middlebury College in Vermont, started the college movement trying to lower the drinking age back to 18. McCardell believes the law has been a failure and puts kids at a higher risk for the dangers of drinking. He states that underage drinking has adapted to the law and become even more hidden and riskier because people are doing it more privately. The situations are worse than public disposure because, we cannot control or regulate what is happening in these settings.
Drinking games are just one of the unmanageable activities happening behind these closed unmanageable settings. These games are part of the underage drinking culture, where kids have to prove themselves by demonstrating reckless and destructive drinking behaviors. "Six and Ten" is a popular drinking game, the objective of the game; to drink six cups of beer in ten seconds. Kids are trying to become drunk quicker and prove who can drink the most.
One would think, the government would see how uneffective the law has been over the past 20-30 years. Matters have only become worse over time, kids are still drinking excessively, but they are being smart about when and where they are drinking. The government needs to do something about this because clearly the law is NOT WORKING! How much worse does it have to get before something must be done? What are your thoughts on the issue, do you think its saving lives or destroying lives?
The article I used is from CBS: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/19/60minutes/main4813571.shtml
As stated in my previous post, the main reason the government increased the drinking age was a goal of reducing highway fatalities. However minors and young people under 21 still engage in underage drinking all across the country. The "drinking age" has not hindered minors from consuming alcohol, it has only decreased the number of drunk driving accidents and fatalities.
Although the drinking age has helped save some lives, it is also helping to destroy other lives. The law is making teenagers drink excessively because they are prohibited and restricted. Experts say the law is leading to extreme drinking and binge drinking. John McCardell, president of Middlebury College in Vermont, started the college movement trying to lower the drinking age back to 18. McCardell believes the law has been a failure and puts kids at a higher risk for the dangers of drinking. He states that underage drinking has adapted to the law and become even more hidden and riskier because people are doing it more privately. The situations are worse than public disposure because, we cannot control or regulate what is happening in these settings.
Drinking games are just one of the unmanageable activities happening behind these closed unmanageable settings. These games are part of the underage drinking culture, where kids have to prove themselves by demonstrating reckless and destructive drinking behaviors. "Six and Ten" is a popular drinking game, the objective of the game; to drink six cups of beer in ten seconds. Kids are trying to become drunk quicker and prove who can drink the most.
One would think, the government would see how uneffective the law has been over the past 20-30 years. Matters have only become worse over time, kids are still drinking excessively, but they are being smart about when and where they are drinking. The government needs to do something about this because clearly the law is NOT WORKING! How much worse does it have to get before something must be done? What are your thoughts on the issue, do you think its saving lives or destroying lives?
The article I used is from CBS: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/19/60minutes/main4813571.shtml
Monday, January 24, 2011
Article Analysis "The Dangers of the Drinking Age"
I read an article from Forbes Magazine entitled, "The Dangers of the Drinking Age," the main argument refers to the question why didn't the MLDA21 movement save more lives? Here is the URL link to the article: http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/15/lowering-legal-drinking-age-opinions-contributors-regulation.html
The MLDA21 is the government's Minumum Legal Drinking Age of 21. The authors of the article are responding to and questioning the effectiveness of the MLDA21 over the past 20 years. In the first paragraph of the article, the authors refer to the Amethyst Initiative, a public statement signed by more than 100 college and university presidents. This statement is demanding an informed and public debate over the drinking age which currently is 21. Many negative responses from MADD and advocates voicing the purpose of MLDA21 and its prevention of traffic deaths among 18-20 year old adults. The advocates blamed the colleges and universities of not doing enough research on the relationship between traffic fatalities and America's drinking age. The authors of this article agree with the purpose of the Amethyst Initiative, they researched heavily on this issue and came to the conclusion that "MLDA21 has little or no lifew-saving effect whatsoever." Jeffrey Miron and Elina Tetelbaum are the two authors that prove their point and opinion with supporting facts of history and the prohibition of alcohol and the drinking age. Over time the drinking age in the US has fluctuated separately between states from 18-21. The fluctuations continued up until 1984 when Congress passed the Federal Underage Drinking Act (FUDAA), withholds transportation funding from states that lack the MLDA21. The law was supposed to fewer traffic fatalities, but in fact the only life-saving impact came from the few-early adopting states, not the large remaining number of states that were federally pressured into succumbing to the law. The question we must ask ourselves, is the original reason or benefit we passed the MLDA21 still in effect today? Some people would agree that it was, while others disagree and believe the drinking age has caused the increase in binge drinking and alcohol abuse. Miron and Tetelbaum state that in order for the MLDA to actually work and be effective the government must set a drinking age that responds to local attitudes and concerns. Clearly the MLDA21 hasn't worked so essentially it has failed because a large portion of the population do not follow or obide by it. So in order to tackle youth drinking and its dangers we must do something else, something more effective that educates and reduces alcohol abuse and underage drinking. What do you think we should do, is our system working?
The MLDA21 is the government's Minumum Legal Drinking Age of 21. The authors of the article are responding to and questioning the effectiveness of the MLDA21 over the past 20 years. In the first paragraph of the article, the authors refer to the Amethyst Initiative, a public statement signed by more than 100 college and university presidents. This statement is demanding an informed and public debate over the drinking age which currently is 21. Many negative responses from MADD and advocates voicing the purpose of MLDA21 and its prevention of traffic deaths among 18-20 year old adults. The advocates blamed the colleges and universities of not doing enough research on the relationship between traffic fatalities and America's drinking age. The authors of this article agree with the purpose of the Amethyst Initiative, they researched heavily on this issue and came to the conclusion that "MLDA21 has little or no lifew-saving effect whatsoever." Jeffrey Miron and Elina Tetelbaum are the two authors that prove their point and opinion with supporting facts of history and the prohibition of alcohol and the drinking age. Over time the drinking age in the US has fluctuated separately between states from 18-21. The fluctuations continued up until 1984 when Congress passed the Federal Underage Drinking Act (FUDAA), withholds transportation funding from states that lack the MLDA21. The law was supposed to fewer traffic fatalities, but in fact the only life-saving impact came from the few-early adopting states, not the large remaining number of states that were federally pressured into succumbing to the law. The question we must ask ourselves, is the original reason or benefit we passed the MLDA21 still in effect today? Some people would agree that it was, while others disagree and believe the drinking age has caused the increase in binge drinking and alcohol abuse. Miron and Tetelbaum state that in order for the MLDA to actually work and be effective the government must set a drinking age that responds to local attitudes and concerns. Clearly the MLDA21 hasn't worked so essentially it has failed because a large portion of the population do not follow or obide by it. So in order to tackle youth drinking and its dangers we must do something else, something more effective that educates and reduces alcohol abuse and underage drinking. What do you think we should do, is our system working?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Should the alcoholic drinking age in the United States be increased or decreased?
What a controversial topic! I chose this specific subject because it's kind of a touchy issue and I figured a lot of young people my age would have many different opinions and viewpoints. I think it will start interesting discussion maybe even a little debating one side or another. The drinking age is different in many countries for various reasons which will be discussed later. What is the acceptable drinking age? The specific topic has many pros and cons to it. If the drinking age was lowered, would underage drinking and alcohol abuse stop or diminish greatly? If the drinking age was lowered, would there be more DUIs or alcohol-related vehicle accidents? These are a few questions I am asking myself while trying to discuss the appropriate and effectiveness of the drinking age. I really do not have a chosen side to this argument, although I have opinions about both sides, it really intrigues me to hear different arguments on the subject.
About Me
Hi, my name is Jacie Specht, I am 20 years old marketing major from Pennsylvania. I graduated from a private boarding school in 2009. My senior year of high school I applied to a total of 12 schools, I was accepted into 9 of those schools. My decision was tied between Temple, Drexel and JMU. In the end, I knew JMU was the right fit for me and my worries or doubts were resolved when I visited the campus. In the summer of 2009 I decided after enrolling in JMU, that I needed to take a "gap year" also known as a year off. It was the best decision I have ever made and that is why I consider myself an "older freshman." I have many interests and hobbies; including my friends and family, volunteering, music and singing, sports, and having fun. My goal here at JMU is to find and figure out where I'm headed in my life, make life long friendships, learn life lessons and find the "right" career and purpose for me.
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